Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Natural Capital Degradation
Extracting, Processing, and Using Nonrenewable Mineral and Energy Resources
Steps
Environmental effects
Mining
Disturbed land; mining
accidents; health hazards, mine
waste dumping, oil spills and
blowouts; noise; ugliness; heat
Exploration, extraction
Processing
Solid wastes; radioactive
material; air, water, and soil
pollution; noise; safety and health
hazards; ugliness; heat
Transportation, purification,
manufacturing
Use
Noise; ugliness; thermal water
pollution; pollution of air, water,
and soil; solid and radioactive
wastes; safety and health
hazards; heat
Transportation or transmission
to individual user, eventual use,
and discarding
Figure 12-12
Natural capital degradation:
some harmful environmental effects of extracting, processing, and
using nonrenewable mineral and energy resources. The energy required to carry out each step causes addi-
tional pollution and environmental degradation.
age vegetation and soils in the surrounding area. They
also cause water pollution and produce liquid and solid
hazardous wastes that require safe disposal.
Some companies are using improved technology
to reduce pollution from smelting, thereby lowering
production costs, trimming cleanup bills, and decreas-
ing liability for damages.
Once smelting has produced the pure metal, it is
usually melted and converted to desired products,
which are then used and discarded or recycled.
Science and Economics: Possible
Environmental Limits to Resource
Extraction and Use
Environmental damage caused by extraction,
processing, and use of mineral resources can limit
their availability.
Some environmental scientists and resource experts do
not believe that exhaustion of supplies is the greatest
danger from continually increasing our consumption
Surface
mining
Metal ore
Separation
of ore from
gangue
Smetling
Melting
metal
Conversion
to product
Discarding
of product
(scattered in
environment)
Recycling
Figure 12-13
Natural capital degradation:
life cycle of a metal resource.
Each step in this process uses en-
ergy and produces some pollution and waste.