4.1 Energy & Mineral Resources Earth’s Resources 4.1 Energy & Mineral Resources Header first line (section#) – white 24 points Arial Bold Header second line (title) – white 28 points Arial Bold Title – yellow 28 points Arial Bold Body text – white24 points Arial and Arial Bold Bullets – yellow Copyright – white 12 points Arial Background name: HST-Presentation_blue.jpg, Size: Height: 7.52" Width: 10.02" Scale: 70% Position on slide: Horizontal - 0" Vertical - 0"

Earth’s Resources Mineral Resources – look back at the mineral lab table of uses. Energy Resources - power our lives (warming and lighting our homes, fueling our cars, etc.) Two categories of resources – Renewable and Nonrenewable

Renewable vs. Nonrenewable Replenished over a short period of time Ex: Plants and animals for food Fibers for clothing Trees for lumber / paper Wind Solar Water Takes millions of years to form Ex: Fossil Fuels: Coal Oil (petroleum) Natural gas Uranium (nuclear power) Minerals like gold, copper, galena, etc.

Formation of Fossil Fuels A fossil fuel is a carbon-containing fuel that formed over millions of years from the remains of living things Oil & Natural Gas: remains of buried marine organisms Coal: ancient plant material transformed from heat and pressure

How is Coal Formed? 300 MYA fern forests & tropical swamps covered the eastern U.S. The warm climate caused rapid plant growth and created thick beds of decomposing plants. This material became buried by soil and water and compressed over millions of years eventually becoming the underground coal deposits in the mountains of PA.

How is Coal Formed? Coal starts as peat formed in swamps – when dried it burns but smoky. Peat can be buried & compressed into lignite. Most of the lignite in the U.S. has been changed over a long time into bituminous coal (soft coal – sedimentary rock) – most common coal type Under great pressure, such as from mountain building, bituminous coal becomes anthracite coal (hard coal – metamorphic rock) – Most anthracite in the U.S. is found in PA

Mineral Resources Ore – material that a useful mineral can be mined from for profit. Ex: pyrite, magnetite, galena, calcite, & chalcopyrite The amount of minerals in the Earth’s crust is small & spread across the globe on the surface and deep within the crust

Mining & Drilling for Resources

The method used to reach mineral deposits depends on how deep it is from the surface:

Surface Mining Types: open pits, surface coal mines, and quarries Header first line (section#) – white 24 points Arial Bold Header second line (title) – white 28 points Arial Bold Title – yellow 28 points Arial Bold Body text – white24 points Arial and Arial Bold Bullets – yellow Copyright – white 12 points Arial Background name: HST-Presentation_blue.jpg, Size: Height: 7.52" Width: 10.02" Scale: 70% Position on slide: Horizontal - 0" Vertical - 0"

PA Quarries Bucks Co. Quarries PA is among the top 10 producers in the country of crushed stone and aggregate (a hard granular substance used in concrete, mortar, plaster and blacktop) Bucks produces the most stone of any county in PA There is no special rock in Bucks County, there is just a big market for it due to road and housing construction in southeastern PA. Bucks is home to 21 active quarries www.maps.google.com/maps

World Diamond Mines

Ekita Diamond Mine in Canada

Mirny, Russia, East Siberia The biggest open diamond mine in the world. 525 m deep (almost 6 football fields deep), 1200 meter diameter. The air zone within this mine is closed for helicopters - happened a few accidents when they were "sucked in" by downward air flow...

Fort Knox Gold Mine

Subsurface Mining Header first line (section#) – white 24 points Arial Bold Header second line (title) – white 28 points Arial Bold Title – yellow 28 points Arial Bold Body text – white24 points Arial and Arial Bold Bullets – yellow Copyright – white 12 points Arial Background name: HST-Presentation_blue.jpg, Size: Height: 7.52" Width: 10.02" Scale: 70% Position on slide: Horizontal - 0" Vertical - 0"

Mining Machines

Hydraulic Fracturing (“Fracking”) http://www.bbc.com /news/uk-14432401 Very controversial with pros and cons New technology with limited studies

Harmful Effects of Mining & Drilling Water Pollution Soil erosion Habitat Destruction and loss of species Accidents and health hazards for workers Earthquakes

Harmful Effects of Mining

Solutions? Following 3 R’s conserves our natural resources Local & State governments and agencies monitor mining companies and fine them for harmful practices From the PA Department of Environmental Protection: “Pennsylvania has approximately 180,000 acres of abandoned mine sites in need of remediation, and our aggressive program is reclaiming these sites to eliminate harmful acid mine drainage, protect our waterways and return the land to its original condition.” Mine Reclamation – required by law since the 1970’s

Mine Reclamation

“Fire in the Hole” Article

What do you think happened to this PA coal mining town? Centralia

Article Discussion Share with your sink group what confused you about the article. Each person in your sink group picks ONE of the following questions from the article to answer: (Write your answer at the bottom of the reflection) What was the cause of the mining disaster near Centralia? List TWO of the effects from the mining disaster. List TWO of the attempted solutions to fix the mining disaster. Explain the final solution to deal with the mining disaster.

CENTRALIA, PA This story begins in May of 1962 with an unremarkable rubbish fire in a non-descript little town called Centralia. Centralia is 120 miles northwest of Philadelphia The town had long been a thriving coal mining community, home to 1,100 people, many of them second and third generation miners.

https://www.google.com/maps/@40.8088983,-76.346271,12z

Main Points (Fire in the Hole) What was the cause of the mining disaster near Centralia? List TWO of the effects from the mining disaster. List TWO of the attempted solutions to fix the mining disaster. Explain the final solution to deal with the mining disaster.

Show Centralia Video (first 10:45)

                                         

Fire in the Hole – Discussion How do you think a resident of Centralia must have felt when they first found out about the mine disaster? Would you have moved to a new town or stayed? If you would have moved, at what point would you have moved? Explain your reasons for staying or moving.