Coal Mining in the USA

mountain top with paths etched out from mining paths and trees removed

Patriot Coal’s Horbet-21 strip mine in West Virginia is almost 12,000 acres and one of the largest strip mines. The ecosystem was destroyed by mountaintop removal and nearby removal and nearby residents of Boone County West Virginia sugar from the mining. The image was taken by Melissa Farlow, National Geographic.

What: This is a short-answer assignment.

Where: Carmen Activities – Dropbox

Why: Coal-fired power plants generate approximately 30% of the electricity in the United States. The mining process can pollute freshwater resources and destroy natural ecosystems. One type of mining that is particularly destructive is mountaintop removal (MTR), were coal is extracted by using removing the summit of a mountain by explosives.

Direction: Watch/read the following and type your answers in a Word document (or any other word processing software that you are comfortable using). After you are done, log onto Carmen and upload your Word document (or PDF file) with your answers to the Carmen dropbox. The dropbox will close exactly at the deadline and if you miss the deadline then you will not be able to complete this assignment and you will earn a 0%. Do not wait until the last minute to upload your answers to dropbox because if something goes wrong with your Internet connection and you miss the deadline, then you are out of luck. We do not accept assignments by Email and we do not accept late assignments. One word of caution. As with most classes offered at OSU, we use TurnItIn software to check for plagiarism against previously published articles and books and against student papers from universities all over the world. So it is in your best interest to make sure that you assignment is your own. We really do want to hear from you and your thoughts and ideas on the various topics below. You will no doubt offer exciting insight and novel solutions to these issues and it is important for your success in our class that you use your own ideas and talents to complete this assignment. When you answer these questions we are looking for you to provide substantial insight and knowledge of the subject matter. As such, your answers will likely require between 250-500 words for each of the questions (listed in the document below). For comparison, this paragraph that you are currently reading contains approximately 300 words.

Download the assignment directions here.