United Nations
thedailybell.com / By Staff Report / January 24, 2013
Minamata Convention Agreed by Nations … Global Mercury Agreement to Lift Health Threats from Lives of Millions World-Wide … Geneva / Nairobi, 19 January 2013 – International effort to address mercury-a notorious heavy metal with significant health and environmental effects, which delivered a significant boost today with governments agreeing to a global, legally-binding treaty to prevent emissions and releases … The treaty, Which has been four years in negotiation and whichwill be open for signature at a special meeting in Japan in October, that addresses the direct mining of mercury, export and import of the metal and safe storage of waste mercury … Nations with artisanal and small-scale gold mining operations will draw up national plans within three years of the treaty entering into force to reduce and if possible eliminate the use of mercury in search operations … Governments approved exceptions for some large measuring devices where currently there are no mercury-free alternative … Vaccines where mercury is used as a preservative have been excluded from the treaty as have products used in religious or traditional activities … Delegates agreed to a phase-down of the use of dental mercury amalgam fillings using -United Nations Environment software titles (UNEP).
Dominant Social Theme: People need to be protected from mercury.
Free-Market Analysis: . In a little-noticed convention (see above), the United Nations is once again making it harder for poor people to earn a living In this case it is the small gold miners that use mercury to help them sift for gold.
While the UN provides the requisite disclaimers having to do with finding “alternative” to mercury for small miners we to wonder how much they’ll cost. Additionally, we note this latest attack on people’s ability to make a living excludes Big Pharma: Mercury will continue to find its way into vaccines because there are currently “no mercury-free alternatives.”
Amazing, is not it, the concern that the UN shows for multi-billion dollar corporations? Small miners are expected to find an alternative as soon as possible but UN honchos are most concerned that seeking treaties may pose a difficulty for certain multinationals.
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