Wafflepudding
05/16/07, 02:22 am
I presume most fellow progressives know about the usual environmental disasters the mining sector is responsible for. From strip mining that destroys the soil, to acidic leachates that poison groundwater reserves, most of us have heard in the news at least some of the problems derived from irresponsible business practices from mining corporations. To the best of my knowledge new mining regulations have diminished these problems (to what extent I do not know).
Nevertheless we are now left to deal with the consequences of over a century of reckless practices. Many of the current superfund sites are former mine sites now saturated with strong acids, heavy metals, and even low level radioactive waste. These sites will require millions (if not billions) of dollars and decades of work before being taken out of the superfund lists altogether. As bad as that is, it still doesn't compare to the underground coal fire disaster looming over Pennsylvania. Centralia is a very graphic and very tangible reminder that Ukraine is not alone, and as horrible as Chernobyl was, we're capable of disasters of such dimension without the aid of nuclear technology.
This ties in with the controversial "clean coal": The term, in my opinion, is highly misleading. Even with carbon sequestration, coal power requires mining that leaves millions of tons of boney piles (low grade, mostly unusable coal waste), tailings that poison rivers, and potentially poses another great disposal problem, as the carbon captured from emissions will still need to be disposed of in some fashion.
Who is going to pay for the restoration of these sites? and when is the government going to take SERIOUS action to remedy this situation? How many more Centralias will it take before legislators do what they're supposed to and protect the interests of the public?
Nevertheless we are now left to deal with the consequences of over a century of reckless practices. Many of the current superfund sites are former mine sites now saturated with strong acids, heavy metals, and even low level radioactive waste. These sites will require millions (if not billions) of dollars and decades of work before being taken out of the superfund lists altogether. As bad as that is, it still doesn't compare to the underground coal fire disaster looming over Pennsylvania. Centralia is a very graphic and very tangible reminder that Ukraine is not alone, and as horrible as Chernobyl was, we're capable of disasters of such dimension without the aid of nuclear technology.
This ties in with the controversial "clean coal": The term, in my opinion, is highly misleading. Even with carbon sequestration, coal power requires mining that leaves millions of tons of boney piles (low grade, mostly unusable coal waste), tailings that poison rivers, and potentially poses another great disposal problem, as the carbon captured from emissions will still need to be disposed of in some fashion.
Who is going to pay for the restoration of these sites? and when is the government going to take SERIOUS action to remedy this situation? How many more Centralias will it take before legislators do what they're supposed to and protect the interests of the public?