Download Wyatt Smith

Wyatt Smith
7th Murphy
2/15/09
1. Most of the coal mined in the United States today comes from the surface (strip)
mines. In surface mining, the vegetation, soil, and rock covering the coal (referred
to as overburden) are removed and set aside. After the coal has been hauled away,
good conservation practices require that the overburden be replaced and the
surface be restored to its original condition. Land restoration may be difficult in
some regions, due to factors such as the local climate, the thickness of the coal
seam, the extent of the overburden, and the sulfur content of the coal.
(a) Describe the steps that should be taken to restore the land after the
overburden has been replaced.
For starters, we need to replace all the land that we damage with the wasted earth
removed along with the ore. We should practice better re-planting efforts on the
replaced soil so that we can still have resources on that land for centuries to come.
We need to allow an allotted amount of time for the soil to replenish itself with
nutrients before we can even think about altering it in some form.
(b) Explain why the restoration of the land would likely be more difficult in an
arid climate (less than ten inches of precipitation per year).
In an arid climate, there are fewer nutrients added to the soil that usually come from
the air. Water is crucial for the restoration process and if there is a lack of it, the soil
has a much harder time restoring itself.
(c) Describe one environmental impact that the sulfur content of the remaining
coal and the tailings would have on the reclamation process and suggest a
possible remedy.
Sulfur is a highly toxic substance and would, if left around, contaminate anything it
comes in contact with. We need to first find another source of energy besides coal,
but, we need to make sure we either extract all remnants of the sulfur.
(d) Other than mining and reclamation, describe TWO environmental impacts
of using coal for energy.
Coal emits smoke when burned which pollutes the air we breathe. This gives us acid
rain and smog in the atmosphere via the carbon dioxide gas it emits.
(e) Explain why per capita coal consumption in the United States is likely to
increase.
In the U.S., coal as an energy source is just too hard to replace. The consumption has
grown along with electricity consumption.