Saturday, April 14, 2012

Reducing The Environmental Impact Of Scrap Cars: A Good Thing


In the throwaway society of today, litter and pollution have become one of the biggest problems faced by mankind. Recent years have seen the advent of green organizations that advocate recycling and friendlier environmental practices. Landfill sites have many disadvantages and pose a big threat to the ability of the planet to survive. Scrap cars too, can become an environmental threat. The solution lies in finding ways to reuse materials.

Vehicles that end up in waste yards come from various different sources. Many vehicles that were involved in serious accidents can never be repaired again. In some cases, vehicle owners realize that it is no longer viable to repair old automobiles. Police also regularly find abandoned vehicles. Local authorities also endeavor to minimize the clogging of landfill sites by selling bulky objects as waste.

The fact that a vehicle can no longer be used for transportation does not make it useless. Automobiles can often be harvested for useful parts. Second hand spare parts have become a huge industry, especially among auto owners that enjoy working on their own vehicles. Those parts that cannot be harvested are still valuable. Almost all the parts and components can be recycled. Furthermore we all know that having recycled metals is far less power consuming than extracting these metals from there ores. As the  latter needs mining for the ores , which has a devastating impact on the environment, and the separation of that metal form the ores needs the application of processes that consume huge amounts of energy and produces polluting gases as a byproduct of these processes.

Individual sellers need to take care when they sell a vehicle to a waste dealer. Many unscrupulous dealers offer very small amounts and some will even charge for towing the vehicle. It may be well worth it to try and remove all useful and working components before selling the automobile. In this way more revenue can be gained.

Thus one of the best reasons for recycling old and useless vehicles is that it makes economic sense in every way. As Raw materials gained through recycling are almost always cheaper than the production of new ones. The industry provides thousands of jobs and opportunities. Many local authorities have also been able to make significant cost savings by eliminating these solid wastes from landfills.

As the recycling of vehicles holds significant advantages for the environment. This process produces much less water, air and soil pollution than mining (which I think is something that needs to be made more environmental friendly by any means necessary). With efficient and modern recycling techniques, the reuse of materials from old cars can supply a great portion of the automotive industry needs. As recycling also helps reduce pressure on other resources like  water and fuel, so any action to reduce pressure on the environment can have far reaching benefits for everyone.

There are also other uses for old vehicles. Where many creative people have used them to create interesting play environments for youngsters. They are sometimes even used for training purposes. A popular line of retro furniture is created entirely from defunct vehicles. In addition artists have used them to produce interesting and innovative works of art.

Any action that helps reducing the abuse of the environment is beneficial to mankind.Thus scrap cars can have a potentially disastrous effects upon the environment (if left in landfills), but they can similarly provide numerous benefits to a wide variety of people (if recycled and reused). So an attitude of reuse and recycling can eventually play a large role in the survival of the planet.

When looking for scrap car removal service to get rid of your scrap car be sure to contact scrap my crap - a company who takes scrap cars for cash across Toronto and the GTA.

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Friday, April 13, 2012

Gold Mining: A Nightmare to Environment

 Few people are aware of the immense waste of natural resources involved in the mining of gold. The production of a single gold ring requires up to eighteen tons of ore. A jewelry box full of watches, bracelets, and chains represents an environmental impact that would stun most people. It involves dynamiting mines, allowing drainage of hard metals into the ecosystem, and sometimes, dumping the remains of the process into streams and other natural habitats.
These facts aren't widely-publicized. If they were, there would likely be far fewer people buying gold jewelry. Below, we'll describe the mining process, so you'll understand the enormous environmental cost it entails.

How Gold Is Mined
Mines are either blasted or dug in order for workers to gain access to gold-laced ore. Open pit mines are typically created with the liberal use of explosives (e.g. dynamite). Large pieces of land are blown open, wreaking havoc with the nearby ecosystem. Tunnel mines, on the other hand, are created via excavation. While seemingly less destructive than open pit mines, tunnel mines also cause environmental problems.
Once a mine has been created, the challenge then turns to digging up, and getting rid of, waste rock.

The Problem With Waste Rock
While both mining methods (e.g. open pit and tunnel) produce a significant amount of waste rock, much more is produced during the creation of an open pit mine. In both cases, however, there is so much rock produced that removing it is cost-prohibitive. So, it is piled near the mine. Several tons, rich with sulfur, sit out in the open. This is thought to contribute to the production of acid rain.

Acid rain poses another environmental issue. The rain washes over the rock, which contains lead, mercury, and other metals that can be harmful to the ecosystem. These metals are released from the rocks, and can eventually drain into the environment.

Heap Leaching Explained
Heap leaching is the process used to separate precious metals from ore. It is usually done by first grinding the large ore-rich rocks excavated from the mine into smaller pieces. Then, these pieces are irrigated with cyanide. The cyanide "leaches" out the gold and other precious metals, all of which land in a liner located beneath the small rocks.
This process can require several weeks, and usually involves a significant volume of cyanide. As you might expect, there is a negative environmental effect.

Getting Rid Of Cyanide
The "pregnant solution" (i.e. the mixture of cyanide, gold, and other metals) is taken to a processing plant for chemical treatment and separation. Recall from earlier that the production of a single gold ring takes several tons of ore. Once the gold has been separated, the waste material (called tailings), must be dumped.

These tailings include the cyanide used during the heap leaching process as well as other harmful hard metals. They are often dumped into the environment, which causes additional problems for the surrounding ecosystem. Such kind of pollution is devastating for the environment, as these wastes are poisonous and harmful.

Selling Your Gold Is Good For The Environment
The mining process described above produces a stunning amount of waste. Most people who buy gold jewelry have little idea regarding the environmental impact their purchase decision poses. You can reduce this impact by selling your old gold jewelry online.
When you sell your pieces to a refiner, the gold content is extracted and smelted. It is then sold to jewelry and product manufacturers for use in new products. Your gold is essentially recycled, which makes mining new gold less necessary for meeting the market's demand. While new customers will remain unaware of the recycled gold, you'll know that you're improving the environment.

Furthermore gold mining and diamond mining have a negative impact on the people who are mining these resources as usually the conditions by which these resources are extracted are inadequate for the miners and in most of the cases many miners are either injured, catches a disease or dead!. Many countries that have huge reserves of gold or diamonds are actually developed countries that are suffering from many problems like hunger and poverty. In addition to these problems, these countries suffer from civil wars, corruption of the political parties and regimes that are not willing to share the profits of gold of diamond mining with the public. most of the revenues go to international companies that only care about increasing their profits. Also in some cases the revenue from selling such precious resources is dedicated to buy weapons and mercenaries. 

Another reason to sell your gold is to take advantage of the recent high price. Not only will your decision help preserve the environment, but you'll be able to enjoy a healthy injection of funds in the process.

 All in all I think that action should be taken in order to reduce the environmental impact of mining in general and gold mining in specific, large companies must be forced to apply better mining conditions and must be monitored by a world wide organization (e.g. unitied nations organization) as the governments of the countries where mining is taking place don't have sufficient environmental awareness.

Help save the environment by recycling old gold, old jewelry with a refinery such as Refinity.com. Recycle and sell gold coins to make a few dollars and do your part to save the planet.