In short, NO. Diamonds may be pretty to look at, and nice to own, but when it comes down to the means of acquiring such a precious stone, the costs are too great. Diamonds are found in select locations, specifically near pre-existing volcanoes. Diamonds are created when magma reaches a specific temperature and pressure. Some extinct volcanoes are merely depressions left in the Earth's crust, such as those volcanoes found in the Canadian Arctic, and lakes or ponds have formed over top. As result, to get to the diamonds large amounts of water must be drained and the many species that lived in that lake displaced. In the Arctic, displacing organisms greatly impacts this already fragile ecosystem. The loss of life and degradation to the landscape imposes a large cost on the environment. Minerals and rocks from deep within the Earth’s crust are brought to the surface and can contaminate the surrounding region.
When diamonds are mined in Africa, the proceeds go to tyrannical governments and terrorist groups, not to the people in the country who mined them. Thus, the people in countries like Africa are living in poverty with barely enough to survive. If, by chance, a person got caught extracting the diamonds for themselves or re
-mining areas that had already been mined to find any diamonds that were left behind, he or she would be maimed or killed by the government. Therefore, the movie created to show diamond extraction processes in Africa was aptly named when they called it Blood Diamond.Furthermore, large quantities of resources, such as water and energy, are necessary in the extraction process. Machines powered by combustion engines are required in the Arctic, and thus the emissions from such machines will further pollute the landscape. Large quantities of water are also required.
Therefore, each diamond has a story that is not depicted by its shiny surface. Companies that sell diamonds make women believe that they have to have them in their engagement rings, wedding bands, and other items of jewellery. Because of such a portrayal, women demand these stones without realizing where the diamond came from or the turmoil people may suffer to extract them.
In light of the environmental and human losses that occur for a small chunk of stone, I would not go out and purchase one myself. That isn’t to say that if given one I would not accept it. The costs associated with acquiring that diamond far outweigh the benefits and other gemstones can be retrieved in a lot more environmentally sustainable ways and look just as beautiful.
Related Links...
United Nations. Conflict diamonds: sanctions and war. [Online]. Avail from: http://www.un.org/peace/africa/Diamond.html [2001 Mar 21]
BusinessWeek. Green marketing: diamond quality. [Online]. Avail from: http://images.businessweek.com/ss/06/10/diamond_seller/source/2.htm
Who Killed the Electric Car?
Electric cars were first created in the 1920’s, and yet there does not currently appear to be anyone driving them. Why have they disappeared? With gas and oil reserves greatly decreasing as countries demand greater quantities as energy resources, a person would surmise that such vehicles would be highly promoted as an alternative form of transportation.
Car manufacturing companies promote combustion powered vehicles because of the influence they receive from their shareholders, the oil and gas companies. If a car manufacturing company were to create an electric vehicle and put it on the market for its consumers, then business would be taken away from the oil and gas companies since the vehicles being sold would no longer require oil and gas products. Since all industries are dependent on gas and oil companies for the energy resources that they provide, gas and oil companies hold a lot of power over what companies decide to create and produce.
In California, an electric car, called the EV1, was created to allow consumers to cut back on their gasoline expenditures and reduce the effects that combustion engines have on air pollution. Green house gases, such as carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, and sulphur dioxide that are produced from the burning of fossil fuels, have greatly altered the composition of our atmosphere. Increased global heating and smog have become frequent words in the media and the ecosystems around us are forced to adapt and change with the increased temperatures. Smog has become a great concern because many people are now experiencing respiratory problems and other side-effects to their health. As a result, it made sense to create a vehicle that does not pollute the air we breathe. Though such a car was created, it was never intended to be made a selling item. Therefore was not advertised and later removed from the market. Companies can claim that the electric car was never demanded by the consumer, but the real truth is the oil and gas companies did not like the threat it posed to their profits.
