West Coast Mining Should Be Banned in New Zealand.
Hello patsy, this is my blog about why west coast mining should be banned.
support:
http://www.greenpeace.org/international/en/campaigns/climate-change/coal/Mining-impacts/
There are many bad effects that mining has on the environment and most of them are from bad mining practices. These impacts include coal fires, greenhouse gasses, and mine methane which is deadlier than carbon dioxide. These can force nearby towns or other populated areas to flee from their homes because of the devastation of the environment and in some cases even leads to the deaths of people.
There are two common practices in mining one of which is strip mining. This involves digging on the surface to reach the minerals that are below causing permanent land damage. Strip mining is a very common method since it requires less labour and more coal gain than underground mining and is one of the more devastating practices. Strip mining destroys everything in the area and causes permenent damage to the land. It even pushes out any creatures living nearby. It also causes flooding and the pollution of water which can harm fish. All of this damage is near irreversible.
The other mining practice is underground mining. Underground mining provides most of the world's coal. It involves digging underground to reach minerals which is why it is viewed as less devastating to the enviroment. After the mine is abandoned the support structures are collapsed causing the ground above to fall leading to damage to any nearby structures. It also causes waste to be brought to the surface which is toxic, including greenhouse gases, and it can also redirect the flow of water. Underground mining also releases coal mine methane, and it is predicted that within the next decade emissions are expected to increase substantially. Another impact is coal fires, although mainly caused through mining accidents they still produce a number of toxic gasses and can increase the temperature of the surrounding environment. Acid mine drainage is another impact. It is a deadly toxic water which leaks out of mines. This practice doesn't just cause damage to the environment but also to people. Countless people have caught a number of deadly diseases which have been fatal.
https://www.oxfam.org.au/explore/mining/impacts-of-mining/
Mining effects on people in poverty
Mining negatively impacts nearby communities and the positives of mining do not outwiegh the negatives. Mining forces people to flee their home leaving them without any water which can lead to illness. It also divides communities and can lead to being abused by governments. Sometimes people aren't warned or told about the mine and don't get a say in whether it's allowed. People can even have reduced benefits from mining taxes because of lying about the income the mine produces.There is a huge bias towards men with the mine so woman end up being left out. Woman are denied any benefits from the mine since the man represents them. Woman are also sometimes left out of negotiations and benefits. It also undermines the woman's gathering means for food and their home can become more dangerous to live in.
http://www.wri.org/publication/content/8306
small scale mining
Underground mines can collapse and there can be a large amount of pollution with the movement of waste which can lead to acid mine drainage. Nearby waters can be polluted with soil and explosives used can cause permanent damage to the land. Small scale mining can even lead to the erosion, deforestation and loss of fauna. Chances of vegetative restoration is lost when soil is washed away and not many miners even contribute to restoration practices.
Mercury is used as a technique in small scale mining operations. Some of the mercury used is wasted into rivers and the atmosphere when miners fail to clean it up. Mercury can turn in to a number of different poisons which can be inhaled by humans which is a major hazard. There is a lot of mercury that is discharged every year and the dangers can even effect people kilometres away.
http://www.okinternational.org/mining
Mining releases a number of pollutants in to the air and waste including mercury which is deadly. There can also be hazards to human health when exposed to metals and can go so far as to cause lung cancer and other dangerous diseases which effect communities. These mining practices are very dangerous and abstract a lot of the worlds goals. Children in high poverty countries are being employed to mine, this leads to unsafe work conditions which can kill them. There are efforts being made to help the children being effected but it is not nearly enough.
http://www.buzzle.com/articles/how-does-mining-affect-the-environment.html
Mining is causing permanent damage to the trees and wildlife. Less experienced miners are causing alot of pollution with mercury which is extrememly poisonous to the wildlife.
Since the land needs to be cleared out it causes deforestation which leads to permanent vegetation damage. Some of the wildlife are put close to extinction because of the continuous relocating of them. Pollution also has an effect on the land since it can change the chemical composition of the land.
Water is being polluted by a number of chemicals and causes the loss of life of fish and other water creatures. A large amount of soil is dumped in to rivers which disturbs the natural flow of water. Waste is generally thrown in to a pit where it can build up over time. This is where a number of diseases can grow which is incredibly dangerous.
against:
http://www.wcrc.govt.nz/environmental_management/mining_impacts.htm
Mining is an important contributor to New Zealand's economy and has been ever since 1800's. Although it has major effects on the environment, these effects can be reduced if managed. There has been an investment in a programme to assist with management of the environment. This programme helps with minimizing the environmental impacts more focused around streams of water. They also provide informative guides about the enviroment for mining operations all to minimize the effect it has on the environment.
Joshua 1305489
Joshua, you make some powerful statements in you blog that need to have citations. For example, who says that strip mining causes such terrible environmental damage? Does strip mining ALWAYS do that? If it doesn't, then you need to qualify your statements, by using "often" or "frequently" or "occasionally" or whatever qualifier the research suggests. You need to look critically at your statements and think about whether my comments apply elsewhere in your blog, besides to the specific example of strip mining.
ReplyDeleteJoshua, your blog is titled "West Coast mining should be banned". You MUST address the question of whether strip mining will be used in Westland and whether the New Zealand environmental controls will be sufficient to prevent the environmental degradation seen in the material you have presented, before you argue that West Coast mining should be banned.
ReplyDeleteYour argument so far, seems to be that mining causes terrible environmental and social damage and I have to question how far this applies in NZ.