Problems in Sustainability: Mountaintop Removal Mining Appalachian Mountains

Mountaintop Removal is an effective method of extracting coal seems.  Here, the surface above the coal (mountain) is cleared so that the coal can be removed.  It is done this way on mountains because it is the most economically feasible method.  The large amount of land above the coal in mountains pose challenges in the mining process and therefore the mountain top is cleared.  The primary method of coal mining in the United States is underground mining.  But this mothod is very labor extensive.  By utilizing machinery and explosives the overburden to clear the mountain top, the mining process is much more efficient. 

This is an unsustainable practice for three reasons. 1) Coal is a has limited reserves on this earth, and if we continue to consume coal at current rates future generations will not have access to this critical fossil fuel. 2) The process of burning coal and other fossil fuels for energy pollutes the environment.  3) Mountaintop Removal Mining in particular is disastrous to adjacent ecosystems and communities.

A significant amount of deciduous forests are destroyed along the Appalachian Mountains due to this mining practice.  These mountains are homes for a large amount of endangered species, further pressing species to extinction.  Transport machines rip up and damage plants and grasses, destroying habitat as well increasing surface runoff, erosion and more.  The byproduct of the overburden removal are frequently dumped into nearby valleys, filling up a significant amount of streams and by doing so permanently destroying ecosystems and polluting water with toxic chemicals.  The fact is that every ecosystem is infinitely interconnected.  Removal of a mountain top therefor effects an ecosystem in an infinite number of ways, the majority of which are hard to quantifiable measure but have pronounced long term implications.  If we are going to live sustainable as a species, we must not dominate nature but work with it.