• picture
  • picture
  • picture
  • picture
Public Radio's Environmental News Magazine (follow us on Google News)

The Living on Earth Almanac

Air Date: Week of

Facts about.. mining.

Transcript

CURWOOD: One hundred years ago 3 men -- George Carmack, Skookum Jim, and Tagish Charley, discovered what they called a ton of gold on the Klondike River in Canada's Yukon Territory. In the following year alone more than 60,000 people journeyed to the territory as part of the biggest gold rush in North America. Despite their great numbers, the miners of 1896 did little long-term damage to the land. They were limited to panning, digging with hand tools, and blasting in their search for precious ore. And today, much of the area where the miners lived and worked has been turned into parks. Nowadays, because of more powerful and sophisticated technology, mining can cause major environmental problems. One of the biggest dangers is polluted waters from the mines running off into rivers, streams, and aquifers. Mercury and cyanide are often used today in the mining process, and they can be especially deadly in groundwater supplies. And for this week, that's the Living on Earth Almanac.

 

 

Living on Earth wants to hear from you!

Living on Earth
62 Calef Highway, Suite 212
Lee, NH 03861
Telephone: 617-287-4121
E-mail: comments@loe.org

Newsletter [Click here]

Donate to Living on Earth!
Living on Earth is an independent media program and relies entirely on contributions from listeners and institutions supporting public service. Please donate now to preserve an independent environmental voice.

Newsletter
Living on Earth offers a weekly delivery of the show's rundown to your mailbox. Sign up for our newsletter today!

Sailors For The Sea: Be the change you want to sea.

The Grantham Foundation for the Protection of the Environment: Committed to protecting and improving the health of the global environment.

Contribute to Living on Earth and receive, as our gift to you, an archival print of one of Mark Seth Lender's extraordinary wildlife photographs. Follow the link to see Mark's current collection of photographs.

Buy a signed copy of Mark Seth Lender's book Smeagull the Seagull & support Living on Earth