(http://library.thinkquest.org/05aug/00461/stripm.htm)Strip Mining is a process that removes the entire top layer of a mountain by bulldozers and dynamite to reach the coal underneath. It used to be that miners simply dug a tunnel towards the coal deposits and mined it in that fashion. But with the growing demand for coal, they needed to find a way to mine coal more efficiently and cheaply.
However, these mining operations are damaging our water, air, and ecological systems. The sludge that is created from these machines is a mixture of mercury, diesel, and other chemicals that can seep down far into the ground and into groundwater reservoirs. Some of the particulates that are in the soil, like arsenic and lead, are released in the air from the removal of vegetation that can cause harmful effects; not to mention the other noxious fumes given off by the machines. The soil erosion created by strip mining damages the land in that trees find it almost impossible to grow there, while the metals that are put off by the heavy equipment affect the native aquatic life there, leaving behind only a few species.
Is this really the best way to mine for coal if we need it so badly? Shouldn't we be looking into finding more cleaner ways of mining for coal instead of using this process at every mining site?
http://www.brighthub.com/environment/science-environmental/articles/19087.aspx
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