Post on 14-Jan-2015
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1Photo by Vivian Stockman-ohvec.org
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Background Information
• Mountaintop removal coal mining is a surface mining practice involving the removal of mountaintops to expose coal seams. –EPA definition
• Mountaintop removal mining techniques appeared in West Virginia and surrounding coal fields around the WW2 era.
• The alternative to mountaintop removal mining is deep mining.
A Biodiverse Region
• Much of southern Appalachia’s biodiversity is a result of its geography
• Salamanders and Fungi reach their greatest diversity in southern Appalachia
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• The Southern Appalachian Mountains “are a global biodiversity hotspot”- George Wuerthner, Plundering Appalachia
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The Mountaintop removal process covers all three of the H’s of conservation biology.
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1.) Habitat Fragmentation- A road must be created to the strip site.
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2.) Habitat Degradation- Entire forest of the area to be mined is cut.
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3.) Habitat Destruction- Area is mined and mountain destroyed