Making gold greener?

Poorly regulated gold mining is spreading around the world. Every day, millions of artisanal and small-scale gold miners work extremely hard in often poor conditions and without the protective framework of formal labour market standards. By evening the vast majority have harvested only miniscule amounts of gold, if anything at all. But the economic incentives are still attractive. Since ancient times, gold has continuously been used as a source of long-term investment, and it has now found its way into modern technologies and industry, including computers, cell phones and medical equipment. Global financial turmoil has helped more than double the price of an ounce of gold from $500 to well over $1,000 over the past decade. Many poor people in rural areas have shifted their attention from agriculture to mining as a source of livelihood.