Freeport-McMoran Case Study
The environment is something humans should always be concerned about. In the case study involving Freeport-McMoran strip mining, the environment is the main concern. The environmental concern is the central ethical issue to be resolved because in the long term, it starts to influence everyone around the world negatively. If one company is allowed to destroy mountains and the environment and make millions, more companies will likely jump on that same ship. When more and more companies start to make money at the expense of the environment, more people become in the same situation as the Amungme and Kamoro. On top of that, our food sources will dwindle and our water contaminated. If our environment is continually destroyed, other resources will be destroyed too. Ex. Copper may be abundant, but with all the copper mining going on, lumber is now scarce. My solution to this problem would be by following Eduardo Nebot, a robotics specialist at the University of Sydney. . His paper mainly consists of a safe alternative to strip mining using advanced robotic technology, which would be a feasible, safer and cost effective strategy. What he also found out was that --mining deposits are becoming increasing smaller, and destroying the surroundings for a small amount would waste time and not justify the consequences. His robotics could identify how big or small the deposits are.
Strip mining can have sever effects on everything around the site. According to the Strip Mining Handbook written by Professor Mark Squillace strip mining “can severely erode the soil or reduce its fertility; pollute waters or drain underground water reserves; scar or alter the landscape; damage roads, homes, and other structures; and destroy wildlife.” (Squillace, 2009) What I also found interesting is that “because large areas of vegetation have been removed, flash floods