West Virginia
Coal Mines
The coal mines of West Virginia are a prime example of environmental degradation caused by humans and the effect that this has on ecology and human society. “The relentless stripping of the forests, the vast impoundments filled with billions of gallons of toxic coal waste known as slurry, and the steady flight by residents whose nerves and health are shattered” characterizes West Virginia’s coal mined mountain ranges (Hedges & Sacco 2012 p.119). Previously, the area was part of the beautiful Appalachian mountain chain, but to mine coal, the burning of which for energy is one of the leading contributors to the increased greenhouse effect in the earth’s atmosphere, forests and streams have been destroyed- along with the wildlife that depended on these habitats, the mountains themselves decapitated, and the lives and health of many citizens ravaged (Lecture 1 Week 10 2021). Unemployment and injuries lead to widespread drug abuse and trafficking, while harmful mining practices release of coal dust into the air, heavy metals into the soil and water, and form lakes of waste filled with water, coal ash, arsenic, and mercury, that threaten to spill over their borders and onto small towns and schools at any moment (Hedges & Sacco 2012). All the drinkable water in the area is bottled, cancer and kidney stones are common diagnoses, and many children use inhalers on a daily basis (Hedges & Sacco 2012).
The Carteret Islands
How Coal Mining Affects Climate
But West Virginia isn't the only place affected by coal-mining. Many geographically diverse locations are experiencing the ill effects of the global warming- spurred by the excessive burning of coal since the Industrial Revolution (Lecture 1 Week 10 2021). Coastal cities have never seen more hurricanes, while desert cities have never recorded higher temperatures- but the most impacted areas are islands. All over the world, islands such as the South Pacific the islands of Carteret are being covered by ocean water that used to be ice- island dwelling people all over the South Pacific are being displaced (Sun Come Up 2011).
Islands all over the South Pacific are going underwater, taking farmland and homes with them. These examples demonstrate that humans have an immense impact on the environment due to the consumerist choices that they make and a culture of unsustainability.
Images
Anon. 2018. Refugee Children. University of San Diego. Retrieved (https://www.sandiego.edu/news/detail.php?_focus=70153).
Crowley, Stephen. 2011. Coal Mine. New York Times. Retrieved (https://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/15/business/energy-environment/15coal.html).
Richardson, Kara. 2019. Appalachia. University of Kentucky. Retrieved (https://uknow.uky.edu/research/journal-appalachian-health-publishes-inaugural-issue).