Since the beginning of the coal mining industries in the 1800s, thousands of mines have been created, extracting the precious mineral, and then dumped, empty and hollow. Once industries finished with a certain area, it would be dropped and they would move on, drilling in another location. The act of reclaiming these mines did not come to light until 1977 when the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act was passed by Congress after they saw the disruption in the environment. This act put a strain on the profits of many coal mining industries, such as Peabody Energy and Alpha Natural Resources. Now, Peabody Energy and Alpha Natural Resources wrongly reclaim their retired mines as a way to protect their profits, doing the bare minimum of reclamation.
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This organization would not only acquire funding but would also enforce the already existing law of Surface Mining Control and Reclamation. The enforcement of the Surface Mining and Reclamation Act of 1977 will set certain standards for those corporations that would rather follow through by themselves correctly rather than paying extra for the help of this organization. The organization would consist of a group of people that oversee each continent and have a connection with the organizers within the respective states in charge of these retired mines. This will prevent a single law from generalizing the needs of one specific location to the needs of another. Once a mine retires, the organizers will come together and evaluate what is gonna be needed to successfully reclaim the land into a healthy and geographically correct habitat. Since we are shifting away from the usage of coal, there should be an insurance by the state and federal governments to build this transition plan that will take care of mine workers and communities. The placement of a thin layer of the soil increases the chances of the spread of mercury, an element toxic to the human body that is transformed into “Methylmercury, a highly toxic form …show more content…
Although Peabody Energy and Alpha Natural Resources are demanded to pay for the reclamation of land they retire, they let the bills stack up and later claimed bankruptcy while still drilling and making money. Once a coal corporation claims bankruptcy, Peabody Energy and Alpha Natural Resources --along with other industries-- continue mining through bankruptcy proceedings and ultimately the “bankruptcy court decides who gets paid and who gets screwed;” with people within the circle, the coal industries will get away with what they owe (Mitchell). When faced to prove a solution, coal companies will make promises that in the end are too broad and unlikely, but since they are ‘promised’ they are accepted. For instance, Alpha Natural Resources was faced with environmental obligations, reclaiming the land they had dumped aside. However, as cash dwindled away in bankruptcy, this plan became more and more impossible to complete. Alpha spokesman responded that “the reorganization plan was not yet complete,” and the addition of the Alpha bankruptcy completely shut down their economic decisions
This organization would not only acquire funding but would also enforce the already existing law of Surface Mining Control and Reclamation. The enforcement of the Surface Mining and Reclamation Act of 1977 will set certain standards for those corporations that would rather follow through by themselves correctly rather than paying extra for the help of this organization. The organization would consist of a group of people that oversee each continent and have a connection with the organizers within the respective states in charge of these retired mines. This will prevent a single law from generalizing the needs of one specific location to the needs of another. Once a mine retires, the organizers will come together and evaluate what is gonna be needed to successfully reclaim the land into a healthy and geographically correct habitat. Since we are shifting away from the usage of coal, there should be an insurance by the state and federal governments to build this transition plan that will take care of mine workers and communities. The placement of a thin layer of the soil increases the chances of the spread of mercury, an element toxic to the human body that is transformed into “Methylmercury, a highly toxic form …show more content…
Although Peabody Energy and Alpha Natural Resources are demanded to pay for the reclamation of land they retire, they let the bills stack up and later claimed bankruptcy while still drilling and making money. Once a coal corporation claims bankruptcy, Peabody Energy and Alpha Natural Resources --along with other industries-- continue mining through bankruptcy proceedings and ultimately the “bankruptcy court decides who gets paid and who gets screwed;” with people within the circle, the coal industries will get away with what they owe (Mitchell). When faced to prove a solution, coal companies will make promises that in the end are too broad and unlikely, but since they are ‘promised’ they are accepted. For instance, Alpha Natural Resources was faced with environmental obligations, reclaiming the land they had dumped aside. However, as cash dwindled away in bankruptcy, this plan became more and more impossible to complete. Alpha spokesman responded that “the reorganization plan was not yet complete,” and the addition of the Alpha bankruptcy completely shut down their economic decisions