The environmental costs of mining 
gold are tremendous. From a 2005 New York Times Article miners must dig up over 30 tons of raw ore to obtain a single ounce of pure gold. Then, after excavation they typically use cyanide based compounds to extract the elemental gold. Needless to say the environmental impact and energy costs are tremendous.
One way around this is to purchase recycled gold. This approach of, “mining the treasure” from discarded or broken jewelry items, just makes too much sense. The Hartford Courant even references a business that creates jewelry from recycled precious metals & stones (we have never used these people referenced in the attached article so be sure you check them out before buying their services).
It’s all about being smart and looking at the world in a way where we can make big differences. And often this can be done with little or no sacrifices.
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