One Gold Band = Twenty TONS of TOXIC Waste! Yes, to make just One Gold Band, there is Twenty TONS of Toxic Waste ! Please DO NOT BUY GOLD for any reason! | Barbara Crane Navarro

We do love our luxuries and conveniences. Gold, silver, diamonds, and precious jewels make us feel sophisticated, elegant, and important. But how many of us are aware of the impact our adornments have on our planet and the people who live in the areas in which they are mined?

Until recently, I had no idea. One of the blogs that I follow by Barbara Crane Navarro has opened my eyes, and now I realize how much my jewelry has hurt people and our planet.

Most everyone owns at least one piece of gold jewelry, and yet, gold mining is one of the most destructive industries in the world. The process displaces communities, contaminates land and waterways with mercury and cyanide, and causes injuries to workers. The national organization, Earthworks, states on their website that the production of one gold wedding band generates 20 tons of waste from digging and processing the ore.

All mining is damaging, but gold mining is particularly so because it uses a process called heap leaching which includes dripping a cyanide solution through huge piles of ore. This solution strips away the gold for collection and leaves behind 99.99% of what’s mined in piles that are nearly 300 feet high of toxic waste. Surrounding ground water also is contaminated with the cyanide and other dangerous chemicals.

Tailings dams are constructed to retain mine waste. However, according to the UNEP (United Nations Environment Program) there have been more than 221 major tailings dam failures. These failures displace people and contaminate the waters causing death to humanity and wildlife. And shamefully, out of the more than 2,000 major mining companies in the world, only one, BHP Billiton, is taking steps to avoid catastrophic destruction.

Metal mining is destroying beautiful habitats in countries such as Miramar, Costa Rica, and the Dominican Republic as well as our own United States. In fact, Metal mining was the number one toxic polluter in the U.S. in 2010 releasing arsenic, mercury, and lead.

You can find out more about the destruction caused by mining from Earthworks and Barbara Crane Navarro’s blogs.

  • Mary K. Doyle

Source: One Gold Band = Twenty TONS of TOXIC Waste! Yes, to make just One Gold Band, there is Twenty TONS of Toxic Waste ! Please DO NOT BUY GOLD for any reason! | Barbara Crane Navarro

GOP efforts to downplay abortion care can’t conceal all the women bleeding in parking lots

The line between stigmatizing abortion and policing women’s bodies is direct, with tragic consequences for thousands of women across America who needed emergency care involving abortion services but were denied by doctors fearing prosecution. These horror stories, including women with wanted pregnancies facing sudden health complications, only underscore the fact that abortion care is an integral component of women’s maternal health care. When you otherize abortion through criminal laws, people who need it but can’t access it will be left “bleeding in emergency rooms,” warns Dr. Leah Torres, the medical director at WAWC Healthcare. Abortion and health care historian Dr. Leslie Reagan notes that abortion procedures are not limited to pregnancies, but are also required in some cases of biopsies, fibroid treatment, and other areas of health. “Everybody is in danger because this is so essential for just regular health care,” she says.

Source: GOP efforts to downplay abortion care can’t conceal all the women bleeding in parking lots

Kamala Harris was at the forefront of the battle for same-sex marriage – Los Angeles Times

Two decades ago, when a Democratic presidential nominee wouldn’t dream of endorsing gay marriage, a newly elected district attorney named Kamala Harris was performing one of the first same-sex unions in the United States.

It was the so-called Winter of Love in San Francisco. The mayor at the time, Gavin Newsom, had directed the county clerk to approve same-sex marriages even though there was no law on the books recognizing them. His act of rebellion prompted a bipartisan political backlash, but Harris had no hesitation.

“You could tell she was so overwhelmed and had so much joy about performing this ceremony,” said Brad Witherspoon, whose marriage to Raymond Cobane was officiated by Harris on Valentine’s Day 2004.

Source: Kamala Harris was at the forefront of the battle for same-sex marriage – Los Angeles Times

‘Supermoon eclipse’ will be visible across North America on Tuesday

Tuesday’s event will feature September’s full moon, which is known as the harvest moon because it is often associated with harvest time in the Northern Hemisphere, according to NASA.

It will also be a supermoon, because the moon will be at its closest point to Earth in its elliptical, 27-day orbit. When a full moon happens to occur at the same time as its closest approach to Earth, it appears slightly bigger and brighter than the average full moon, which is why it is known as a “supermoon.”

The partial lunar eclipse will begin Tuesday evening at 8:41 p.m. ET, when the moon starts entering part of Earth’s shadow. Even with good weather and clear conditions, the dimming effect will likely be tricky to see until the top edge of the moon becomes obscured at around 10:13 p.m. ET, according to NASA.

Source: ‘Supermoon eclipse’ will be visible across North America on Tuesday

Aid not reaching Gaza, say relief groups as ‘more than a million go without food’ | Gaza | The Guardian

Relief groups have said more than 1 million people in Gaza will not have enough food this month, while trucks loaded with fresh vegetables or meat spoil waiting to cross Israeli checkpoints, and thousands of aid packages of food, medical supplies and even toothbrushes and shampoo remain stuck in a backlog of lorries unable to enter from Egypt.

“We estimate that over a million Gazans will go without food in September,” said Sam Rose, a senior deputy director of UN’s relief agency for Palestinians (Unrwa), in Gaza. “Over half the medicines in our health centres are running low, as is chlorine for water purification and other basic supplies.”

Source: Aid not reaching Gaza, say relief groups as ‘more than a million go without food’ | Gaza | The Guardian

KAIST NEWS CENTER – KAIST Develops Microbial Liquid Egg Substitute​

Distinguished Professor Sang Yup Lee stated, “This substitute has excellent nutritional components, making it suitable for regular food consumption. It is especially promising as emergency food for long-term space travel, wartime situations, and other emergencies. More importantly, it contributes to securing a sustainable food system.”

Source: KAIST NEWS CENTER

Twisted fibres capture more water from fog – Physics World

04 Sep 2024 Isabelle Dumé
Shadowgraph of an oil drop sliding down two fibres
Shadowgraph of an oil drop sliding down two fibres. Fibre pairs increase in twist from left to right. Above a certain twisting threshold, drops transition from asymmetric shapes to symmetric ones and decrease in velocity. Courtesy: Vanessa R. Kern

Twisted fibres are more efficient at capturing and transporting water from foggy air than straight ones. This finding, from researchers at the University of Oslo, Norway, could make it possible to develop advanced fog nets for harvesting fresh water from the air.

Source: Twisted fibres capture more water from fog – Physics World

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