Diamonds

Ecological Footprint

Comparing the two;one participant’s ecological footprint is significantly lower than the average Canadians, hers being 4.6 global hectares, with the average Canadians being 5.8. That's saying if everyone lived their lifestyle like her, it would take a total 4.6 whole earths to sustain everyone and everything. With all of our ecological footprints put together, we noticed all of our ‘services’ sections were higher than anything else on the diagram. Meaning we all use heat, cars, lights, etc. Three ways we could all benefit the earth, and ourselves is by:

We can turn down/off the thermostat when no one’s at home, or when we’re all asleep. People usually take the thermostat for granted, so only turn it on when you really need to. It’s helping save the earth, and your wallet!

Two out of the three of us all have at least one car in our household. So in order to bring our ecological footprint down, we could ride transit, carpool, or even just walk. You’ll hit two birds with one stone.

In addition to the land disturbances, and the many broken habitats, there are still many challenges with diamond minding. Such as;

Energy, and gas emissions

Waste

Extensive use of water

The impact and lack of biodiversity and ecosystems.

Land use (deforestation)

Enviromental impacts are not often considered by mining companies but when they are mining companies try to minimise it in several ways such as;

Vehicle tracks are reused, not created

Minimal amounts of soil are cleared and disturbed during drilling and sampling

The topsoil from exploration sites is refilled and replaced as it was found

Are Diamonds really forever?

Diamonds are a non-renewable resource, which means they are not able to restore after they are used up, but diamonds aren't something people just dispose of when they don't need it anymore.They are not like coffee beans which can be planted over and over as a renewable resource. Diamonds are formed at EXTREMELY high pressure in the earths mantle, which takes quite a long time. About 130,000,000 carats (26,000 kg) diamonds are mined every year, if this continues it may take another billions years to produce more. In order to prevent this from happening we must find a way to make diamonds more sustainable, after all some countries depend on diamonds for funding. We can prevent this from happening by:

Using as little land or reducing your ecological footprint as possible to reserve for future needs.

Managing time before next extraction (not extracting immediately from a near by area after)

Passing down diamonds to next generation (mother passes down her diamond ring to her kids and they pass it down to their kids etc.)

Just like other extraction processes the diamond extraction process affects the environment negatively in many ways such as:

Greenhouse gases are produced due to the machinery used.

Water is being contaminated. When miners dump toxins into nearby bodies of water it contaminates any useful water.

Soil erosion (when the topsoil is removed faster than it naturally should be),

Loss of habitat for wildlife because of all the land used.

Although no straight answer was found as to how Michael Hill sustains, or keeps their manufacturing process eco friendly, they do claim to abide by their code of ethics. One of their statements regarding laws and the government said “In conducting business with due skill, care, and diligence, we seek always to comply with both the letter and spirit of relevant laws, rules, regulations, codes, and standards of good market practice in the countries we do business in.” No other statements regarding the topics were found, but everyone is considered innocent until proven guilty, so you be the judge.

Using the diamonds they've bought to create fine jewelry pieces:

Wedding Bands

Watches

Charms

Earrings, rings, necklaces, bracelets etc.

Using the diamonds they've bought to create fine jewelry pieces:

Wedding Bands

Watches

Charms

Earrings, rings, necklaces, bracelets etc.

Areas of the Manufacturing Process