The Ethics of Mountaintop Removal - Essay Example

The Ethics of Mountaintop Removal al Affiliations of Ethical Issues and Moral Implications Mining of coal is a good economic activity if well regulated to maximize the principle of utilitarianism in which the miners or mining companies try as much as possible to maximize on the good outcomes of the mining process while minimizing on the damages associated with the economic activity (Witt, 2010). The good associated with mining coal is basically the provision of job opportunities for the neighboring communities whose living standards are bound to escalate following employment (Zullig, M.S.P.H & Hendryx, 2011). Moreover, the nation will be assured of constant supply of coal at an affordable price which is a potential source of energy (Camacho, 2010). On the other hand however, mountaintop removing which is the process that mainly occurs when mining coal has the potential of producing harm to the neighboring communities. Such harm may be in the form of health concerns that arise as a result of poor mining habits and lack of responsibility to the actions of the mining companies (Pond et al., 2014). In as much as the neighboring communities benefit from the existence of the mountaintop mines within their vicinity, such people have been associated with several health issues including lung cancers, heart and kidney problems and several cases of asthma among other serious health concerns (Witt, 2010). Most of these health issues arise from unregulated disposal of wastes after mining has occurred especially because of toxic chemicals released into water bodies used by neighboring communities. Sludge and slurry from such mines are toxic and most of such products seep into the underground water sources or find their ways into tap water sources, contaminating drinking water for the inhabitants (Mcgarvey & Johnston, 2013). Such contaminated water serves as the source of most of the diseases associated with the mining activities within the affected regions (Burke et al., 2014). Moreover, mountaintop removal is associated with the destruction of the physical environment for the surrounding communities which minimizes on the overall good done to the neighboring communities. Human beings generally love the aesthetic view of their surroundings which makes them feel happy about what they see around (Camacho, 2010). Mountaintop removal while mining coal however destroys this aesthetic view by deforestation and surface destruction among other scenery destructive activities (Mcgarvey & Johnston, 2013). In fact, deforestation in itself is responsible not only for changing the climatic conditions of an area, but also affects the freshness of air that the inhabitants of the neighboring communities breathe (Zullig, M.S.P.H & Hendryx, 2011). This is with regard to the fact that vegetation is responsible for facilitating the gaseous exchange between oxygen and carbon dioxide. Such an interference with the natural sceneries is therefore an undesirable activity which remains to be a total interference to the moral and ethical standards of inhabitants of the neighboring community. Without regulation of the mining activities of companies involved in mining of coal, it may be impossible to maximize on the principles of utilitarianism which entails creating more “good” to the community while reducing the bad effects of the mining activities in the neighborhood (Mcgarvey & Johnston, 2013). The coal industries can be considered to be more consumptive than preservative in their mining processes. While pursuing to extract only one non-renewable form of energy, they end up destroying other forms of energy such as trees which are non-renewable too. Moreover, top soil in the process is destroyed by being dumped into valleys where most of it only goes to waste (Camacho, 2010). The issue of bio-centric egalitarianism arises in that the coal that is normally mining cannot even substitute the worth of the existing mountains and their excellent sceneries (Pond et al., 2014). The mountains remain to be a form of natural beauty; being very essential as part of the countries historical and cultural richness as shown in Appendix B. Another issue that arises from mountaintop removal is the restoration thesis which requires that land that has been used for mining deserves to be put into better use with similar or more economical benefits for the residents (Pond et al., 2014). It is however unfortunate that most coal mining companies after exhausting the mineral leave the land unattended to (Zullig, M.S.P.H & Hendryx, 2011). This has raised ethical issues as the remains of mining compounds could be a potential cause of health concerns to the residents several years after the mining has stopped (Burke et al., 2014). This explains the reason behind several cases of birth defects associated with such mining areas as well as an elated mortality rate in the same regions. Perhaps such cases could reduce if proper attention was given to the area where the mining occurred with proper reclamation procedures for the land to make it even more economically productive (Camacho, 2010). Description of the Land Context The state of West Virginia still retains laws that allow mountaintop removal while mining coal especially in areas near Bob White (Pond et al., 2014). It surprising that about 110 billion gallons of sludge still remains in open pools within some of the abandoned mines in the state as shown in Appendix C. As earlier stated, this slurry contains toxic chemicals which may seep into underground water and form part of tap water being consumed by neighboring residents who as a result suffer from certain chronic diseases (Camacho, 2010). Such mining occurs in the Appalachian Mountains in West Virginia with resultant destruction of the mountainous scenery of the region as shown in Appendix A. Mining is done by use of explosives and according to some former miners in the mine, more than three billion pounds of explosives are used every day, just to show how serious the situation is (Witt, 2010). Correct Ethical Decision Perhaps some people would jump into concluding that closing up all mines in the mountaintop removals would be the best ethical decision to solve the ethical issues associated with mountaintop removal (Witt, 2010). This however also raises other issues, most of which are economic (Burke et al., 2014). It is important before making such a decision to think about what would be done the thousands of residents who benefit from employments offered by the mining companies. At the same time, it would also be important to think of other cheap and readily available sources of fuel apart from coal (Zullig, M.S.P.H & Hendryx, 2011). While making such a decision, cost benefit analysis should be performed to ensure that the closing approach to the mining companies does not negatively affect the natives as this would be ethically wrong (Pond et al., 2014). In my opinion however, I would suggest that strict regulations be enacted and enforced on how the companies should responsibly dispose their wastes in a way that does not affect the neighboring communities’ lives. More specifically, I would suggest that a few of the companies should be encouraged to perform safe mining and proper management of their wastes in regions mostly affected by the practice. When this happens, the other companies will take note of the ethical move and most likely follow suit. By so doing, the benefits of the company would be maximized with minimal damages done to the locals. This is what the principle of utilitarianism is all about. References Burke, R. A., Fritz, K. M., Barton, C. D., Johnson, B. R., Fulton, S., Hardy, D., Jack, J. D. (2014). Impacts Of Mountaintop Removal And Valley Fill Coal Mining On C And N Processing In Terrestrial Soils And Headwater Streams. Water, Air and Soil Pollution, 225(8), 1-17. Camacho, A. E. (2010). Assisted Migration: Redefining Nature And Natural Resource Law Under Climate Change. Yale Journal on Regulation, 27(2), 171-255. Mcgarvey, D. J., & Johnston, J. M. (2013). Fishing For Alternatives to Mountaintop Mining In Southern West Virginia. Ambio, 42(3), 298-308. Pond, G. J., Passmore, M. E., Pointon, N. D., Felbinger, J. K., Walker, C. A., Krock, K. J., . . . Nash, W. L. (2014). Long-Term Impacts On Macroinvertebrates Downstream Of Reclaimed Mountaintop Mining Valley Fills In Central Appalachia. Environmental Management, 54(4), 919-33. Witt, J. (2010). Silas House, Jason Howard (Eds.): Somethings Rising: Appalachians Fighting Mountaintop Removal. Journal of Agricultural and Environmental Ethics, 23(3), 289-291. Zullig, Keith J,Phd., M.S.P.H., & Hendryx, M., Phd. (2011). Health-Related Quality Of Life among Central Appalachian Residents in Mountaintop Mining Counties. American Journal of Public Health, 101(5), 848-53. Appendices Appendix A: Destroyed scenery after coal mining Appendix B: Beautiful Scenery before Mining Appendix C: Sludge Dumped in Valleys Read More