Environment

The Problems with Mining: Acid Mine Drainage

When I started reading about mining and its environmental impacts I soon realized that I would have a number of different topics to pick from, but I had to narrow it to one so today I’m going to be talking about acid mine drainage, or AMD.  AMD is a byproduct of the mining process (usually from abandoned mines) and is polluting groundwater and waterways world wide and at the same time turning them orange.  It occurs when mineral deposits containingcontinue reading

What the Frack?

Fracking is the process of hydraulically injecting a mixture of fluids into naturally forming veins or dikes in rock in order to release petroleum, natural gas, or coal seam gas.  The mixture injected is typically a slurry of water, proppants (including silica sand, resin-coated sand, and man-made ceramics), and chemical additives. Additionally, gels, foams, and compressed gases, including nitrogen, carbon dioxide and air can be injected.   Further, sometimes sand containing naturally radioactive materials are used to measure the fracture trace.  There are alsocontinue reading

Saving water at home

Let’s start with a couple of statistics: An American taking a five-minute shower uses more water than a typical person in a developing country slum uses in a whole day. (2006 United Nations Human Development Report.) The average person in the developing world uses 2.64 gallons of water a day. The average person in the United Kingdom uses 35.66 gallons of water per day. The average person in the United States uses between 100 and 175 gallons every day at home. (https://blueplanetnetwork.org) One toilet flush usescontinue reading

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