Phil Gutis's Blog
Caught in a Gold Ring
August 23, 2007
Posted by Phil Gutis
The latest issue of Men's Journal has an intriguing story about gold mining and the environmental detritus it leaves behind.
The article cites the work of a campaign called No Dirty Gold, a co-production of Earthworks and Oxfam America. As a professional environmentalist, I probably should have known this, but I was genuinely surprised to learn from the article and the No Dirty Gold website that the production of one gold ring generates 20 tons of waste. Gwen Kinkead, the author of the Men's Journal article, is even more specific: "20 tens of crushed rock that's been soaked in toxic chemicals such as cyanide to fashion a single simple wedding band."
That is not a pretty picture. And the Men's Journal article paints even a nastier picture of what it calls "toxic billionaire" Robert Friedland and his plans to open a massive copper and gold mine in Mongolia. It is a scary but important article.
A visit to the No Dirty Gold website, however, does provide a dose of good news: Right before Valentine's Day this year, 11 major jewelry retailers pledged their support for more socially and environmentally responsible gold. Doing so means that they have agreed to, among other things, stop the dumping of mine waste into oceans, rivers, streams and lakes. It means that they will ensure that their projects are not located in environmentally sensitive areas. And it means that they will allow independent verification of their agreements.
It is definitely great to see so many jewelry sellers on the list. But I wonder how verifiable all the pledges truly are. Is this a ploy to get some good PR or are the companies on the good gold list really changing their practices?
We recently stopped by a Home Depot near my house in southeastern Pennsylvania. Anyone who has been to a Home Depot store recently knows that the company is making an impressive push to be more environmentally conscientious. The company has launched an Eco Options program and signs throughout the stores promote more environmentally friendly products.
On this particular trip, we were looking for flooring. Our late mid-century house in Solebury, PA, came with wall-to-wall beige carpeting and anyone who has a pack of dogs knows that beige carpeting is probably not the right choice. In fact, there aren't many carpeting options that really are feasible with that many dog paws running around so we've decided to put in wood flooring.
And believe me, we've done the research. My husband and I have spent hours on the web looking for sustainable wood flooring. We've found oodles of reclaimed wood, but it is about three or four times the cost of traditional wood flooring. And, yes, there is bamboo, but we just don't like the way it looks and I've even read recently that it may not be the most environmentally friendly product in the world.
So back to Home Depot. We found a wood we liked and could afford and we scoured the box to see if it had any mention of how it was forested or if it was certified by the Forest Stewardship Council. Not a word on the box. So we asked a Home Depot associate in the flooring department if the wood flooring in question was FSC certified. The look on her face was priceless. It was as if we asked her for the genetic code of a baboon.
Yeah, we bought the wood. I don't necessarily feel good about the choice, but we have since signed up for wind power through our electric utility and set up a composting bin and we took bags with us on the dog walk this afternoon and picked up about 20 bottles and cans littering the sides of our very quiet street.
Bottom line: No one's perfect. It is good that the jewelry companies are pledging to do better, Home Depot should be applauded for its efforts and please don't criticize us for buying a wood floor that we love. We're all trying and that's something, right?
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