Environmental Law

Environmental Crime - The Rape of a Mountain Range

By Walter James

This post was contributed by Kelly Kilpatrick, who writes on the subject of the best criminal justice programs.  She invites your feedback at kellykilpatrick24@gmail.com.

Every wronged individual is entitled to his/her day in court ? they can hire lawyers and file cases that are then tried by judges and juries with the outcome depending on both the facts of the case and how skillfully they are presented by the attorneys in charge. But what happens when the crime that?s committed is against Mother Nature, against the very earth that feeds and sustains life? Environmental protection agencies all around the globe have been crying themselves hoarse to step up awareness of the immense harm we are causing the earth and its natural resources in our never-ending quest for modernity and comfort. But with no one willing to pay heed to the warnings that have been issued over the years, the earth is fighting back in the only way it knows ? by retaliating with hurricanes, tropical storms and melting icebergs that contribute to the phenomenon that we?ve famously dubbed global warming.

Willful environmental crimes are liable for prosecution as criminal offenses, but that does not seem to be deterring those who indulge in the crime with the tacit approval of the government. A case in point is the rape of the Appalachian mountain range spanning the states of Kentucky, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Ohio and West Virginia which are rich in deposits of both anthracite and bituminous coal. In its zealous venture to find enough amounts of alternative fuel sources to imported oil in order to meet the needs of a power-hungry nation, the government led by President Bush has subtly sanctioned the acts of environmental pollution that the coal mining companies commit each day.

Mountaintop mining as it?s called, grabs the black deposits that the mountains hide under their forests in ways that are as unconventional as they are criminal to the environment. The forests are first demolished - from the topsoil to the lumber to the roots and other life forms, they?re all destroyed. Powerful explosives are used to tear up the rock to get at the coal deposits inside. Mechanical shovels move the soil and other machines scoop up the coal; the waste soil is dumped into adjacent valleys.

Mountaintop mining is single-handedly responsible for:

• The destruction of wildlife habitat leading to extinction of many species.
• The loss of vegetation and forest cover leading to flash floods and landslides.
• Debris from the explosions which puts the lives and homes of people who live below the mountains in jeopardy.
• Valley fills and the complete disappearance of the streams that run through them because of the illegal dumping of soil that?s dug out.
• The barren land that?s an eyesore compared to the erstwhile lush, green landscape in a few years? time with attempts at reclamation failing miserably.
• Migrant bird populations staying away because of the destruction of their habitats.
• Flooding and the associated risks to the communities in the vicinity caused by coal slurry, the amalgam of toxic chemicals that?s used to wash the coal which is stored in huge dam-like structures that are breached during heavy rains.  
• The contamination of streams and rivers and the poisoning of both man and creatures of the water by the toxic spills from the coal-washing sludge.
• Traditional mining communities being stripped of jobs and livelihoods in this mad rush for more coal in less time.

Time is running out, both for the earth and those who are bent on causing untold damage to the resources that have been gifted to us ? for they are limited and will run out sooner than later if we do not adopt sustainable practices.

Full post as published by Environmental Crimes Blog on September 11, 2008 (boomark / email).