Tag Archive for modern

Can Modern Gold Mining Be Sustainable? (w/Video)

from National Geographic

Posted by Dan Stone of National Geographic Magazine in Change Reaction on December 6, 2012

It’s a core part of California lore. Back in 1848, golden rocks were discovered in the hills north of Sacramento.The value of the element caught attention nationally, drawing thousands of hopeful miners out to northern California. The small state trading post of San Francisco quickly boomed into a large city.

Gold mining still happens today, with higher yields than ever before. Considering mining’s impact on the planet, and the global appetite for gold, we decided to visit a working mine near Shasta, California. . . . Read Complete Report

Researchers Unlock Ancient Maya Secrets With Modern Soil Science

from Science Daily

ScienceDaily (Nov. 12, 2012) — After emerging sometime before 1000 BC, the Maya rose to become the most advanced Pre-Columbian society in the Americas, thriving in jungle cities of tens of thousands of people, such as the one in Guatemala’s Tikal National Park. But after reaching its peak between 250 and 900 AD, the Maya civilization began to wane and exactly why has been an enduring mystery to scientists.

 Writing in the Nov.-Dec. issue of theSoil Science of America Journal(SSSA-J), an interdisciplinary team led by Richard Terry, a Brigham Young University soil scientist, now describes its analysis of maize agriculture in the soils of Tikal . . . . Read Complete Report