On this St. Patricks Day a fitting way to go ‘green’ is to learn a bit about that magical stuff at the end of the Leprechaun’s rainbow.  Few gifts have greater meaning than a ring of gold—and in just about any form that shiny luxurious element has an irresistible appeal.  It’s not until you associate the true environmental and human cost of gold that it starts to lose its glimmer.

Most gold is extracted from large open pit mines where huge amounts of rock are crushed to extract small amounts of gold.  That 18 karat wedding band on your finger on average resulted in 20 tons of mine waste. Ouch. This mine waste is also toxic and remains a permanent part of the landscape.  “Acid mine drainage” which can occur indefinitely, results in streams with a pH similar to battery acid.

Over the last decade large-scale mining operations, as well as small-scale ‘artisanal’ gold mines have caused widespread deforestation in some of the most biologically diverse regions in the tropics.  And because the small operations frequently use mercury to extract the gold, and in primitives conditions, the human and environmental cost is disgraceful.

So what can you do?   Some experts argue that we shouldn’t have to mine new gold at all—we just need to let go all the shiny stuff we’re hoarding. So the best way for you to mitigate the impacts of gold mining might be to go through that jewelry box and put some things back in circulation.  There is a strong recycled gold market, though it needs some improvements (recycled gold is not currently traceable beyond the collection point where it is melted down and can be an inlet for ‘dirty’, inhumanely mined gold). Consider vintage, or purchase FairTrade or Ethical gold, but most of all have an appreciation for the real ‘cost’ of what you’re wearing—and when the burden becomes too heavy, lighten the load.

https://earthworks.org/publications/how_the_20_tons_of_mine_waste_per_gold_ring_figure_was_calculated/
https://earthworks.org
https://www.amalena.com/eco-gold-vs-ethical-gold-vs-recycled-jewellery/
https://news.mongabay.com/2015/01/amazon-gold-rush-destroying-huge-swaths-of-rainforest/
http://www.takepart.com/video/2014/09/01/how-help-stop-illegal-gold-mining
http://www.miningfacts.org/environment/does-mining-use-mercury/