Spring Break
Death of an innocent landscape
Erin Carr
Issue date: 4/30/08 Section: Opinion
By Erin Carr
125 miles. That's the distance between Louisville, Kentucky and Irvine, Kentucky. Many people may not be familiar with Irvine though. This little town, nestled in Estill County, is known for "Where the Bluegrass Kisses the Mountains." But beyond this point in Kentucky, deep in the mountains, lies an act that is destroying mountains, water supplies and a culture. This is mountain top removal.
Most people are not aware of what mountain top removal is. Mountaintop removal is a mining act done through five short steps. First, trees are cleared from the mountain and sent for lumber while explosives are correctly placed and detonated to blow up the mountain. Second, huge shovels dig up the leftover soil on the mountain and trucks haul it away. Third, machines scoop out the rock that's above the coal left in the mountain. Fourth, machines then scoop up all of the coal in the mountain and dump any rock or soil left over into nearby rivers, streams and valleys. Lastly, the coal companies are supposed put the mountain back together through replenishing the land and replanting vegetation, but that never happens.
Through surface mining, as the mining companies call it, companies are able to obtain up to 90% more of the coal in a mountain, use less workers and make a larger profit. While mountaintop removal may seem like a great idea to coal companies, there are many problems that are arising from this.
Mountains are being destroyed from this process at an alarming rate. Today, over 450 mountains have already been destroyed. When a mountain goes through mountain top removal, it is literally blown up and not put back together. Government programs such as The Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement have been put in place to replenish the lands but after mountain top removal happens, it is too late.
Through sludge dam spills, homes have been destroyed, wildlife has been killed and more than 1,200 miles of streams and rivers have been ruined. In a recent sludge dam spill in Inez, KY in 2002, more than 306 million gallons of coal sludge were spilled into two Kentucky streams. This spill was over 25 times the size of the Exxon Valdez spill and one of the worst environmental disasters in the United States. Rivers in eastern Kentucky were affected by this spill, as well as adjoining rivers such as the Ohio River and the Mississippi River. Some of these sludge dams exist literally towering over schools.
The individuals living in the mountains of Eastern Kentucky and the rest of Appalachia have been born and raised in the mountains. They are what many people would call mountain folk. They are known for being poor and uneducated, but have a culture and heritage with these mountains. Through mountaintop removal, companies are literally destroying a heritage.
Something must be done about mountaintop removal. People are losing their homes, their environment and their heritage. Remember, 125 miles. That's how far away from us here today in Louisville, in the same state, a disaster is happening and keeps continuing on.
125 miles. That's the distance between Louisville, Kentucky and Irvine, Kentucky. Many people may not be familiar with Irvine though. This little town, nestled in Estill County, is known for "Where the Bluegrass Kisses the Mountains." But beyond this point in Kentucky, deep in the mountains, lies an act that is destroying mountains, water supplies and a culture. This is mountain top removal.
Most people are not aware of what mountain top removal is. Mountaintop removal is a mining act done through five short steps. First, trees are cleared from the mountain and sent for lumber while explosives are correctly placed and detonated to blow up the mountain. Second, huge shovels dig up the leftover soil on the mountain and trucks haul it away. Third, machines scoop out the rock that's above the coal left in the mountain. Fourth, machines then scoop up all of the coal in the mountain and dump any rock or soil left over into nearby rivers, streams and valleys. Lastly, the coal companies are supposed put the mountain back together through replenishing the land and replanting vegetation, but that never happens.
Through surface mining, as the mining companies call it, companies are able to obtain up to 90% more of the coal in a mountain, use less workers and make a larger profit. While mountaintop removal may seem like a great idea to coal companies, there are many problems that are arising from this.
Mountains are being destroyed from this process at an alarming rate. Today, over 450 mountains have already been destroyed. When a mountain goes through mountain top removal, it is literally blown up and not put back together. Government programs such as The Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement have been put in place to replenish the lands but after mountain top removal happens, it is too late.
Through sludge dam spills, homes have been destroyed, wildlife has been killed and more than 1,200 miles of streams and rivers have been ruined. In a recent sludge dam spill in Inez, KY in 2002, more than 306 million gallons of coal sludge were spilled into two Kentucky streams. This spill was over 25 times the size of the Exxon Valdez spill and one of the worst environmental disasters in the United States. Rivers in eastern Kentucky were affected by this spill, as well as adjoining rivers such as the Ohio River and the Mississippi River. Some of these sludge dams exist literally towering over schools.
The individuals living in the mountains of Eastern Kentucky and the rest of Appalachia have been born and raised in the mountains. They are what many people would call mountain folk. They are known for being poor and uneducated, but have a culture and heritage with these mountains. Through mountaintop removal, companies are literally destroying a heritage.
Something must be done about mountaintop removal. People are losing their homes, their environment and their heritage. Remember, 125 miles. That's how far away from us here today in Louisville, in the same state, a disaster is happening and keeps continuing on.
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