Amazon gold rush destroying huge swaths of rainforest

Started by Raiden, January 14, 2015, 01:52:25 PM

Previous topic - Next topic

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Raiden

Trouble keeps me running faster

Save the planet from disaster...

Tìtstewan

It's sad only to see that. :(

Quote from: Raiden on January 14, 2015, 01:52:25 PM
I'm never buying a single ounce of gold, for anyone.
...also never buying computers, mobile phones and many other IT related stuff, as they contain gold too?

-| Na'vi Vocab + Audio | Na'viteri as one HTML file | FAQ | Useful Links for Beginners |-
-| Kem si fu kem rä'ä si, ke lu tìfmi. |-

Vawmataw

We are trapped in the consumption's vicious circle because of the overevolution of the humanity.
Fmawn Ta 'Rrta - News IN NA'VI ONLY (Discord)
Traducteur francophone de Kelutral.org, dict-navi et Reykunyu

Raiden

Quote from: Tìtstewan on January 14, 2015, 02:05:32 PM
It's sad only to see that. :(

Quote from: Raiden on January 14, 2015, 01:52:25 PM
I'm never buying a single ounce of gold, for anyone.
...also never buying computers, mobile phones and many other IT related stuff, as they contain gold too?

s***, I forgot about electronics.

The difference, though, is that gold jewelry is etched into the minds of almost the entire world, and if I melted down the 24-karat gold tie pin that has been handed down to me from my great-grandfather, and then hammered it down to a very thin sheet and processed it, it would probably be enough to make dozens, if not hundreds of computer components.

It takes far more gold to make expensive rings, bracelets and earrings than it does to make electronics, because you only need a layer a few atoms thick to go onto circuitboards and whatnot.

But the problem, again, comes down to consumerism. I try to buy used electronics when I can, because that means fewer metals removed from the ground, but if people keep having babies now it just means more extraction of natural resources in pristine places, like the Amazon basin.
Trouble keeps me running faster

Save the planet from disaster...

`Eylan Ayfalulukanä

Remember, too that a lot of our gold here comes from Nevada, where mining does less environmental harm, and lots of people are gainfully employed.

Yawey ngahu!
pamrel si ro [email protected]

Raiden

Quote from: `Eylan Ayfalulukanä on January 15, 2015, 11:43:01 AM
Remember, too that a lot of our gold here comes from Nevada, where mining does less environmental harm, and lots of people are gainfully employed.

You're probably right; I was pretty angry when I posted that before.

I did read a while back that gold from South America does make it into the U.S. economy, though, and it is probably much cheaper than our gold because they obviously have no protective environmental regulation on how it is mined. This obviously means that it may be more attractive to jewelry makers and electronics manufacturers, which is a problem.

If the U.S. and the wealthy European and Asian countries would get off their collective asses and take notice of this problem, it would be easy to stop by issuing embargoes on Peruvian/Guianan gold and petroleum. The other thing that really needs to happen (but will probably take way too long to actually be realized) is that developed countries need to pay other less-developed countries with biodiversity hotspots (Peru, Ecuador, Brazil, Sulawesi, Borneo, Cameroon, Madagascar, etc.) to keep their rainforests and other ecosystems intact.

It make sense on multiple levels, and it might be a way to help those countries become developed while allowing them to skip the "destructive phase" of this process.
Trouble keeps me running faster

Save the planet from disaster...