Plate Tectonics in West USA

Plates map of the world

                 

West USA is located in the North American Plate.

Western North America has two plate boundaries:

-San Andreas Fault; forming the most active part of the broad boundary zone between Pacific and North American plates

-Cascadia Subduction Zone: boundary along which the small Juan de Fuca plate subducts under the North American Plate

North American Plate:

The North American plate includes most of the North American continent, Greenland, and parts of Iceland and Siberia. Its motion can be measured on the order of a few centimeters per year. The edges of the North American plate show each of these three major plate boundary types: transform, convergent, and divergent. The movement of the hot mantle below the lithosphere drives the plate motion.
The North American plate collides and overrides the Pacific plate. It is moving to the west-southwest at about an inch per year away from the Mid-Atlantic Ridge.
The motion of the plate cannot be driven by subduction as no part of the North American Plate is being subducted.

The Juan de Fuca Plate is still actively subducting beneath N. America. Its motion is not smooth, but rather sticky; strain builds up until the fault breaks and a few meters of Juan De Fuca get slid under North America in a big earthquake. 
These plate motions are the primary source of strain in the lithosphere that lead to earthquakes in our region. In California, much of the strain generated by the grinding of the Pacific Plate against North America is taken up in earthquakes on the San Andres Fault and related structures but the shearing action dosn't end there.

California from one of Tanya Atwaters Plate Tectonics animations 

Volcanic arcs develop to the east of the North American subduction zone and created an ancient mountain range that preceded the modern Sierra Nevadas. Subduction stopped and the plate boundary off the coast of California was transformed from a trench into the modern San Andreas fault. 

The Appalachian Mountains, above in the U.S. state of West Virginia, are fold mountains. Fold mountains form over millions of years

PNW Vector Map

            British Columbia however is part of rigid North America and moves with it. This results in the Puget Lowland being compressed and warped like an accordion with alternating uplifted and down warped terrain shortening the distance between Centralia, Washington, and the Canadia border. Dr. Ray Wells of the USGS developed a model to demonstrate this process and produced the cartoon animation located above the GPS Vector map. Source

Mining

Part A

Shaft mining refers = the method of excavating a vertical/near-vertical tunnel from the top down, where there is initially no access to bottom.

Pro: • allows a mine operation to be 'hidden' having only head frames protrude above the surface, enabling land above zone of mining to be reclaimed for other uses after mining has ceased
       • can mine as deep as the development permits excavation to take place
       • it is not dependent on stripping ratios
       • does not affect physical environment as much
Cons: • safety issue is a big problem
          • underground mines produce significant amount of methane
          • expensive
          • collapses
          • flooding
          • mine explosions
          • miner can die due to lack of oxygen

Open pit mining =  is a surface mining technique of extracting rock or minerals from the earth by their removal from an open pit or borrow

Pro: • increase in efficiency over deep-shaft mining techniques
        • no space restrictions from narrow tunnels and shafts affect the rate at which ore can be extracted
        • sampling each level in an open pit before mining deeper allows surveyors to analyze potential yield and avoid safety hazards
        •  uses larger extraction vehicles, increasing amount of harvest per day
        •  reduced cost
        • safer than shaft mining
Cons: • loss of ecosystem
          • can take decades to recover
          • landslides and rockslides can occur without warning
          • acid mine drainage = serious environmental concern
          • release of dangerous metalloids in groundwater/local streams; polluted water can kill life along water source 

Part B

Spouse of a miner:
Of course I would want my spouse to work in an open pit. It's said to be much safer and at the end of the day that is what's important. I've heard that they end up acquiring more per day which would be beneficial to both the company and the employees, thus meaning it would be better for our family. It doesn't require ventilation and the worse that can happen is a landslide. I would rather have my spouse take those chances than a space collapsing in on itself. 

Owner of a mining company:
I would choose open pit mining. It's cheaper and more efficient. Using this method will sustain my company.  I would be able to harvest more ore or minerals or what have you. Shaft mining would sometimes require digging deeper to find what we're looking for.   Not only that, but it would be better for my employees as it would be safer as well. 

Environmentalist: 

Open pit mining has environmental hazards. Hardrock mining exposes rock that has lain unexposed for geological eras. When crushed, these rocks expose radioactive elements, asbestos-like minerals, and metallic dust. Aside from this contamination of surface and ground waters often generates problems with this method. 

Owner of a nearby ski resort:

I would think underground mining would be better as open pit mining has more leniency space wise. That would not be good for my business and it having a gigantic dug out hole near my ski resort can be an eyesore as well as dangerous to my guests. If any guests want to try skiing in this open pit as well especially if it became abandoned then we would be legally liable for any injuries or harm that may occur.  If it were abandoned then there would just be a gaping hole there.

Part C

Mining is prominent in the USA and has been active since colonial times.
Mining in Alaska has been predominantly for metals such as gold, silver, and zinc. Mined metal is a valuable export and source of cash income for workers, and mining jobs pay above the state average. Major mines are mostly owned by out-of-state corporations, leading most of their profits to be exported. Minerals are one of Alaska’s most important exports.  The total value of metal production and exploration in Alaska was just over $3.4 billion in 2012, representing around 7% of the gross state product, and producing several thousand jobs.  Mining pays a 2% state tax on its revenue.  

Prospectors are actively pursuing new mineral resources in Alaska.

Waste Management - Alaska

Alaska disposes of their waste through: 

ARL = Anchorage (Alaska) Regional Landfill  

CTS = Central Transfer Station

Different Materials and how they can be disposed can be found here

They also have a Hazardous Materials Management

Solid waste disposal presents a challenge for Alaska. Alaska has a population of approximately 710,231 people. 72% of this population live in Anchorage, Juneau, or Fairbanks. The other 28% are scattered throughout the state in rural communities. Many of these communities are only accessible by boat or air travel which means that they have their own landfill since it would not be practical to ship their waste. They "accomadate to the multiple rural community landfills by designating a Class III landfill category. Class III landfills are not connected by road to a larger landfill or are more than 50 miles by road from a larger landfill and must serve fewer than 1500 people." 

Although this is the case, a 2008 article/journal brings attention that circumstances unique to Alaska create challenges for basic waste disposal and recycling that are not experienced in the lower 48 US states or in countries like Japan where space is limited. Programs available to separating recyclables from waste stream are often minimal and varying. 

More disposal facts

Another problem that ensues are the Alaskan Native villages from rural areas that face illegal dumping issues. They struggle to find cost effective and safe alternative to open dumps.

To improve their waste management strategies, I believe they must have viable solid waste disposal options to ensure Alaskan tribe's and village's waste ends up in landfill or municipal solid waste incinerator and not an open dump.  This information and knowledge needs to also be promoted through community outreach to properly ensure that residents, villagers, and tribes are informed of the environmental issues they face by not properly disposing of waste. Problems of disposing food may cause wild animals to rummage through their waste.  Alaska tries to prevent this by encouraging to use and even create your own incinerator for your garbage that you can have in your backyard. I think this one is important as it will harm wildife less.