Name: ______
1. Ohio Department of Natural Resources
1. Describe what mountain top mining is:
2. How much of the coal is recovered when the top is removed? ______%
3. Mountaintop mining can create flat terrain that is good for:
4. How come the area cannot support that kind of developed economic use before mountain top mining?
5. Spoil is excess soil and rock that comes from blasting and removing parts of the mountain. Where is the spoil placed?
6. Do you think the Ohio Department of Natural Resources thinks that Mountain top coal mining is good, bad, or that they have no opinion? ______Why do you think that? (Provide direct quotes with your explanation)______
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2. Mountain Justice Newsletter
After reading the first paragraph under ‘What is mountain top removal mining’, do you think the author has a positive or negative opinion of the mining? ______Why? What word or phrase do they use? ______
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What are the effects of forest clear cutting?
How do explosives affect nearby residents?
Do the large machines that the use for tearing up the mountain make new jobs for the locals or make less work necessary?
Define overburden:
How many miles of headwater streams have been buried in Appalachia? ______
Are the mountains being returned to healthy conditions?
Residents move away from the mining areas because of (list all of the reasons):
Liquid waste is stored in:
According to the fish and wildlife service, how does mountain top removal affect the birds in the areas?
What is coal sludge?
After reading the entire article how do you think Mountain Justice feels about the mountain top coal removal? ______Why do you think that? Cite the article. ______
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3. Statement of Michael Calaghan
What is Michael Calaghan’s speech about?
What are the costs and benefits of the mining industry?
Mountain top removal mining is a method in which soil and rock are removed from the tops of mountains. This is the most ______way to mine coal in ______
Do other types of coal mining fill valleys?
Why has there been a decline in the mine related employment over the past several years?
How have mountain top removal sites already proven beneficial to communities?
Have many coal mining companies used old mining sites for economic or community development? What is the evidence?
Summarize the possible benefits of mountain top removal for West Virginia.
4. Appalachian Voices Website Statement
According to the Nature Conservatory, what do southwest Virginia, southern West Virginia, eastern Kentucky, and northern Tennessee contain?
What percentage of the mountains in southern West Virginia have already been destroyed? ______%
Why is there very little scientific information on the effects of mountain top removal?
If the current mountain top removal techniques continued unabated (still as forceful as before) ______million acres, the size of ______, will be lost.
What happened in 2000 in Martin County Kentucky?
What did the coal company have to do because of the spill?
According to the EPA, how much of our total coal production came from mountain top mining?
At current production rates, how long does the US geological survey think that we can continue to extract the high quality, think, bituminous coal resource in the region?
What are the cons of mountain top mining according to the Appalachian Voices?
5. EPA
Where is mountain top mining concentrated?
In 1998, how many tons of coal were being extracted from the area?
What could impact the amount of extraction from the area?
What is regulating the pollutants in streams and valley fills?
In your own words, what was the purpose for the environment impact statement?
Why is the re-growth of trees slow after reclamation?
Why do you think that would have an effect?
Do you feel the EPA has formed an opnion on mountain top mining? ______Why or why not?