How Gold Is Destroying Peru's Rainforests

How Gold Is Destroying Peru's Rainforests
Kelly Dickerson Nov. 1, 2013, 10:38 AM

Years of illegal gold mining in Peru have taken a serious toll on the Amazon rainforest.

No one knew the full extent of the damage until a research team from the Carnegie Institution of Science and Peru's Ministry of the Environment used satellite imagery to map the damage.

Their findings are published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Greg Asner and his team of researchers found that gold mines in Peru increased by 400% from 1999 to 2012. Tons of forest area has to be cleared in order for miners to dig into the Earth and extract gold, and this is a serious problem because the Amazon forest produces about 20% of the planet's oxygen, according to the World Wildlife Fund. It also sucks up carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gasses, returning them to the Earth.

Peru's rain forests sit on top of a wealth of natural treasures, from oil and coal to gold. To get to these riches, miners destroy the forest and mountains that sit atop them. This could be devastating for the Earth, since these forests play such an important part in our ecosystem.

More:
http://www.businessinsider.com/gold-mining-destroying-peruvian-amazon-2013-10