While the word "gold" is often synonymous with luxury and we've been conditioned to consider it the ultimate gift, the truth is far more ugly. For a small taste, consider this from the EPA:
"About 20 percent of the world's gold is produced by the artisanal and small-scale gold mining sector. This sector is also responsible for the largest releases of mercury to the environment of any sector globally. A major source of air pollution from mercury, artisanal and small-scale gold mining releases approximately 400 metric tons of airborne elemental mercury each year."
Yep, yet another example of conventional wisdom being anything but wisdom.
The folks at Green Karat add:
http://www.countercurrents.org/mickeyz260113.htm“In large scale mechanized mining, there is often little regard for the environment. The danger to biodiversity begins when roads are built for purposes of exploration and as land is cleared for settlement. The ongoing operations of large scale mechanized mining are also terribly destructive both to the land and to adjacent aquatic ecosystems. And all too often, the spoils of the process continue to poison the environment long after commercial operations have ceased."
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