Animas Test Kitchen
Communicating Science about the Gold King Mine Spill and Water
Quality in the Animas River
Project Reflection
How have geological, biological and human factors created and exacerbated acid mine drainage and water quality issues in the Animas River?
The Animas River and most of the creeks in the San Juan County have been affected by the acid mine drainage that human mining has created. Geologically the land around Silverton and what is inside the mountains is known to be very heavy with minerals of all types. So naturally this means that the rivers/ streams will always have a high concentration of metals/minerals. The human Factors of mining and creating roads and moving these streams can definitely effect how the metals move and the amounts. Before mining ever happened there was lots of natural springs where water would be released from the mountains. Once mining begin the natural springs became smaller and the water would move into the mines to drain. We you are mining the ores that are within the mountain are exposed to water and oxygen and other factors. When water and minerals and oxygen become in the right mixture they will make acid mine drainage which a really acidic solution that is harmful to almost everything. That is where the acid mine drainage comes from. The water quality in the animas has dropped because this acid mine drainage has not been stopped. It is coming out of many mines and cannot be controlled in a way that will be effective yet.
What is the role of science in making policy decisions?
If science was not a factor in policies most of the policies we make could not be justified in a correct way. The role of science in the policy making decisions is huge and can affect how a law or rule is made. If you can prove with using science as evidence it can be very had to prove you wrong making your argument stronger. For example in the decision to make Silverton a super fund site all the EPA had to do is prove that the mines are dangerous to the environment and have to be taken care of. Of course science is not the only factor that plays into decision making but it is the strong hammer that you can’t fight all that well. Science is one of the main ideals that we follow when proving a point and that’s why it is so important to policy decisions.
To what degree do scientists have an obligation to communicate scientific concepts and data to the public in an understandable manner?
Following the course of how science effects policy decision making you can understand why scientists have the obligation to communicate science to the world. Seeing that science can effect almost anything we do because it’s such strong evidence it must be understandable. If that fact or evidence cannot be understood by everyone no one will see it as strong evidence or anything at all. If the scientists use the information they get correctly it can change the world at an understandable level. I believe that they must make all science understandable so we can argue our beliefs with facts not fiction.
How has your understanding of scientific knowledge and/or the process of doing science changed throughout the semester as you’ve examined and manipulated data collected by Professional scientists and performed analogous experiments to collect and analyze your own data?
My personal growth of understanding scientific knowledge and conveying that has growth tons. A the begging of the semester I could barely read a graph or understand what a scientist is talking about. This last project has shown me that I can take the ideas the scientists have and I have to make them understand. Being able to do this kind of work that is understandable and relatable for the public is worth a whole lot more than a high level of knowledge with no communication skills. I am very happy with how much I have grown with my understanding of science concepts which makes it more relatable to other people and professionals.
Here is the link to the connecting project that I did over in my humanities project.
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