In recent decades, humans have gained a greater understanding of their environment and the effects they have on it. Despite this, activities such as mountain top removal still take place. Removing mountain peaks not only harms the environment, but also people. The process of removing mountain peaks negatively impacts communities, destroys water systems, and destroys the natural environment. To understand the effects of mountaintop removal, it is important to know the actions that led to it. Starting in the 1970s, a new form of coal mining, mountaintop mining, was invented. The first step in mountaintop removal is clearing all vegetation and topsoil. Trees uprooted in this process are burned or thrown into valleys instead of being turned into lumber or paper (“Learn more” 2). Explosives are then used to blast large quantities of rock. Sometimes nearly 800 feet of rock can be carried off a mountain (“What Is” 1). The coal is removed from the mountain using a $100,000,000 machine called a dragline (“Learn more” 2-3). Draglines can reach twenty stories tall and weigh eight million pounds. As exposed coal is removed, overburden is dumped into nearby valleys. Millions of tons can be spilled from a single mining operation (“What Is” 1). The water is then used to treat the mined coal. The waste water from coal processing is called coal sludge, and storage of this toxic byproduct is often done in containments made from mining debris. Coal slurry is a mixture of water, clay and coal dust. It may also contain toxic substances such as lead, copper, arsenic, mercury and chromium (“Learn more” 3). Protocols for reclamation of mined areas include revegetation of the surrounding area...... middle of paper ...... The sandy mud breach has been called "the largest environmental disaster ever seen in the Eastern Mississippi” (“Learn More” 4). Mining not only destroys new areas, but also areas that were supposed to be restored. The restored areas still had high bulk density, low organic composition, and low nutrient content. Many mining areas had tiny amounts of tree regrowth and still had much lower carbon storage capacity (Palmer 2). Mountain top removal is something that happens every day. Even though some people are unaware of its importance, people living in and around the affected areas suffer from it. Removing mountain peaks has a negative effect on communities, it destroys water systems and destroys the natural lands on which people live. All these reasons should be enough to put an end to this ecologically and morally reprehensible practice...