"Geology Class" What does the professor imply about the environmental costs of mineral exploitation?

[Narrator] Listen to part of a discussion in a geology class.
[Professor] The exploitation of minerals involves five steps. First, you have to explore and locate
the mineral deposits, then you set up a mining operation, next, you must refine the raw
minerals and transport the refined minerals to the manufacturer.
[Student 1] Excuse me. Sorry. I only have four steps. Could you... ?
[Professor] Sure. That’s exploration, mining, refining, transportation, and manufacturing.
[Student 1] Thanks.
[Professor] So, each of these activities involves costs, there are costs associated with them, and  Q12
the costs can be economic, but not necessarily so. Mineral exploitation also has environmental
costs associated with it. For example, the exploration stage will clearly have
a high economic cost because of... of personnel and technology, but the environmental
cost will probably be quite low. Why would that be, do you think?
[Student 2] Because you aren’t actually disturbing the environment. You’re just looking, I mean,
after you find a mineral deposit, you don’t do anything about it at that stage.
[Professor] Right. So the environmental costs would be low. But what happens when you use up all
the resources that are easy to find? Then What?  Q17
[Student 2] Then the costs go up for exploration.
[Professor] Which costs?  Q17
[Student 2] Well, probably both of them, but I can see where the economic costs would increase.
[Professor] Okay. Let’s say, for example, that some areas such as national parks or historic
reserves have been... off-limits to exploration. What will happen when we use up the
minerals outside of these areas? Remember now that these are, uh... nonrenewable
resources that we’re looking for.
[Student 1] Then there will be a lot of pressure... you know... to open up these areas to exploration
and exploitation.
[Professor] Probably so. And that means that there could be a high environmental cost. Any other  Q17
options?
[Student 1] Find an alternative.
[Professor] Yes. You’re on the right track.
[Student 1] Okay. Find an alternative, I mean a substitute, something that will substitute for the  Q15
mineral. Maybe something man-made?
[Professor] Good. That will involve a different kind of exploration, again with economic costs. I’m
talking about basic research here to find synthetics. But, uh, let’s go on to the other
steps, and we’ll see if we can pull this all together. How about mining? Now, we’re looking
at high environmental costs because of the destruction of the landscape and...
and the accumulation... of waste products that have to be dealt with. Air and water
pollution is almost always a problem  Any ideas on refining?
[Student 2] Wouldn’t it be the same as mining? I mean, you would have high costs because of
labor and equipment, and there would be problems of waste and pollution, like you
said.
[Professor] True. True. And in refining, well that often involves the separation of a small amount of
a valuable mineral from a large amount of surrounding rock. So that means that...
that, uh, refining also carries the additional cost of cleanup. And don’t forget that it’s
often difficult to get vegetation to grow on piles of waste. In fact, some of it, the waste
piles I mean, they can even be dangerous to living creatures, including people. Not
to mention the appearance of the area. So the environmental costs can be extremely
high. Isn’t it sad and ironic that so much of the mining and refining must take place in  Q16
areas of great natural beauty?
[Student 1] So you’re saying that both mining and refining have heavy costs... heavy economic
and environmental costs.
[Professor] Right. And in both mining and refining, you would need transportation to support the
movement of supplies, equipment, and personnel. But, after the minerals are mined
and refined, then transportation becomes even more essential.
[Student 2] And I was just thinking that in addition to the econom c costs of the transportation for  Q14   
trucks and fuel and labor and everything, there could be, there might be some construction
too, if there aren’t any roads in and out of the area.
[Professor] And that would mean...
[Student 2] That would mean that the landscape and even the ecosystem for the plants and animal  Q13
life could be altered, so... so that’s an environmental cost.
[Professor] It is indeed. Good point. That leaves us with manufacturing. After we find it, mine it,
refine it, and transport it, we still have to manufacture it. What are the costs associated
with that? Well, construction again, for factories, then there would be energy costs,
technology, and labor.
[Student 1] So all that’s economic. No environmental costs in manufacturing then.
[Professor] Well, yes there are actually. Pollution is often a costly problem for, uh, manufacturing
plants.
[Student 1] Oh right. I was thinking of the natural landscape, and the manufacturing is often positioned
near cities to take advantage of the labor pool. But, um... cities have the environmental
problems associated with pollution. So, every step has both economic and  Q12
environmental costs then.
[Professor] Right.