Mining and its effects???

Question

I am doing a report on mining and why it is bad. Any help on argumetns woudl be great, thsi is for an ecology class, so i need stuff on why it is bad for the environment. Thanks kindly!!

Answer 1

Without doing your report for you, here are some web sites you can check out:

http://www.epa.gov/region08/land_waste/mining/envconc.html
(Short and sweet, lists a problem, some nifty statistics, and is a reputable source, which teachers like.)

http://www.infoplease.com/ce6/sci/A0859661.html
(Also short, lists some laws the U.S. has regarding mining, which may be worth looking up.)

https://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/fields/2032.html
(Also a reputable source, you can do a search [Ctrl-f on most browsers] for mining and get a list of what countries have environmental problems related to mining.)

http://www.aigenvironmental.com/environmental/public/envindustries/0,1340,63-11-326,00.html
(This is just something interesting I found while looking up these sites. AIG is an insurance company that offers, among many things, environmental insurance, and their site does a good job of listing all sorts of environmental hazards associated with mining.)

Answer 2

Mining does not have to be bad for the environment. I operate a lead mine in Western Australia. We strip off the top layer, extract and process the ore, put the waste back into the ground (minus the lead) and then cover with the original top layer.

In the short-term, it looks awful. When we're done, the ground we leave is actually in better condition than when we found it.

In fact, we have to post bonds that guarantee that we will do this work.

In some countries, however, miners just abandon the ground when the metal is depleted. They leave contaminants and the ground is not returned to its original condition. This leaves a permanent scar, with the original covering removed so the plant and animal life cannot recover in the area.