Mining in Canada
Our planet is a thing of beauty. It is known as the only planet that sustains an abundance of life. This is due to the perfect balance of natural resources that provides life giving sustenance. My mother always tells me “if you take, you need to give.” I always thought that she meant that I should appreciate what I have and always give of my time and resources to those who are less fortunate than me. However, my mother’s saying now rings true for me as I am now able to apply this saying not only to myself as a human being but to the natural world and environment around me that maintains life.
The process of mining involves the removal of non-renewable resources. There are two main types of mining, surface mining and underground mining. This practice has been ongoing since pre-historic times. In my research on mining, the process of taking out valuable materials from within the Earth that cannot be grown or made. Substances that are mined include; limestone, oil, gold and diamonds. The mined materials are used under the pretense to make life better. However, it is also used for consumerism such as diamonds to show a status or a symbol of wealth. The mined materials are driven by human demands and it is an economy within itself due to millions of dollars that it brings.
It is recognized that in a time when the Internet and technology have taken over; mining still employees and provides livelihood to a vase number of people. However, the process of mining affects our health and our environment. According to Wikipedia, “The environmental impact of mining include erosion , formation of sinkholes, loss of biodiversity, and contamination of soil, groundwater and surface water by chemicals from mining proces...
... middle of paper ...
... Design new machines that that pollutes the Earth less
5. Getting Canadians involved in knowing the impacts of mining
(Saskatchewan Eco Network Issue)
In conclusion, even though mining is an important aspect in the Canadian economy; are all the health risks and environmental risks worth it? Some who sees the immediate rewards of mining, such as money and status may say ‘yes.” However if we continue to over mine, one day we will not have things we use every day such as electricity. This might not happen in our lifetime but the future generations will be affected. Isn’t it ironic that the Earth has given us livelihood and sustains us; we in turn abundantly and viciously take from the Earth? The effects of taking too much will kill us. As my mother says “if you take, you need to give” My way of giving will be educating my generation and my peers who are the future.
In the essay “Returning The Gift” Robin Wall Kimmerer talks about finding your gift and using it to show gratitude toward the earth. Kimmerer implies that we should each find our natural gift in the world and then use it to make the world a better place. Our society has become such a consumption-driven economy that instead of having gratitude we seek to consume more and more rather than being content. Everyday we are given gifts of the earth but fail to give back equal measure for what we take. In order for the Earth to stay imbalanced and to stay positive, and natural gifts to occur we must show our appreciation towards Earth. By showing our appreciation toward Earth we are ensuring a better tomorrow.
Canada’s ability to maintain a healthy income is important, for without it, Canada’s economy would not be functional. This is where Canada’s three main exports come into play. In 2013, Canada earned 133 billion dollars in exporting Mineral products, 123 billion dollars of that coming from mineral fuels, oils, products of their distillation, bituminous substances, and mineral waxes (Ibid.). With such a booming mineral industry, Canada receives a large income from mining that can be invested in schools, jobs, public projects, and many other important areas . Also, the earnings can be devoted towards small businesses looking to expand by using government funding programs, which helps support and expand Canadian economy (Mentor Works). Overall the money is used for activities that support the Canadian economy and make numerous people’s lives better.
Yes, this additional expense is necessary and mining affects the plant and animal population, hydrological cycle. And it’s necessary to maintain this for sustainable development.
One of the biggest problems with working in a mine is the the health risks you are taking when stepping into a mine and staying there anywhere from 10-16 hours of the day. Miners of the Gilded Age, needless to say, did not live very long at all. Some of the diseases they contracted were black lung, Silicosis, and COPD. Coal Miner’s Pneumoconiosis, more commonly referred to as Black Lung, is caused by inhaling respirable coal mine dust. Silicosis is a more specific, but yet still commonly found in coal miners, version of Black Lung caused by inhaling respirable crystalline silica, such as Quartz, a major component in rocks. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder, or COPD, is still common today in people who don’t even work in mines. COPD is a progressive disease that increases airway
The excitement for mining and excavating for minerals was sparked in prospectors and people looking for an easy way of profit in the 60’s.This second gold rush of speaks, despite most of the minerals they were after was more on the lines of copper, nickel, iron and the like, brought high hopes of those wanting to get rich fast. Though thousands had hope in making money from mining on their own, many excavators found little gold on their own efforts. Most needed to actually find work in mines. But, they almost got something even better. The v...
Resource exploitation is a rising problem in today’s society. If Canada does not do something about this issue now, this country will be consumed by the monstrosity it will no doubt become in the future. The exploitation of resources poses a threat as well as an equity problem which must be solved. By protecting the natural resources Canada currently has access to, a complete exploitation can be prevented as well as perhaps (in time) re-establishing the plentiful resources Canadians had access to in the past.
In her book Coal A Human History, Barbara Freese states "The mundane mineral that built our global economyand even today powers our electrical plantshas also caused death, disease, and environmental destruction" (front flap) Today, coal provides for more than 55% of the electricity generated in the U.S. (Cullen, Robert Vol.272) Coal miners have had one of the most dangerous jobs in history before government regulation. Many miners had to work underground for 10 + hours a day and 6 days a week(Cobb, James "Coal") The number of deaths per year is the equivalent of a Titanic going down in the nation's coal fields each year (Turkington, Carol) According to James Cobb from the World Book Online Reference Center mine safety involves four main types of problems including accidents involving machinery, roof and rib failures, accumulations of gases and concentrations of coal dust.
Lins, C., & Horwitz, E. (2007). Sustainability in the Mining Sector. Retrieved November 6, 2017, from http://www.fbds.org.br/IMG/pdf/doc-295.pdf
Though it has had many negative impacts on the environment in the past, mining is a vital industry completely necessary to our economy and lives. Nearly every item we use or encounter in our day to day lives is mined or contains mined products. Without the excavation of such materials things like computers, televisions, large building structures, electricity, and cars would not be possible. Virtually every technological and medical advance uses minded materials, without which millions would suffer. Some examples of minerals in the home include the telephone which is made from as many as 42 different minerals, including aluminum, beryllium, coal, copper, gold, iron, silver, and talc. A television requires over 35 different minerals, and more than 30 minerals are needed to make a single personal computer. Without boron, copper, gold and quartz, your digital alarm clock would not work. Every American uses an average 47,000 pounds of newly mined materials each year, which is higher than all other countries with the exception of Japan, which is a staggering figure representative of our dependence and need for mined minerals. Coal makes up more than half of nation’s electricity, and will continue to be the largest electrical supplier into 2020 & accounting for some 95 percent of the nation's fossil energy reserves – nine of every ten short-tons of coal mined in the United States is used for electricity generation. As the population of the world grows more mineral resources must be exploited through mining in order to support the rising demand for such products. Though it may present a hazard to the environment and those physically located nears the mines, the materials extracted from mines...
Greenhouse gasses that are released into the air when mining are harmful to the environment and the release of dust particulates negatively affect the ecosystems around the mines. As well as the air pollution there is usually a large amount of noise. In Gauteng large scale mining has caused the dolomite rock to cave in which has resulted in large sinkholes forming and earthquakes.
Many people assume that the environment is not in danger. They believe that as technology advances, we do not need to worry about renewing natural resources, recycling, and finding new ways to produce energy. They state that one person in the world does not make a large difference. In reality, each individual's contribution greatly affects our environment. Our natural resources are slowly disappearing, and we must work together to save them and the Earth from ruin.
In our days, mining for resources is inevitable. The resources we need are valuable in everyday life. Such resources mined up are coal, copper, gold, silver, and sand. However, mining poses environmental risks that can degrade the quality of soil and water, which can end up effecting us humans if not taken care of and many of the damages are irreversible once they have occurred.
There is a huge amount of water and energy consumption goes to the extraction and production of metals (about 7% of world energy and 0.03% of world water)(Izatt et al., 2014:p.2460), and the new technological advances are allowing the extraction of lower grade minerals at the expense of increasing energy consumption (Richards, 2005:pp.133–135). Another environmental aspect is mining activities which include blasting mountains to reach minerals,() , this causes permanent damage to the landscape and habitat modification (Anon, 2015). Another concern is the chemicals, loose soil, and minerals that can be washed with rainfall into the water stream, affecting downstream fish, plant life and water usability for human activities. Mine wastes represent a huge environmental problem. Hudson et al define them as “those waste products originating, accumulating and present at mine sites, which are unwanted and have no current economic value”. The scale of mine waste is huge, they are considered as one of the largest waste streams in the world despite them having a high concentration of hazardous chemicals and elements that are deadly to the wildlife and humans (Hudson et al, 2011). They have been discharged to marine, rivers, and lakes which is very lethal for the environment. New technologies, laws, and procedures are required for recycling and reusing these materials in sustainable
Natural resources are minerals/materials found naturally in the environment or in the earth that have economic value. Natural resources are very useful for humans as they are used in our daily life few common example of natural resources uses are (Water, Oil, Salt, Gas, Wood and Coal etc.).
Mining is the process or industry of obtaining minerals from the earth. Topics in this paper I’ll be specifically discussing are pros and cons of mining, structures of a mine, mining in general, California gold rush, diamonds in Africa, and comparison of diamond and gold mines.