Group: Following up Louis Proyect's forwarded article concerning the explosive impact of present-day Appalachian strip mining, here is part of my recent worldwide review and analysis, "Environmental Refugees from Energy Development" given during last October's environmental justice symposium at the annual meeting of the Geological Society of America. The paper includes Appalachia among dozens of other examples from approximately 100 references. The full report is available upon request.
Thank you for an excellent e-list.
Stuart M. Leiderman Environmental Response/4th World Project Stuart M. Leiderman, Natural Resources Department University of New Hampshire, James Hall, Durham 03824 USA ph>603.862.0280 fx>603.862.4976 e-mail>leidermn at christa.unh.edu web>http://pubpages.unh.edu/~leidermn
- - - - - - -
"ENVIRONMENTAL REFUGEES FROM ENERGY PROJECTS: Exploration, Extraction, Construction, Operation and Waste Disposal"
for the "Symposium on Global Connections: Environmental Justice in the Americas and Abroad"
at the Annual Meeting of the Geological Society of America Thursday, October 23, 1997 Salt City Convention Center, Salt Lake, City Utah
I. ABSTRACT
Today, tens of millions of people throughout the world have fled or are fleeing from the environmental destruction of their communities and homelands. A significant cause of environmental refugees is energy development--companies and countries searching for and extracting energy supplies, constructing and operating massive energy projects, combusting fuel, disposing of wastes, and inadequately restoring people's damaged homelands. An analytical framework is offered and a worldwide review of selected historical and current cases is given--including coal mining in Appalachia, the Four Corners region of the American Southwest, and Eastern Europe; petroleum extraction in the world's great river basins and coastal regions, including Nigeria and Southern Iraq; hydroelectric projects, including Northern Quebec, India and China; and uranium mining and nuclear power plants. Because energy development has been so disruptive and because geological expertise is essential to finding, proving, removing and managing energy sources, this paper calls upon geology professionals to 1) recognize widespread human rights abuses and unsustainable environmental practices from energy development, 2) repair the damage done, and 3) adopt new roles and ethics for satisfying the world's future energy needs.
The Environmental Response/4th World Project catalogs, analyzes, communicates, educates and responds to the plight of environmental refugees worldwide and the urgency for the ecological restoration of damaged homelands. Access to files, contacts and assistance are provided upon request; the Project's website is at <http://pubpages.unh.edu/~leidermn>.
Louis Proyect
(http://www.panix.com/~lnp3/marxism.html)