California Marine Plastic Pollution Policy Tangled Up in Committee

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California Marine Plastic Pollution Policy Tangled Up in Committee

By Leila Monroe

Last Friday, members of the California Assembly Appropriations Committee stopped Assembly Bill 521—a groundbreaking proposal to create a statewide marine plastic pollution producer responsibility program—from moving forward in the legislature. This is a missed opportunity to better protect our oceans, marine life, economy and communities from costly and harmful marine plastic pollution, but we are undeterred in our support for the solutions presented in this bill. We will continue to work to advance this program, and we are grateful for the strong leadership of authors Assembly Member Mark Stone (D-Monterey Bay) and Sen. Ben Hueso (D-San Diego).

According to an Associated Press story carried by the Washington Post and other outlets, Assembly Member Stone described the value of the marine plastic pollution producer responsibility program:

Cities and counties spend hundreds of millions of dollars per year cleaning up plastic trash that is on its way into the ocean. Isn’t an increased cost tied to making a new product that is causing a problem better than a taxpayer paying for it after it becomes a problem?

This program would have encouraged industry to reduce the amount of plastic it produces (especially single-use packaging) and share the costs of cleaning up what remains. By doing so, it would protect California’s ocean, beaches and communities from plastic pollution and reduce costly waste management, litter cleanup and recycling. In its 2008 report, CalRecycle estimated that Californians dump 3.8 million tons of plastic into state landfills every year—plastic that could be recycled or avoided all together.

California’s ocean and coastal tourism and leisure industries generated $92 million in GDP for the state in 2010 and supported 1.9 million jobs. By reducing plastic pollution, birds, turtles, whales and other sea creatures are also better protected from the waste that often kills or harms marine life when they swallow or become tangled in plastics found in our oceans that may kill them. This economic activity is dependent on a healthy and thriving ocean and marine life in order to succeed.

Read more at: http://ecowatch.com/2013/california-plastic-pollution-policy-tangled-up-committee/

Responsible Gold Mining & Sustainable Development

Responsible gold mining & how can it aid sustainable development? – podcast

Sue George, The Guardian UK

Three key figures from the gold industry discuss the role of the Conflict-Free Gold Standard in ensuring responsible mining and explore whether it is achieving what it set out to do.  

 

Copyright Adriane Ohanesian/Reuters

 This Sustainable Business podcast on responsible mining looks at the implications of the Conflict-Free Gold Standard. Among the other issues it considers are the contribution of gold to development; the role of small-scale, or artisanal, miners; the role of legislation in ensuring gold is mined responsibly; the complementary roles of companies and governments; and the contributions of consumers, shareholders and investors.

On the podcast discussing the Standard and its role in responsible gold mining are Terry Heymann, director, Responsible Gold, at the World Gold Council; Ruth Crowell, deputy chief executive at the London Bullion Market Association and Sophia Pickles, campaigner at NGO Global Witness.

Gold is one of the world's most valuable and desirable commodities. Despite the recent slump in gold prices – after a long period of growth – it remains one of the most significant sources of revenue for many countries. Gold is also used in a wide range of applications from technology to health to currency; 60% of gold is turned into jewellery.


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Read more: http://www.guardian.co.uk/sustainable-business/responsible-gold-mining-sustainable-development-podcast

Sick Turtle Treated After Eating Plastic

Source: http://m.guardiannews.com/world/video/2013/may/25/turtle-released-florida-keys-video

 
Comment:

Mining for gold takes a toll on the environment in many ways. While clean up efforts at abandoned mines remain a problem, the effects of gold mining on air, water and soil at active mine sites need to be monitored closely.

Air pollution is created in several ways. One is from the road traffic near the mines where heavy trucks carrying waste and ore generate large amounts of dust. Daily traffic is enough to cause severe air pollution in mining areas. The smelting process used to refine the ore releases lead into the air creating even more problems.

Water is polluted through a process called leaching where ore is removed from the waste using cyanide. Although the cyanide is supposed to be collected in contained reservoirs it is not difficult to imagine that unless strict controls are in place, the run-off finds its way into water systems in the mining area. To make matters worse, some mine owners intentionally dispose of waste into nearby water systems.

Gold mining leaves many toxins in the soil that create health hazards for humans and animals for years to come. Heavy metals and other toxins remain in the soil for many decades making soil pollution a major issue in mining areas.

While it is good news that authorities in Chile have fined Barrick Gold for environmental offences at the Pascua-Lama mine, the long-term damage is yet to be known.

Chile fines Barrick Gold $16m for Pascua-Lama mine

Chilean authorities have fined the world's largest gold mining company, Barrick Gold Corp, more than $16m for environmental offences.   

Construction at the Pascua-Lama mine, on the border with Argentina, has been suspended until a system to contain contaminated water is put in place. 

The news led to share trading in the Canadian-owned company being halted in New York and Toronto after a sell-off. But activists complained that the fine was only 0.1% of the total operation.

"The resolution is convenient to the offender, a derisive fine for a company such as Barrick Gold," Greenpeace said on a statement.

Despite criticism, the government said the fine was the highest possible under Chilean law.

'No environmental damage' 

The environmental authorities said the mining company committed four "serious" and one "very serious" offences. The latter was a commitment made by Barrick Gold to put in place water treatment systems to contain contaminated waste water and to prevent rainwater contamination.

The company itself reported its shortcomings to the environmental authorities, which led to an investigation. Barrick Gold Corp acknowledged the failures and promised to work on solutions.

Read more: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-22663432