Swanson School of Engineering

Today we visited CEZ Group which was a lot of fun because we got to play in the dirt and see the 95 million dollar bucket wheel excavator. One interesting thing I learned during this visit was how every year they mine 100 meters further away from the plant. Then, they replace some of the already excavated clay back on top to help restore the land and possibly lessen the impact of erosion. So, although this mining practice is not environmentally friendly per se, doing something like this has a positive effect. This is interesting to me because it shows a neutral approach that the Czech Republic might have between the nation’s energy needs and environmental protection.