Metal currency is used less and less with the frequent use of credit and debit cards, however, there is no justification for water pollution that effects food sources. I am surprised Indonesia isn't more interested in maintaining health waters for tourism and fishing.
This type of pollution also happens near metallurgy plants with rivers that also serve as sources of fishing.
By Ian Morse
Hakatutobu waters turned from clear to red after intensive nickel mining started on the hillslopes above the village.
Pomalla, Indonesia - Where forested hills (click here) dip into the sea, Sahman Ukas scoops up rusty-red topsoil.
His hands hold nickel that is more concentrated than many of the world’s richest deposits.
It’s no wonder, then, that on Sahman’s island of Sulawesi, companies have opened several mines in the past 15 years to feed the global market for stainless steel — made ductile and tough with nickel.
Now, a growing appetite for electric vehicles is creating new demand for nickel, whose chemical derivatives are increasingly used in cathodes of lithium-ion batteries. But the push for clean energy is coming at an environmental cost to forests and fisheries in one of the world’s most biodiverse regions....
