The Analysis of Coal Mining Impacts on West Virginia�s Environment

  • Edmund C. Merem Department of Urban and Regional Planning, Jackson State University, 101 W Capitol Street, Jackson MS, 39201, USA.
  • Yaw A. Twumasi Department of Urban Forestry and Natural Resources, Southern University and A&M,102 C Fisher Hall, Baton Rouge, LA 70813, USA.
  • Joan Wesley Department of Urban and Regional Planning, Jackson State University, 101 W Capitol Street, Jackson MS, 39201, USA.
  • Emmanuel Nwagboso Department of Political Science, Jackson State University,1400 Lynch, Jackson MS, 39217, USA.
  • Siddig Fageir Department of Criminal Justice and Sociology, Jackson State University,1400 Lynch, Jackson MS, 39217, USA
  • Marshand Crisler Department of Urban and Regional Planning, Jackson State University, 101 W Capitol Street, Jackson MS, 39201, USA.
  • Peter Isokpehi Department of Urban and Regional Planning, Jackson State University, 101 W Capitol Street, Jackson MS, 39201, USA.
  • Duro Olagbegi Department of Urban and Regional Planning, Jackson State University, 101 W Capitol Street, Jackson MS, 39201, USA.
  • Mohammed Alsarari Department of Urban and Regional Planning, Jackson State University, 101 W Capitol Street, Jackson MS, 39201, USA.
  • Coney Romorno Department of Urban and Regional Planning, Jackson State University, 101 W Capitol Street, Jackson MS, 39201, USA.
Keywords: West Virginia, coal mining impacts, environmental degradation, GIS, factors, mountain top clearance

Abstract

Aims: The paper analyzes the impacts of coal mining activities on West Virginias environment using GIS.

Study Design:  Adopted a  mixscale appoach.

Methodology: The aproach is applied to GIS and primary data connected to descriptive statistics by analyzing the impacts of mining with data collected at the state, county and watershed level.

Place and Duration of Study: The coal producing counties of West Virginia May 2010-December 2012.

Results: The study shows changes in coal production, and widespread degradation resulting in land loss and  open space, impacts on mountain ecosystem and water quality decline in the head waters and human casualities.The spatial analysis revealed the dispersion of mining activities onto senstive environments comprising of streams and mountain ecosystems.

Conclusions: The assessment of these trends and the capability of GIS in pinpointing them enhanced our research and understanding of ecosystem vulnerability in the face of recurrent degradation induced by mining. GIS also provided a framework for assessing ecosystem decline. To remedy the problems, the paper offered suggestions ranging from corporate code of ethics to improved data infrastructure and more use of GIS in environmental decision making.

Published
2019-12-20
How to Cite
Merem, E. C., Twumasi, Y. A., Wesley, J., Nwagboso, E., Fageir, S., Crisler, M., Isokpehi, P., Olagbegi, D., Alsarari, M., & Romorno, C. (2019). Emerging Issues in Science and Technology Vol. 1, 44-66. Retrieved from https://stm1.bookpi.org/index.php/eist-v1/article/view/755
Issue
Emerging Issues in Science and Technology Vol. 1
Section
Chapters