Goal and the Environment docx

[...]... diox- photosynthesis is stored in the plants ide and methane, act as an insulating considered a “greenhouse If the plants die and accumulate as blanket around the Earth, allowing gas” and increased levels of peat, the precursor of coal, the carbon incoming solar radiation to warm the CO2 and other greenhouse becomes part of the geosphere Peat Earth’s surface and reducing radiation gases in the atmosphere... broader and includes the total estimated amount of Coal is mined throughout the United coal in the ground Resources consist of States (Fig 8) The Powder River Basin in demonstrated reserves plus coals that might Wyoming and Montana, the Central and not be currently mineable or for which Northern Appalachian basins, and the there is less data and therefore lower confi- Illinois Basin (also called the Eastern... mines in the 17 flat land, because flat land is valuable in Fig 13 Mountaintop removal mining in West Virginia many parts of Appalachia where this mining method is used But, the change in the resultant topography and infilling of stream headwaters is permanent and is one of the reasons there is public concern about this method of mining Environmental Concerns In the east, some of the largest- The environmental... mining takes place and the plans must meet tion does include grading and revegetation state and federal regulations These plans Debates about mountaintop removal must also include a post-mine land use include concerns about landscape changes, agreed upon by the mine operator and the extent of those changes (many square landowner 20 are used, the land cannot be returned to miles), the potential for increased... sediment and prevent it from directs the flow of mine from known landslides leaving the site (Fig 18) Once the waters to sediment ponds sediment settles out, the water can be at a mine in Indiana or abandoned surface mines involves back- discharged into downstream waterways The pond and wetland filling rock against the highwall, and com- During mining, settling ponds are routinely pacting and grading the. .. mining and can occur with any large-scale 13) Although many people think of the excavation and construction; other impacts western United States when they think of are more typical of coal mining The princi- mountains, the practice of mountaintop pal environmental concerns are removal is mostly done in the Appalachian ! Physical disturbance of the landscape; Basin in the eastern United States The !... methods mined prior to mining, how the land is employed, specific deposit characteristics, going to be mined and the sequence in coal and rock strata chemistry, and the which it will be mined, and how the land 16 Mining geography of the region Underground Mining United States In 2003, 17 of the largest Underground mines can be classified based 20 mines were area mines The top 10 pro- on coal seam access... planning and and analyzed during design The first step in an exploration program is to define exploration the extent of the exploration area and prepare an exploration plan After the plan has been established, permission from landowners and permits from appropriate regulatory agencies are required to conduct drilling operations Drilling confirms the thickness and depth of the coal underground and allows... carbon cycle Human emissions of carbon into the atmosphere C arbon Cycle Modern swamp, Florida Fig 5 Generalized diagram of the carbon cycle showing some of the ways carbon is stored (in parentheses) and exchanged (arrows), and the ways in which humans Human removal of carbon from the biosphere and lithosphere influence the cycle 9 and release CO2 back into the atmos- faster than would occur naturally... Fugitive methane; and multiple-seam mining, the land must ! Public safety and disturbance issues; and be regraded and revegetated In multi-seam ! Miners’ health and safety mines the slope must be returned to approximate original contour However, in mountaintop mines the topography cannot The physical disturbances to a landscape be returned economically to its original during mining are the most visible . Concerns The environmental concerns associated with finding and mining coal vary depend- ing on the type of mining, geology of the coal and overburden, topography of the landscape, and climate of the. alt="" AGI gratefully acknowledges the AGI Foundation, the sponsors named on the title page, and the U.S. Geological Survey for their support of this book and of the Environmental Awareness Series questions. Coal and the Environment was prepared under the sponsorship of the AGI Environmental Geoscience Advisory Committee in cooperation with the geological surveys of Kentucky, Indiana, and Illinois