I was browsing magazines at the Wellington City Library awhile ago when this news article on the cover page of Canada's ThisMagazine caught my eye. It was a story on the open pit mining at Mt. Canatuan in southern Mindanao. Taking on the disaster at Marinduque's Marcopper which was operated by Placer Dome, it is disheartening to learn that it is happening all over again at Mindanao. The health of people in the area are in danger due to poisoning, the effect of which not only affects this generation but in the next as well as mothers pass on dangerous minerals to their unborn child.

And to add insult to injury, the supposed employment possibilities for the local folk are not happening. Open pit mining is really work for heavy machinery, and not a lot of people are needed for such an operation. And so, as the profits are carted off Philippine shores, the local fishing and farming industry takes a hit, and the poor becomes even poorer, if that is even possible.

Read more about this in Alex Felipe's All that Glitters article at ThisMagazine.

This month's Do the Green Thing "challenge" is to stay grounded. That means no boarding the plane for the holidays. Planes can churn out loads of C02 in the atmosphere. Sure, lots of cars also do. But in this case, the C02 is dumped high up in the atmosphere, giving it a lot of adverse effects. If you avoid that plane trip, you save as much C02 as a year's worth of heating and electricity.

So head on over to Do the Green Thing and make your C02 savings count!