The Real Price of Gold

1. Set Focus
Pose this essential question to guide discussion: How can global consumerism affect local communities?

2. List Vocabulary
Share with students some of the challenging vocabulary words in this article. Encourage them to use context to infer meanings as they read.

• consensus (p. 15)
• eradicating (p. 15)
• insatiable (p. 15)
• compounded (p. 16)
• neurological (p. 16)
• provenance (p. 17)

3. Engage
Ask students to share what they know about the environmental and health effects of mercury. Have students read the “What Is Mercury” box on page 16 to bolster their background knowledge.   

4. Read 
Have students read the article, marking the text to note key ideas or questions.

5. Discuss
Distribute or project Up Close: The Real Price of Gold, a close-reading activity for students to work on in small groups. (Note: The questions on the PDF also appear on the following page of this lesson, with possible responses.) Follow up with a class discussion. If you’re short on time, have each group tackle one or two of the questions. Collect students’ work or have each group report its findings to the class.

• What are the central ideas of the article? What is the author’s main purpose in writing the article? (Central idea, author’s purpose) (One central idea is that mercury pollution has led to health complications and environmental damage globally, as well as in mining communities. Another central idea is that attempts to stop mercury pollution have been ineffective, mainly because poverty is driving small-scale gold miners to continue to use the dangerous substance. The author’s main purpose is to inform readers of the problems of mercury pollution and why it is happening.)

• What are some specific examples of how mercury pollution has affected people? (Cause & effect, cite text evidence) (In the first section, the article notes that mercury has caused joint pain, muscle weakness, swelling, and birth defects in the Wayana Indigenous community. The sections “Eradicate Mercury?” and “An International Treaty” state that mercury has caused brain damage, severe illnesses, and childbirth complications in Surinamese adults, as well as delayed brain development and decreases in the motor, language, and social skills of Surinamese children.)

• According to the article, why do small-scale mines choose mercury over safer options? What can you infer from this information about the challenges faced by small-scale mining operations? (Analyze information, make inferences) (According to the article, small-scale mines use mercury “because it is cheap, easy to use, and still available.” From this information, the reader can infer that safer options are expensive or require education and training that a small- scale mine cannot afford to provide.)

• On page 16, Achim Steiner says that small-scale gold mining reveals “the brutal face of poverty.” What does he mean? How does the article support his statement with evidence? (Analyze claims, cite text evidence)(Steiner means that impoverished people often have no choice but to act in the short term in ways that will hurt them in the long term in order to survive. The article supports his statement by showing that miners know mercury can be harmful but use it anyway and that the governments of impoverished countries look the other way because the money supports their economies.) 

• How has the international community attempted to solve the problems caused by mercury pollution? Why haven’t their efforts been effective? (Problem & solution) (The international community passed a treaty called the Minamata Convention on Mercury to curb mercury mining. It has not been effective because it did not target small-scale gold mining, some exporters did not sign it, and some participating nations are lax in enforcing it. In addition, the economic inequalities that lead to mercury mining still exist, so there is little incentive to stop.) 

• Summarize the last four paragraphs of the article. What idea is the author reinforcing at the end of the article? (Summarize, analyze information)(The last four paragraphs describe how illegally mined gold is brought to shops that, because of loopholes, are able to legally sell it to global buyers with governmental approval. These concluding paragraphs reinforce the idea that mercury pollution will be a tough problem to solve because, for some, the financial incentives are larger than the health concerns.)

6. Writing Prompt
How do you think the problem of mercury pollution should be solved? In a brief essay, support your ideas with details from the article as well as your own research.

7. Video
Watch the video about mercury. What does it add to your understanding?

8. Classroom Debate
Should the world use less gold?

9. Quiz & Skills
Use the quiz to assess comprehension and the Analyze the Graphs and the Be the Editor skill sheets to practice data analysis and review grammar skills.