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Mountaintop Removal and Its Effects on the Ecosystem

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Submitted By azurite1166
Words 373
Pages 2
Michael Kendrick
BIO 220
January 20, 2013
Jerry Slawson

Mountaintop removal and its effects on the ecosystem

Mountaintop removal or “strip mining” is a huge problem in this region and in others. This process destroys large areas of forests, rivers and streams, and the ecosystems that revolve around them. This has affected all the people in this region in one-way or another. In addition to the destruction of the forests and the ecosystems in them, this process also leaks poisons into the ground water and the air that all living things breathe. The mining technique called mountaintop removal needs to be stopped from destroying the fragile ecosystem that revolves around the streams that are the bloodlines that run through southern West Virginia. This style of mining not only strips the land of all vegetation, it also changes the water. Excess sediment from mining builds up over time causing the oxygen levels to change (S. Burns, 05). Over time this makes it imposable for the stream to sustain life for fish and other types of organisms. This disrupts the biodiversity that needs the river system to survive. Excess sediment is not the only issue but also the toxins, like selenium, that is released into the water from the coal. Selenium is a natural element in coal so when the coal is extracted the selenium is released into the ground water. Once in the water this, like the salamander, can cause genetic mutations in the fish and other aquatic life that alters their life span, reproductive systems, and physical traits. This in turn would cause the stream population to drop making it harder for other animals that eat the fish and aquatic life to survive (A. Lemly 09).

References

Burns, Shirley (2005). Bring Down the Mountains: The Impact of Mountaintop Removal Surface Coal Mining on Southern West Virginia Communities, 1970-2004.

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