It’s easy to beat on mines, but the truth is that some of the stuff they’re leveling those mountains for goes into my computer and cell phone. Then there are other mines that have recently opened due to the high price of gold. These money-making ventures are not only easy and moral to hate on, but it’s also a fun way to feel better about yourself. Especially now that an ongoing study in Utah has found that at least three bodies of water are so polluted that eating even one fish out of them isn’t considered safe.

A byproduct of hard-rock mining and coal-fired power plant emissions, inorganic mercury compounds are converted to a toxic organic form — methylmercury — by bacteria in lake and stream sediments, or internally after direct ingestion by fish. The substance, through a process known as bioaccumulation, builds up in the flesh of fish-eating species. And humans who engage in piscatorial pursuits top the food chain.

Most places recommend eating less than two or three fish from a certain body of water per month. It’s so that mercury doesn’t build up in your system and you go nuts like the Mad Hatter. Now places are getting so polluted that we can’t safely eat any fish. That’s cool; I suppose steaks and McDonalds are better anyway.

via Trout Underground [SL Trib]