Key Concepts
Question of the Day
Considering what gold does for mankind, should it be as valuable as it is?
Lesson of the Day
“Ultimately, our behavior is the result of a fundamental failure to recognize that human beings are an inseparable part of Nature and that we cannot damage it severely without severely damaging ourselves”. - Eric Chivian, M.D.
How do human beings determine value? How is the value of a mahogany tree, or a mosquito, or a sack of potatoes determined? We have learned through the course of this expedition that some very valuable ecosystem services, such as the production of oxygen and the purification of water have traditionally not been assigned any economic value; whereas other ecosystem elements, such as the coca leaf are assigned a huge value. The economic value of these items does not seem proportional to the value of the service they bring to mankind.
Value can be measured in many different ways, but in economic terms it requires an agreed upon economic unit of account. For hundreds of years a fixed amount of gold was the standard to which worldwide trade, and hence money was tied. This was called the Gold Standard.
Gold is a chemical element and a natural component of ecosystems. Why did mankind chose to assign it such great value? Although there are trace elements of gold found in the average human body, it serves no essential biologic purpose. Similarly in terms of ecosystem services gold has limited function outside of the domains of finance and jewelry. It serves little function, beyond serving as a metal in jewelry, and for some medicinal and industrial purposes. The value of gold is predicated principally on perception rather than function; it is attractive and brightly colored, rare and distributed widely around the world.
The use of gold as money dates back thousand of years. Gold served as the standard for global monetary exchange until the 20th century. Gold has been so prized that it has fueled conflict, playing a significant role in the Second World War when Hitler conquered other nations in order to appropriate their gold reserves to fund his conquests.
Although gold does not provide significant ecosystem services, the mining and refining of gold can cause significant environmental impact. A total of 175,000 tons of gold has been mined through human history. Most of this gold, found near the surface of the earth, is thought to have been deposited by asteroids. There is gold found in the Amazon region of Peru, and open pit mining has left great scars in the rainforest. Cyanide is often used to refine gold and heavy metals such as Arsenic and Mercury can be hazardous byproducts.
Thus one of the most valued items in the world, gold, seems to be of relatively limited value in terms of the ecosystem services it provides. In fact the production of gold can damage the capacity of ecosystems to provide more essential services.
Words to Run By
Good morning. Today is the final day of our program. Over the course of the last seven days we have considered a variety of ecosystem elements: potatoes, oxygen, quinine, water, coca, mahogany trees, and mosquitoes. We have seen how the value of the ecosystem services these elements provide does not necessarily equate to the monetary value assigned by mankind.
Today our theme element is gold.
The use of gold as money dates back thousand of years. Gold served as the standard for global monetary exchange until the 20th century. Gold has been so prized that it has fueled conflict, playing a significant role in the Second World War when Hitler conquered other nations in order to appropriate their gold reserves to fund his conquests.
You all know how valuable gold is. Today I want you to consider why. What makes gold so valuable?
Considering what gold does for mankind, should it be as valuable as it is?
Daily Dispatch
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Video of the Day
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Photo of the Day
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Expert Video
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School Activities
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Youth Ambassador Activity
On the final day of the expedition the Youth Ambassadors will visit an area of the Amazon where there is gold mining.
They will discuss the impact of gold mining on the environment and reflect on what ecosystem service gold is providing. They will reflect upon whether:
Links
http://www.gold-traders.co.uk/gold-information/how-much-gold-is-found-in-the-human-body.asp