1. http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/10/28/mercury-gold-rush-california/3191565/
2. Category of Problem/Issue identified in article: Environment
3. Level of problem/issue: State Level
4.A problem/issue that individuals/families face
5. Why this is important to individuals/families OR How does this affect individuals/families:
This important to everyone's general health in California. It affects their health in a bad way, so they need to be informed.
6. What are your views on the issue/policy?
My views on this problem is that there needs to be some short term and long term solutions in the works. The problem here is that there is mercury left from the Gold Rush that will last for thousands of years. Although it is not as bad as radiation, it is still terrible for anyones health. The mercury has been making its way down every time major foods happen, which can lead to mercury entering the food chain and eventually making its way to the San Fransisco Bay. Because environmental factors were not something to worry about in the 1850s, pollution prevention was not a high priority. The use of mercury during this time was to separate the gold from the sand and gravel, leaving all the workers to dump hundreds of pounds of mercury into the area. Making its way down with each food, scientists believe that ther is enough mercury to contaminate the valley and below that for more than 10,000 years (reported in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences). The biggest problem is that if it makes its way all the way down, it will affect all the soil, therefor affecting our food that is harvested. This would leave us with less resources and affect all the producers in that area. This is a big deal. I think that there should be a short term resolution while they take time to work on a long term resolution. I think that at least having a short term resolution for now is better than doing nothing at all.
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