1. Deforestation
Mining requires large amount of areas of land to be cleared for the miners to dig. Due to this reason, large-scale deforestation is needed to be carried out in the areas where people mine. Besides clearing the mining area, vegetation in the adjoining areas also needs to be cleared in order to built roads and residential facilities for the mine workers. Various activities at coal mines release dust and gas into the air. Thus making mining one of the major causes of deforestation and pollution.
2. Pollution ( Water )
Chemica is like mercury, cyanide, sulfuric acid, arsenic and methyl mercury are used in various stages of mining. Most of the chemicals are released into nearby water bodies, and are responsible for water pollution. In spite of pipes being used to dispose these chemicals into the water bodies, there will alsways be a possiblitity of leakage. When the leaked chemicals slowly percolate through the layers of the earth, they reach the groundwater and pollute it. Surface run-off of just soil and rock debris, although non-toxic, can be harmful for vegetation of the surrounding areas.
Aerial view of shoreline, showing a stream polluted with waste water runoff from strip mining flowing into the Ohio River.
3. Spread of Diseases
Sometimes the liquid waste that is generated after the metals or minerals have been extracted is disposed in a mining pit. As the pit gets filled up by the mine tailings, they become a stagnant pool of water. This becomes the breeding ground for water-borne diseases causing insects and organisms like mosquitoes to flourish.
4. Loss of Biodiversity
The forests that are cleared for mining purposes are home to a large number of organisms. Clearing of these forests leads to loss of habitat of a large number of animals. This puts the survival of a large number of animal species at stake. The cutting down of trees is already posing a big threat to a number of plants, trees, birds and animals growing in the forests. Immagine how much biodiversity will be loss if a whole forest is cleared.
Video on the impact: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UxF9l6bedZU
Solutions!
1. Government
The government of the country can introduce a rule which limit the amount of mining people can do in the country. They can also protect the forest by forbiding people to enter and limiting where the people can mine. Penalties can also be introduced to offenders such as fines of jail. This way, there will be lesser mining going on in the country and this can help save the environment.
2. People
People should have the initiative to reduce mining as it is damaging the Earth. Companies that are thaking part in this should try to mine in as little area as possible to help to save the Earth. They should also avoid large scale clearing of forest as it would harm the biodiversity.
Information from : http://www.buzzle.com/articles/how-does-mining-affect-the-environment.html
Pictures from : http://evandale.wikispaces.com/file/view/deforestation.jpg/159227763/deforestation.jpg, http://www.pollutionissues.com/Li-Na/Mining.html , http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0921800911000991
No comments:
Post a Comment