FINAL PROJECT: Abstract and Reader's Reponse > Mountaintop mining effects on water quality, fish populations, and sport-fishing in Maryland
N, your last phrase:
We will have to take a different direction in policies based on this current, scientific information.
Revise to this: . . . may need to consider policies that look at both science-based and economic-based information. For example, the fishing industry is more economically powerful to our state than often thought.....
We will have to take a different direction in policies based on this current, scientific information.
Revise to this: . . . may need to consider policies that look at both science-based and economic-based information. For example, the fishing industry is more economically powerful to our state than often thought.....
December 11, 2016 |
Marybeth Shea
Marybeth Shea
This document will review the effects of mountaintop mining on water quality and sport fishing, especially in western Maryland. This document will be written for the Maryland Department of Environment. Mountaintop mining (MTM) has increased in prevalence over the past few decades as a way to mine coal. MTM has various negative consequences to the environment and society. One effect is decreasing water quality and fish populations. This has the potential to hurt the sport fishing industry in Maryland. Research on water quality has shown that MTM increases selenium levels in the water, which can have potentially devastating effects on fish populations. This research from 2014 was led by M.C. Arnold, from Duke University. The freshwater sport fishing industry in Maryland is economically important; the industry provides over 4,000 jobs and over $175 million in salaries and wages, according to a 2011 ASA Fishing report. Fish populations, like trout, live in streams and rivers that are threatened by MTM pollution. A 2015 study led by M. Mazzotta estimated for the state of West Virginia that losses in fish populations due to MTM effects would cause losses of hundreds of thousands of dollars in welfare. These losses in West Virginia can be extrapolated for Maryland also. The Maryland Department of Environment needs to be informed about the effects of mountaintop mining because of concerns for the freshwater ecosystems and the economy of Maryland.
Reader's Profile: Readers would be in Maryland Department of Environment or a similar governmental agency concerned with how mountaintop mining affects their state's citizens. Readers would be educated in science, but maybe not as familiar with details of document's topic. Readers would also be wanting to help both people and the environment.
Reader's Response: I knew that mountaintop mining had environmental consequences, but I didn't know the details and the extent of its effects, which can be complex and far-reaching. It is also interesting how MTR can benefit certain people, but hurt other groups of people. We will have to take a different direction in policies based on this current, scientific information.