It is often said that mountaintop removal provides a better job opportunity for miners. However, this is a common misconception. Surface mining utilizes more machinery than manpower, and it takes less workers to power a machine (like the one shown below) than underground mining methods.
Another myth is that surface mining is safer than underground mining. However, this is completely false. Mountaintop removal causes more health problems than any other method of harvesting energy. This includes deaths from on-site blasts to remove mountain surfaces to reach coal seams and the cause of asthma cancer, and black lung disease from coal dust.
This form of mining causes extreme habitat destruction for the flora and fauna native to the mining site. Peregrine falcons and eastern cougars, both endangered species, are known to live in the areas most effected by mountaintop removal. The method of mining strips away the entire surface of a mountain, thus removing habitats for species.
There are multiple reports of property damages due to coal dust and blasts from mountaintop removal sites. The explosions and hazardous health conditions decrease the quality of life in the surrounding communities, thus lowering the property value. Residents are often unable to move to a better environment because the property is unwanted and often damaged.
Mountaintop removal only accounts for less than four percent of coal production in the US. It is proven that it is ineffective and that underground mining and alternative energy sources produce more energy with less negative effects.
Coal companies often overlook the fact that coal is damaging to the environment. The burning of coal releases a mixture of gases, including nitrogen oxide and arsenic, that pollutes the environment and contributes to climate change. There are green alternatives, such as nuclear power and wind power, that are cheaper and less damaging to the earth's atmosphere.
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