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Have they lost the plot? Has HN lost the plot in the comments supporting this. Why not just ban science? We need metals to live and prosper. If it was really

Have they lost the plot? Has HN lost the plot in the comments supporting this. Why not just ban science? We need metals to live and prosper. If it was really that minimal as per 'NGO' advise then the pollution would be minimal. Why not just make companies pay fines if they polute? The government obviously doesn't kowtow to them? Perhaps if their people weren't so poor you could excuse banning things like gold and diamond. But this (as the article tells it, I doubt it's close to the full story) is like going back to the middle ages.

jacquesm 10y ago
Some of the pollution is Mercury, they list the degree of pollution as 1000x permissible maxima when it comes to heavy metal pollution of that water.
- vixen99 10y ago
  This is appalling but who are 'they'? As we know, mercury is a potent neurotoxin. We're justly concerned about this but but on the other hand Americans are told that mercury amalgam is perfectly safe when permanently lodged a few centimeters from the brain. American Dental Association: "Dental amalgam is considered a safe, affordable and durable material that has been used to restore the teeth of more than 100 million Americans. It contains a mixture of metals such as silver, copper and tin, in addition to mercury, which binds these components into a hard, stable and safe substance. Dental amalgam has been studied and reviewed extensively, and has established a record of safety and effectiveness.". So, are Denmark, Sweden and Norway ill-informed for banning it for medical and environmental reasons? My biochemistry tells me they're not. https://www.fda.gov/downloads/Adviso...e/DentalProductsPanel/UCM236379.pdf https://www.fda.gov/downloads/Adviso...e/DentalProductsPanel...
powera 10y ago
#globalization El Salvador is a small country with no pretenses of being self-sufficient. It doesn't matter how silly the local laws are.
- badosu 10y ago
  There's a limit to which resources you'd want/be able to be self-sufficient, you must make trade-offs. Even big countries may lack some rare metals or fossil fuels.
warent 10y ago
The ends don't justify the means. For example, we banned Nazi science of all forms. This kind of industry is less directly damaging but still overly so
- badosu 10y ago
  > For example, we banned Nazi science of all forms. Could you develop this point? Certainly not rocket science [0]. [0]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Paperclip https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Paperclip
  - mirimir 10y ago
    Or nuclear weapons. Or the advertising industry, which inspired Goebbels, and later hired many of his assistants. Not even human experimentation, which the US carried out until the 70s, at least. Using poor people, prisoners, etc.
Spooky23 10y ago
So, you're ok if I open up a company in your town and dump mercury and tailings into the water your children drink? I suggest that you visit or at least read about El Salvador or Guatemala. No insult intended, but your attitude is both ignorant and offensive.
- astronautjones 10y ago
  We should call Discovery Channel, we found the lost ancestor of Hernan Cortes in OP
empath75 10y ago
Metal mining is fine if it's done responsibly and safely. Resource extraction in the developing world, however, is a horror show.
- mirimir 10y ago
  I will never forget driving through Sudbury in the 60s.
3131s 10y ago
> We need metals to live and prosper. Prosper maybe, but not live. You seem to simultaneously admit to knowing nothing about El Salvador or the "full story" yet regardless you have formed very strong opinions about how the citizens of El Salvador should be extracting resources for you and the rest of the world.
- hueving 10y ago
  At our population, yes, even to live. Electricity and heavy machinery is no longer a 'nice to have' when it comes to food and water for 7 billion.
mirimir 10y ago
> If it was really that minimal as per 'NGO' advise then the pollution would be minimal. That's because most of the money leaves the country.
taneq 10y ago
You're getting hammered but no-one's addressing your actual point, which is perfectly valid. If they keep using metals, they're not solving any environmental problems, they're merely trying to push them into someone else's back yard. Rather than banning mining outright, they need to implement environmental controls to address the actual problem: Not metal extraction, but pollution.
InclinedPlane 10y ago
El Salvador is not the world. They chose an extreme solution to try to ameliorate an immediate problem. Is it globally optimal? No. Does it need to be? No. P.S. nobody seemed to give a shit for the years that mining interests have been poisoning local populations for profit across the globe. One side effect of this extreme measure will be more publicity for the issue of dirty mining in the developing world. And consequently perhaps a move toward mining companies being better actors due to increased pressure from governments and to avoid bad PR. And if that happens then El Salvador would be able to see it, begin to trust mining companies again, and maybe allow them back in. Until that happens though there's little advantage to them of continuing the status quo.

jacquesm 10y ago

Some of the pollution is Mercury, they list the degree of pollution as 1000x permissible maxima when it comes to heavy metal pollution of that water.

vixen99 10y ago
This is appalling but who are 'they'? As we know, mercury is a potent neurotoxin. We're justly concerned about this but but on the other hand Americans are told that mercury amalgam is perfectly safe when permanently lodged a few centimeters from the brain. American Dental Association: "Dental amalgam is considered a safe, affordable and durable material that has been used to restore the teeth of more than 100 million Americans. It contains a mixture of metals such as silver, copper and tin, in addition to mercury, which binds these components into a hard, stable and safe substance. Dental amalgam has been studied and reviewed extensively, and has established a record of safety and effectiveness.". So, are Denmark, Sweden and Norway ill-informed for banning it for medical and environmental reasons? My biochemistry tells me they're not. https://www.fda.gov/downloads/Adviso...e/DentalProductsPanel/UCM236379.pdf https://www.fda.gov/downloads/Adviso...e/DentalProductsPanel...

powera 10y ago

#globalization El Salvador is a small country with no pretenses of being self-sufficient. It doesn't matter how silly the local laws are.

badosu 10y ago
There's a limit to which resources you'd want/be able to be self-sufficient, you must make trade-offs. Even big countries may lack some rare metals or fossil fuels.

warent 10y ago

The ends don't justify the means. For example, we banned Nazi science of all forms. This kind of industry is less directly damaging but still overly so

badosu 10y ago
> For example, we banned Nazi science of all forms. Could you develop this point? Certainly not rocket science [0]. [0]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Paperclip https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Paperclip
- mirimir 10y ago
  Or nuclear weapons. Or the advertising industry, which inspired Goebbels, and later hired many of his assistants. Not even human experimentation, which the US carried out until the 70s, at least. Using poor people, prisoners, etc.

Spooky23 10y ago

So, you're ok if I open up a company in your town and dump mercury and tailings into the water your children drink? I suggest that you visit or at least read about El Salvador or Guatemala. No insult intended, but your attitude is both ignorant and offensive.

astronautjones 10y ago
We should call Discovery Channel, we found the lost ancestor of Hernan Cortes in OP

empath75 10y ago

Metal mining is fine if it's done responsibly and safely. Resource extraction in the developing world, however, is a horror show.

mirimir 10y ago
I will never forget driving through Sudbury in the 60s.

3131s 10y ago

> We need metals to live and prosper. Prosper maybe, but not live. You seem to simultaneously admit to knowing nothing about El Salvador or the "full story" yet regardless you have formed very strong opinions about how the citizens of El Salvador should be extracting resources for you and the rest of the world.

hueving 10y ago
At our population, yes, even to live. Electricity and heavy machinery is no longer a 'nice to have' when it comes to food and water for 7 billion.

mirimir 10y ago

> If it was really that minimal as per 'NGO' advise then the pollution would be minimal. That's because most of the money leaves the country.

taneq 10y ago

You're getting hammered but no-one's addressing your actual point, which is perfectly valid. If they keep using metals, they're not solving any environmental problems, they're merely trying to push them into someone else's back yard. Rather than banning mining outright, they need to implement environmental controls to address the actual problem: Not metal extraction, but pollution.

InclinedPlane 10y ago

El Salvador is not the world. They chose an extreme solution to try to ameliorate an immediate problem. Is it globally optimal? No. Does it need to be? No. P.S. nobody seemed to give a shit for the years that mining interests have been poisoning local populations for profit across the globe. One side effect of this extreme measure will be more publicity for the issue of dirty mining in the developing world. And consequently perhaps a move toward mining companies being better actors due to increased pressure from governments and to avoid bad PR. And if that happens then El Salvador would be able to see it, begin to trust mining companies again, and maybe allow them back in. Until that happens though there's little advantage to them of continuing the status quo.