{"id":44,"date":"2011-11-08T13:09:38","date_gmt":"2011-11-08T13:09:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/kapush.net\/cat-litter\/?p=44"},"modified":"2023-07-03T10:36:18","modified_gmt":"2023-07-03T05:06:18","slug":"strip-mining-cat-litter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kapush.org\/cat-litter\/strip-mining-cat-litter\/","title":{"rendered":"Cat Litter, Strip Mining and Environmental Issues"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sodium Bentonite is one of the most popular constituents of clump cat litter. Mining bentonite makes business sense only when it is found close to the surface of the earth. Therefore, it is strip mined for cat litter. The top layer of the earth (the overburden) is removed to take away the clay. Even though there are laws that the land must be left as it was and filled and flattened, how scrupulously such laws are followed is anyone’s guess.<\/p>\n

Coal is also obtained through strip mining. The following excerpt is both relevant and significant:<\/p>\n

The Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act (SMCRA) was passed in <\/span>1977. This estab<\/span>lished federal regulations for surface mining and required federal permits for mining on federal land. The act also created the Office of Surface Mining (under the Department of the Interior) which was charged with restoring abandoned surface mines and enforcing the SMCRA regulations.<\/span><\/p>\n

Difficulties with Reclamation Efforts<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

In general, however, reclamation can be very difficult. This is because the original ecosystem removed by the strip mine represents a delicate balance of plants, animals, microbes, and soil nutrients, and soil structure resulting from eons of plant succession and nutrient fluxes in and out of the system. Re-establishing this balance in the short-term is at best a scientifically challenging endeavor. <\/span><\/p>\n

(NMSEA.ORG<\/a>)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

So much for post strip mining replenishment of the environment.<\/p>\n

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AN APPEAL TO OUR READERS:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

EMPATHY<\/strong><\/a> has rescued and sheltered more than a hundred cats and dogs since 2002.<\/p>\n

\"EMPATHY<\/a><\/p>\n

Help me keep EMPATHY running?<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

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\"strip<\/a>

Image Courtesy www.anniekatec.blogspot.com<\/p><\/div>\n

Please visit Polarintertia.com<\/a> for a wonderful (or hideous) slideshow about what strip mining does to mountains. It will not be very different from watching scenes depicting animal abuse and mutilation. Here is an image that shows the process (Click on the image on the right to view it in original size).<\/p>\n

The extracted bentonite clay is dried under extreme heat and turned into a powder or flake. The finer quality of powder that comes out of the litter making process is used in the cosmetic industry. The damage that strip mining does to the land, the cost of fuel to transport the mined bentonite to the drying facility and the use of petroleum products to dry the material make the production of clump cat litter ridiculously detrimental to the environment. Add to that the fact that used clay litter is not biodegradable and only adds to landfills.
\n(Even organic litter degrades at a snail’s pace in the landfills since the waste is packed in too tightly for oxygen to circulate optimally).<\/p>\n

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\"Get<\/p>\n

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