After watching the documentary movie on coal mining which was called "The Last Mountain", I learned and gained more more knowledge about the negative aspects that happens when more coal mining projects are approved and started by major corporations like Massey. Furthermore, some regulations that I believe should be put into regulation or use are that there should be limitations to how many projects that a certain coal mining corporation could do in a certain amount of time or time period. For instance, Massey should be limited to at most 1 big coal mining project for a 6 to 8 month time period. Moreover, one more thing added to the legislation I proposed is that there should be at least a 50 mile distance between people's houses and the coal mining location so that the damages of the pollution to the people will less severe. More than ever, the pollution from coal mining are killing people and causing people to have cancers on a daily basis. Moreover, the health and environmental costs associated or related with mining, transporting and burning coal, as reported by a new Harvard Medical School study, are approximately $345 billion annually, which is equivalent to more than 17¢ per kilowatt hour. In addition, these costs are often viewed as “externalities” due to the fact that they are costs borne by the public which are not reflected in the price of coal-fired electricity. Above all, there are 600 coal-fired power plants across the United States, and over 600 ash ponds across the country, filled with 150 billion gallons of toxic sludge. Not to mention, each year emissions from coal-fired power plants causes more than 10 million asthma attacks, brain damage in up to 600,000 newborn children, and 43,000 premature deaths. Furthermore, the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) said it is unsafe to eat many freshwater fish due to mercury contamination in forty-eight states.
Friday, October 31, 2014
Coal Mining Quickwrite
The three types of subsurface coal mining are conventional board and pillar mining, blasting gallery technology, and long wall mining.
Furthermore, the four steps of conventional mining include: drilling, blasting, lifting, and loading.
Drilling(first step)- The miners drill to make a hole in the rock where the explosives could be placed into the hole that is created after drilling into the hole.
Blasting(second step)- The miners later blast or explodes the explosives that is in the hole that was created after drilling because the main purpose of blasting is to loosen or soften the coal and the earth surface or land around it due to the fact that the coal could be later transported for processing purposes.
Lifting(third step)- The softened or loosened coal is later lifted onto tubs by the miners.
Loading(fourth step)- The tubs are later loaded onto the railroad tracks by the miners due to the fact that the railroad tracks will be used as a means to transport the coal on one place to another.
Furthermore, the four steps of conventional mining include: drilling, blasting, lifting, and loading.
Drilling(first step)- The miners drill to make a hole in the rock where the explosives could be placed into the hole that is created after drilling into the hole.
Blasting(second step)- The miners later blast or explodes the explosives that is in the hole that was created after drilling because the main purpose of blasting is to loosen or soften the coal and the earth surface or land around it due to the fact that the coal could be later transported for processing purposes.
Lifting(third step)- The softened or loosened coal is later lifted onto tubs by the miners.
Loading(fourth step)- The tubs are later loaded onto the railroad tracks by the miners due to the fact that the railroad tracks will be used as a means to transport the coal on one place to another.
Wednesday, October 29, 2014
Land Career
Mining Engineer
Day in the life: Mining engineers create and design mines that are safe and efficient to remove minerals such as coals and metals from the mine for manufacturing and utilities. Moreover, mining engineers spend a lot time in meetings regarding a present or upcoming project. When they are not present at the meetings, the mining engineers will drive around the open pit, or go to the underground plants where they walk around to see if things are going as they should. And if things are not going as they should, they ask the people who are supposed to be making things go efficiently if they are going efficiently and the mining engineers would also remind them of their important duties and task. Occasionally, mining engineers leave the mine and go to the office building in some distant city where the head office is located. Furthermore, they meet with senior mining engineers, accountants, and lawyers to talk about the legal and financial operation aspects regarding the upcoming or present mining project.
Annual Salary Range: $58,970 to $103,619
Training: Mining Engineers need at least a Bachelors of Science (B.S.) degree from an accredited university before they can begin working for a company. Furthermore, many research positions require a master's degree or doctorate. Moreover Some courses that college students will need to take in college include geology, mining operation, mine design, metallurgy and environmental reclamation. In addition, Any mining engineer who works in the public sector must have a state license. However, requirements for a license vary by state. Above all, mining engineers needs to have good organizational skills and problem solving capabilities. Creativity and the ability to communicate effectively are also essential to success in this field.
Day in the life: Mining engineers create and design mines that are safe and efficient to remove minerals such as coals and metals from the mine for manufacturing and utilities. Moreover, mining engineers spend a lot time in meetings regarding a present or upcoming project. When they are not present at the meetings, the mining engineers will drive around the open pit, or go to the underground plants where they walk around to see if things are going as they should. And if things are not going as they should, they ask the people who are supposed to be making things go efficiently if they are going efficiently and the mining engineers would also remind them of their important duties and task. Occasionally, mining engineers leave the mine and go to the office building in some distant city where the head office is located. Furthermore, they meet with senior mining engineers, accountants, and lawyers to talk about the legal and financial operation aspects regarding the upcoming or present mining project.
Annual Salary Range: $58,970 to $103,619
Training: Mining Engineers need at least a Bachelors of Science (B.S.) degree from an accredited university before they can begin working for a company. Furthermore, many research positions require a master's degree or doctorate. Moreover Some courses that college students will need to take in college include geology, mining operation, mine design, metallurgy and environmental reclamation. In addition, Any mining engineer who works in the public sector must have a state license. However, requirements for a license vary by state. Above all, mining engineers needs to have good organizational skills and problem solving capabilities. Creativity and the ability to communicate effectively are also essential to success in this field.
Wednesday, October 22, 2014
Cookie Mining
After doing the cookie mining activity, I learned that drilling a hole into a M&M cookie to find the hidden M&M was rather difficult for cookies that had the M&M hidden deep inside the cookie. Furthermore, taking out the M&M was rather easy for cookies that had the M&M on the top of the cookie and was clearly visible. Moreover, when I was doing this activity, I had to take out as many M&Ms as I could in a short amount of time. I learned that taking out the M&M neatly with the toothpick was a waste of time and to take out the M&M as quickly as possible, you would need to take out the M&M in a messy way to save time. This activity helped me learn how difficult a miner's job was to drill holes into the earth to dig for ores in the real world. I also learned that shaft mining often destroys the land and if you do it with speed, it destroys the land even more. Surface mining does not destroy the land as much as shaft mining.
These cookies left a real big mess after using toothpicks to dig for the M&Ms because the cookies were indeed hidden deep inside the cookie and I had to drill deep inside the cookie with my toothpick to look for each M&M.
This cookie did not leave a big mess after using toothpicks to dig for the M&Ms because the cookies were not hidden inside the cookie but rather on top of the cookie.
Friday, October 3, 2014
Lit Circle (Our Stolen Future) Ch 11-12
Discussion Master (Ch.11-12)
(T/F) True or False. Hormone-disrupting chemicals are classical poisons or typical carcinogens.
(pg. 203) False. Hormone-disrupting chemicals are not classical poisons or typical carcinogens. They play by different rules.
Do hormone disrupting chemicals kill cells or attack DNA at levels typically found in the environment?
(pg. 203) When the hormone-disrupting chemicals are found at levels typically in the environment, they do not kills cells or do not attack or damage DNA.
Can hormone-disrupting chemicals damage fertility and development?
(pg. 209) Hormone-disrupting chemicals are capable of damaging or destroying fertility and development and can jeopardize the survival of an entire's species' population.
(T/F) True or False. Hormone-disrupting chemicals can cause mutations that persist across generations.
(pg. 211) False. Hormone-disrupting chemicals do not cause mutations that can persist or last across generations and do not attack genes.
Where are hormone-disrupting synthetic chemicals found in today's society?
(pg. 225) Hormone-disrupting synthetic chemicals are found in our food and water. They can be found in the air we breathe and in the consumer goods we buy on a daily basis.
What caused the acceleration of the evolution of bacteria and insects to become immune to our pesticides and antibiotics?
(pg. 229) The acceleration of the evolution of weeds, insects, and bacteria to become immune to our pesticide and antibiotics was caused by our overly excessive use of drugs and pesticides.
(T/F) True or False. Hormone-disrupting chemicals are classical poisons or typical carcinogens.
(pg. 203) False. Hormone-disrupting chemicals are not classical poisons or typical carcinogens. They play by different rules.
Do hormone disrupting chemicals kill cells or attack DNA at levels typically found in the environment?
(pg. 203) When the hormone-disrupting chemicals are found at levels typically in the environment, they do not kills cells or do not attack or damage DNA.
Can hormone-disrupting chemicals damage fertility and development?
(pg. 209) Hormone-disrupting chemicals are capable of damaging or destroying fertility and development and can jeopardize the survival of an entire's species' population.
(T/F) True or False. Hormone-disrupting chemicals can cause mutations that persist across generations.
(pg. 211) False. Hormone-disrupting chemicals do not cause mutations that can persist or last across generations and do not attack genes.
Where are hormone-disrupting synthetic chemicals found in today's society?
(pg. 225) Hormone-disrupting synthetic chemicals are found in our food and water. They can be found in the air we breathe and in the consumer goods we buy on a daily basis.
What caused the acceleration of the evolution of bacteria and insects to become immune to our pesticides and antibiotics?
(pg. 229) The acceleration of the evolution of weeds, insects, and bacteria to become immune to our pesticide and antibiotics was caused by our overly excessive use of drugs and pesticides.
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