Mining Coal, Altering Communities, and Changing the Climate

Often the focus of coal impacts is on emissions and particulates that stem from combustion.  This presentation will look at the impacts of coal mining, predominantly in the form of mountaintop removal coal mining (MTR).  The author will look at mining costs from a systemic perspective of social-ecological systems. Impacts to the terrestrial, aquatic and atmospheric environments will be reviewed through deforestation, soil removal and erosion, slurry contamination, and mechanization.  Issues of local economics and poverty, social capital, and education in correlation with mining communities will be discussed through the lens of community resilience and ecosystem services.