[OKC] From the Green Lantern: Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, Something Green

[Miles, Karen]

the green lantern 

Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, Something Green


How to pick an environmentally friendly gemstone.

By Nina Shen Rastogi
Posted Tuesday, Aug. 3, 2010, at 7:05 AM ET 
________________________________

I'm about to propose to my girlfriend, and I'd like to declare my love
with a gem that causes the least damage possible to the planet. How do I
go about doing that? 
In recent years, consumers have learned to be wary about the political
issues involved with gemstones-like the "blood diamonds
<http://www.amazon.com/Diamond-Two-Disc-Special-Leonardo-DiCaprio/dp/B00
005JPGO> " that financed wars in Sierra Leone, Angola, and the
Democratic Republic of Congo or the rubies
<http://motherjones.com/politics/2010/03/burma-exploited-resources/rubie
s>  that support the military junta in Burma. But jewels have
environmental impacts as well as social ones, and ethical consumers
should consider both when buying their bling. 
There are two types of gem-mining operations: large industrial mines and
small-scale, informal digging sites. Most of the world's diamonds come
from the former, while the vast majority of colored gemstones-like
rubies, sapphires, and emeralds-come from the latter. 
Big mines can have correspondingly big impacts. They disturb wide
swathes of land and sometimes affect biodiversity in drastic ways. They
may use a lot of water for processing the gems, and the huge amounts of
waste rock they produce can contribute to acid rock drainage
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acid_mine_drainage> . (The average diamond
in an engagement ring requires the removal of 200 million to 400 million
times <http://pubs.usgs.gov/gip/gemstones/environment.html>  its volume
in rock.) Meanwhile, the machines used to dig diamonds out of kimberlite
ore can have hefty carbon footprints. 
Small-scale mines, on the other hand, have the potential to be
relatively low-impact, since the process is so much simpler. But when
they're poorly run, these small mines can cause great damage,
particularly if they're located in ecologically sensitive areas. Washing
gems in nearby rivers or streams can pollute those waterways with silt
and sediment, altering aquatic habitats. When laborers flock to a site
where gems have been found, forests are often cleared to create more
digging sites. Trees also come down for the sake of cooking fires, and
hunting can decimate local wildlife populations. Improper use of
machinery can lead to oil spills and excess greenhouse-gas emissions. 
It's relatively easy to mitigate these consequences-if you can provide
the miners with adequate training and organizational support. But that's
a tall order, since thousands of such sites are scattered throughout the
developing world, where environmental regulations are often laxer to
begin with. Big mines, run by big corporations, are much easier to
monitor and hold accountable for their records on both environmental and
human-rights issues.
Article continues at URL: http://www.slate.com/id/2262003/
 
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