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Paul Corbit Brown ECOfOCUS CARY INSTITUT EfO F ECOSYSTEM STUDIES The science behind environmental solutions Vol. 4, Issue 1, February 2010 "Current attempts to regulate [this mining practice] are inadequate." CARY SCIENTISTS CALL FOR MORATORIUM ON MOUNTAINTOP MINING IN U.S. by Lisa M. Dellwo Three scientists associated with the Cary Institute are among a group of the nation's leading environmental scientists who are calling for a moratorium on mountaintop mining permits. President William H. Schlesingep President Emeritus Gene E. Likens, and Dr. Emily S. Bernhardt of Duke University are among the coauthors of a paper in Science, published on January 8, calling on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to stay all new mountaintop mining permits. Bernhardt's Ph.D. research was conducted at the Institute under the mentorship of Likens. On January 7, Schlesinger and Bernhardt participated in a press conference at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., in which 25 reporters were briefed on the paper. Extensive coverage resulted in media including the New York Times, Washington Post, the Associated Press, McClatchy Newspapers, National Public Radio, ABC News, and the Huffington Post. The twelve scientists who authored the article based their recommendation on their analysis of the latest scientific findings that document irreversible environmental effects and serious human health impacts from this form of surface mining. In mountaintop mining, forests at the tops of mountains are cleared and stripped of topsoil, and explosives are used to break up rocks in order to access coal buried below. Much of this rock is pushed into adjacent valleys where it obliterates streams. Mountaintop mining with valley fills is widespread throughout eastern Kentucky, West Virginia, and southwestern Virginia. The Science paper outlines the severe degradation taking place at mining sites and downstream, including the destruction of deciduous forests and burial of small streams that contribute to the health of large watersheds. Contaminants from the mines enter streams below the valley fills and are transported to larger bodies of water. The authors also describe human health impacts associated with this mining practice, including elevated rates of mortality, lung cancer, and chronic heart, lung and kidney disease in coal-producing communities. Miners are typically men, but these diseases are prevalent in women in surface mining regions as well, indicating that the effects are not just due to direct occupational exposure to mines. Although mining companies are required to mitigate the impacts of this practice, there is ample evidence that mitigation practices are ineffective: reclaimed soils have low organic and nutrient content and are so compacted by heavy machinery that they do not drain well. Replanted vegetation does not grow back well. And streams below mining sites still carry high levels of toxic material. The paper's authors say, "Clearly, current attempts to regulate [this mining practice] are inadequate. Mining permits are being issued despite the preponderance of scientific evidence that impacts are pervasive and irreversible and, that mitigation cannot compensate for losses." They also express the urgency for the U.S. to take leadership on this issue, since "surface mining in many developing countries is expected to grow extensively in the next decade." HIGHLIGHTS • From the President's Desk 3# Fifth-Grade Teacher, • YES Conference ^ * Spotlights 5. Ecology in Winter, • Environmental Monitoring Supporters'Corner, Cary Ecology Festival 7 * Event Calendar
Object Description
Rating | |
Title | EcoFocus Newsletter, volume 4 issue 1 |
Creator | Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies |
Date.Original | 2010-02 |
Publisher.Original | Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies |
Description | A newsletter published by the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies. February 2010. |
Corporate Name | Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies |
Location | Millbrook - Dutchess County - New York |
HRVH Topic |
Science & Technology Landscape & Nature |
Language | eng |
Format.Original | newsletter; 8 pages |
Resource Type | Text |
Resource Identifier | EcoFocus_2010-02.pdf |
Publisher.Digital | Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies |
Date.Digital | 2016 |
Format.Digital | application/pdf |
Digital Collection | Newsletters of the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies |
Holding Institution | Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies |
Contact Information | PO Box AB, Millbrook, New York, 12545; http://www.caryinstitute.org |
Rights | In copyright - non-commercial use permitted. http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC-NC/1.0/ |
Description
Title | EcoFocus_2010-02 1 |
Transcript | Paul Corbit Brown ECOfOCUS CARY INSTITUT EfO F ECOSYSTEM STUDIES The science behind environmental solutions Vol. 4, Issue 1, February 2010 "Current attempts to regulate [this mining practice] are inadequate." CARY SCIENTISTS CALL FOR MORATORIUM ON MOUNTAINTOP MINING IN U.S. by Lisa M. Dellwo Three scientists associated with the Cary Institute are among a group of the nation's leading environmental scientists who are calling for a moratorium on mountaintop mining permits. President William H. Schlesingep President Emeritus Gene E. Likens, and Dr. Emily S. Bernhardt of Duke University are among the coauthors of a paper in Science, published on January 8, calling on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to stay all new mountaintop mining permits. Bernhardt's Ph.D. research was conducted at the Institute under the mentorship of Likens. On January 7, Schlesinger and Bernhardt participated in a press conference at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., in which 25 reporters were briefed on the paper. Extensive coverage resulted in media including the New York Times, Washington Post, the Associated Press, McClatchy Newspapers, National Public Radio, ABC News, and the Huffington Post. The twelve scientists who authored the article based their recommendation on their analysis of the latest scientific findings that document irreversible environmental effects and serious human health impacts from this form of surface mining. In mountaintop mining, forests at the tops of mountains are cleared and stripped of topsoil, and explosives are used to break up rocks in order to access coal buried below. Much of this rock is pushed into adjacent valleys where it obliterates streams. Mountaintop mining with valley fills is widespread throughout eastern Kentucky, West Virginia, and southwestern Virginia. The Science paper outlines the severe degradation taking place at mining sites and downstream, including the destruction of deciduous forests and burial of small streams that contribute to the health of large watersheds. Contaminants from the mines enter streams below the valley fills and are transported to larger bodies of water. The authors also describe human health impacts associated with this mining practice, including elevated rates of mortality, lung cancer, and chronic heart, lung and kidney disease in coal-producing communities. Miners are typically men, but these diseases are prevalent in women in surface mining regions as well, indicating that the effects are not just due to direct occupational exposure to mines. Although mining companies are required to mitigate the impacts of this practice, there is ample evidence that mitigation practices are ineffective: reclaimed soils have low organic and nutrient content and are so compacted by heavy machinery that they do not drain well. Replanted vegetation does not grow back well. And streams below mining sites still carry high levels of toxic material. The paper's authors say, "Clearly, current attempts to regulate [this mining practice] are inadequate. Mining permits are being issued despite the preponderance of scientific evidence that impacts are pervasive and irreversible and, that mitigation cannot compensate for losses." They also express the urgency for the U.S. to take leadership on this issue, since "surface mining in many developing countries is expected to grow extensively in the next decade." HIGHLIGHTS • From the President's Desk 3# Fifth-Grade Teacher, • YES Conference ^ * Spotlights 5. Ecology in Winter, • Environmental Monitoring Supporters'Corner, Cary Ecology Festival 7 * Event Calendar |
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