You probably don’t live anywhere near a gold mine, but chances are you own some gold jewelry or electronics that have bits of gold inside. Gold mining, which often takes place in developing nations often uses huge pools of cyanide to leach gold from the earth. Occasionally these pools burst, destroying rivers.

Illegal miners collect mercury-laced gold, separate the two, and leave the concentrated mercury to pollute rivers. What can you do? It’s difficult to know where your gold is coming from, but buying vintage jewelry—the ultimate in recycling—won’t increase demand for more mining

In 2010, Russia is expected to set afloat its first barge-mounted nuclear power plant, a $200-million plant the size of a football field that can be towed to energy-starved Arctic communities on the White Sea. Built by the energy company Rosenergoatom, the barge will carry its load of nuclear waste on board, offloading the stuff every 10 to 20 years, plenty of time to run into a perfect storm—or two.

Found this on:

http://www.popsci.com/environment/gallery/2008-06/looming-eco-disasters