<
https://grist.org/science/the-surprising-biodiversity-of-abandoned-coal-mines/>
"Stripping coal from a mountain demands a wholesale rearrangement of its summit
and the transformation of the surrounding forest into a moonscape. Enormous
machines rip out the vegetation first, followed by the topsoil, and finally a
layer or two of rock. It all becomes waste, dumped into a valley below the
site. The federal Surface Mining Reclamation Act of 1977 requires coal
companies to leave the denuded land in roughly the shape they found it or
restore it to “higher and better use” at their expense, though many of them
find ways to slip out of the obligation.
It’s hard to know how much unreclaimed and partially reclaimed mine land
exists, though some place the figure at 633,000 acres across Appalachia. As
many as 100,000 of them may lie in Virginia alone. Much of this land is a
quagmire of erosion, water pollution, and other problems, yet some of it is
slowly being taken back by the forest. It may be ill, but it certainly is not
dead, and is in many cases surprisingly alive, as scientists have found over
decades of studying the reforestation and recovery of mined lands.
A manual, written in September by a coalition of southwestern Virginia
scientists and advocates of sustainable development, used new and existing
findings to shape a vision for these ravaged landscapes. Flat land is hard to
come by in the mountainous central Appalachian region, and much of the
development has occurred on ridges flattened by coal strip mines. These sites,
often deemed empty space at best and wastelands at worst, have been targeted
for everything from prisons, Walmarts, and industrial parks to lavender farms,
wildlife preserves, and, most recently, clean energy projects. As millions in
public and private investment, boosted by the bipartisan infrastructure law,
pour into the region, many people are eyeing these abandoned sites.
The researchers of the High Knob Regional Initiative want them to slow down and
take a look at what’s already there."
Via
What Could Go Right? October 12, 2023:
https://theprogressnetwork.org/israel-hamas-palestine-attacks-war/
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
