The Upper Big Branch Mine disaster occurred on April 5th‚ 2010‚ in Raleigh County‚ West Virginia. The mine was located in Montcoal and owned by Massey Energy‚ but bought out by Alpha Natural Resources in 2011. Twenty-Nine of the thirty one miners at the site were killed by the explosion. A state funded independent investigation would later find Massey Energy directly responsible for the accident. (www.sourcewatch.org) The explosion was ignited by high methane levels being a contributed factor. You
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My path through college and the professional world has been exciting so far‚ but it is now time to take the next step. In order to become an environmental leader and solve the environmental challenges of today and the future in areas relating to energy‚ economics‚ and natural resources‚ I must further my education in graduate school. I graduated from UCLA with a Bachelor’s of Science in Environmental Science and a minor in Environmental Engineering in June of 2012. My interdisciplinary major combined
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An interstate bridge in the California desert collapsed recently as heavy rains scoured away the land the depleted bridge was anchored to.The bridge for years has been a major throughway between the cities of Los Angeles and Phoenix as many cars use the bridge to get to there destination.Which caused the collapse was ‚water hurrying through an ordinarily dry desert chasm disintegrating the area around the bridge‚ bringing about one side of the eastward interstate to fall and causing the closure
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The Sultana explosion “All of a sudden‚ the boilers erupted in a mammoth explosion‚ nearly splitting the Sultana in half” (Billings 1). The Sultana was going upriver on the Mississippi River when the boilers and the steamer stopped working (Billings 1). When all of a sudden a gigantic explosion on the boat killed 1‚700 people which is more than the Titanic (Billings 1). The boat was going up river and the boilers and steamer stopped working which caused the explosion (Billings 1). “The strain of
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No plan existed for coping with a disaster of this magnitude . Lifeless bodies lay in the streets‚ beds remain occupied with people who will never breathe again‚ hospitals begin to overflow to people experiencing blinding‚ vomiting‚ and dysesthesia of the lungs . From the streets you could hear the screams of pain in the crisp‚ melancholy‚ toxic air . When day breaks there will be silence . What is done is done . On the fateful night of December 2‚ MIC gas began escaping from Tank 610 around 10:30
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This volcano had its largest eruption on May 18‚ 1980. The ash and dust from the eruption reached as far as the Central United States. A total of 57 people died during the eruption that lasted 9 hours. 85 miles of highway and 15 miles of railways were destroyed. What would someone say about this natural disaster who was there? It was a normal day for my grandma‚ but when she turns on the news it became very far from normal. She see’s that Mt. St Helens erupts. After that‚ she looks outside‚ but
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Whaling Countries all over the world hunt whales. People are killing whales‚ or whaling‚ commercially and for products. So many whales die‚ that they will soon become extinct. Some countries‚ according to www.abc.net.au‚ involved in whaling are Japan‚ Norway‚ Greenland‚ Russia‚ USA‚ Iceland‚ South Korea‚ Indonesia‚ Canada‚ and St. Vincent. www.wwf.org states whaling started since the 11th century to present day. According to www.hsi.org‚ over 1000 whales die a year. If nothing is
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Costal Erosion Story Introduction Weymouth’s Perishing Coast has caused coastal erosion at the Castle Cove area and Portland where the Coast Line is encroaching on homes‚ businesses and local historic landmarks which will result in land and buildings being washed into the sea. Sandsfoot Castle Castle Cove erosion Sands-foot castle served to guard the anchorage between Weymouth and Portland and is a listed building graded 2*. It was built around 1541 by henry vii as part as network of coastal defences
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Lessons from the Past The recent major oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico‚ from BP’s Deepwater Horizon‚ has brought the use and effectiveness of bioremediation back into the news. Recruiting bacteria and other microbes to break down synthetic waste is an immensely appealing idea. Putting microorganisms to work in this manner is the crux of bioremediation (Alcamo‚ Weeks‚ 2008). The work to clean up the Horizon spill actually started in the 1800’s when night-soil men would go from house to house and
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An oil spill can be defined as an accidental or deliberate dumping of oil or petroleum products into the ocean and its coastal waters‚ bays‚ and harbors‚ or onto land‚ or into rivers or lakes (Holum 1977). Between one and ten million metric tons (one metric ton is 1000 kilograms) of oil are put into the oceans every year. The oil is released‚ most often‚ in small yet consistent doses from tankers‚ industry‚ or on shore waste disposal (Boesh‚ Hersher‚ et al. 1974). Tanker spills cost the United
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