Field-Trip to Long Island Vineyard
3rd Agricultural Geophysics Workshop at Cornell University’s Long Island Horticultural Research & Extension Center
Reflections
Innovation Unedited
Kenneth Arrow: 1972
Nobel Prize in Economics
Robert Aumann: 2005
Nobel Prize in Economics
Julius Axelrod: 1970
Nobel Prize in Medicine or Physiology
Stanley Cohen: 1986
Nobel Prize in Medicine or Physiology
Gertrude Elion: 1988
Nobel Prize in Physics
Herbert Hauptman: 1985
Nobel Prize in Chemistry
Robert Hofstadter: 1961
Nobel Prize in Physics
Jerome Karle: 1985
Nobel Prize in Chemistry
Arthur Kornberg: 1959
Nobel Prize in Medicine or Physiology
Leon Lederman: 1988
Nobel Prize in Physics
Arno Penzias: 1978
Nobel Prize in Astrophysics
Julian Schwinger: 1965
Nobel Prize in Physics
Rosalyn Yalow: 1977
Nobel Prize in Medicine
Lindsay Siegel
Executive Director
Zahn Innovation Center
City College of New York
Elizabeth Vilchis
Operations
Homer Delivery
Andrew L. Russell, Ph.D.
Director
Science & Tech Studies Prog
Associate Professor, History
Stevens Institute of Technology
Aaron M. Socha, Ph.D.
Director: Ctr for Sust Energy
Professor: Department of Chemistry
Bronx Community College, CUNY
Theo Vassilakis, Ph.D.
Founder & CEO
Metanautix
We first encountered this topic on pureearth.org, where the pandemic of mercury environmental contamination was sweeping the world and becoming a international phenomenon. This prompted us to do further research, from which we found Mongolia and the mining issue taking place right now as a result of mercury usage. We delved into the science surrounding the mining process and found several detriments that are affecting the Mongolian people as a result of mercury usage in mining. This gave us further impetus to elucidate on the issue and create a more grand awareness of topic in the world, hoping that it in turn, it would speed of the remediation process of mercury contamination.
We chose our topic with our majors in mind. I, being in engineering, wanted to work on something involving industrial processes, while Vijay, majoring in biology, wanted to work on something involving with public health. We found our topic on Pure Earth, formerly the Blacksmith Institute. For the poster, i gathered most of the research, while Vijay did most of the design. We split the written content so Vijay would be able to work on the health aspects while I could work on the mining parts. Overall, i enjoyed carrying out this project since it provided us with some insight into the environmental status of a country other than our own.
Your poster is really in depth and clear. You have very clear goals and challenges, which helps get the message across to the viewers. The pictures and diagrams are helpful as well and provide another useful way of conveying the problem.
Poster is great and overall aesthetically pleasing. Your explanations about mercury usage and its solution (The Borax Method) are very scientific and detail-oriented. It is interesting how a way of life for many people can become the world’s largest emission of a contaminant.
I really enjoy the asymmetrical design and varied background colors of the text boxes, it’s different from a typical 3 or 4 column poster and provides nice contrast to the shape of the poster. The caption boxes are visually appealing too (though I wonder why the same style used on the right side of the poster wasn’t implemented to the left side) and the quote in red text provides nice contrast to the surrounding text as well. The Borax Method seems like a very plausible and good solution to the current operations in Mongolia. Why hasn’t the nation implemented this earlier?
This poster is very informative and has a great color scheme. I find graphs on the change in the labor force very interesting in that the focus on agriculture decreased dramatically in the course of 14 years. I also find it interesting how there are many methods to gold extraction.
The level of detail in exploring the Borax method is intriguing. This method is very interesting and seems cost effective and methodically effective as well. I also like the placement of the sections on the poster
Your poster is very well organized. The figures help the audience visualize the various aspects involved in this issue, like the process of using borax and the increasing level of employment in the area. You undoubtedly face many challenges because of the complexity of the issue, but your proposed solution to use borax to eliminate mercury from the process seems like a very good solution. Your explanation of all the advantages to using borax is sound and helps to clarify your purpose. You’ve done a great job overall of informing your audience and demonstrating the nature of the issue.
The group effectively uses charts to show the changes in labor in the region. They also explain why this method of gold mining is so dangerous and unwise considering the better alternatives available. The goals this group presents are very realistic, especially considering the challenges they will face.
After reading about the hazards of ASGM, your poster is very convincing in justifying the use of the Borax Method. Your ultimate goals and the challenges are very simply and clearly stated and the chart is very easily understandable, which adds to the accessibility of the poster.
I like the layout of the poster, it’s not oversaturated with information which makes me more willing to read it. The information about the borax method was easy for me to process. With your explanation, using the borax method seems like a very sensible solution considering its cost as well as its high effectiveness at gathering gold compared to mercury.
The design scheme is phenomenal. The information is designed to pop out and the images are powerful.
This is indeed a great presentation.
Looking closer at the text, I can see the predicament with a cheap and dangerous ingredient being used by poor families to support themselves—an honest life, as they might call it. The Borax Method proposed as a solution is quite attractive!
I think the inclusion of images from both practices is a good way of demonstrating the difference in the two ways of mining for gold. I think the chart, however, is a little vague. Although there was an increase in the industrial workforce, how much of that increase is actually attributed to artisanal gold miners? With the expansion of the service industry it may appear that Mongolia is shaping up to becoming a “developed country” and if the changes continue in this way, artisanal gold mining might phase out on its own through this economy based mainly on service. It would also be interesting to see how many individuals in Mongolia suffer from the effects of Mercury inhalation or ingestion. Otherwise, I think overall the poster is great.
I found the topic of this poster incredibly interesting and enjoyed reading the information provided. I found that the poster is very well organized and informative. I think that the addition of photos that show the actual plan for remediation made the poster more visually appealing and interesting. This group was successful in capturing the attention of the reader and made me want to learn more about this topic
Based on the data you presented, the borax method seems like a good alternative to using mercury. The fact that it is inexpensive and nontoxic makes it clear that the country should adopt this method of small-scale gold mining. The graphs that showed the change in labor from 2000 to 2014 were effective because they showed how important it was that the mining process be changed since more people are being employed in industry.
I love the visuals in particular- allows for a very natural flow around the poster and helps to keep interest in the processes. In particular I love the pictures that detailed the process and give a better idea of exactly how the process would look and appear. One of the things I liked the most however is how detailed you went through the process so that the entire procedure can be thoroughly understood. Your solution was concise, simple, and efficient. Very well researched.
This project was very well researched. I appreciated the detail in explaining the Borax gold extraction process, and I found the visual illustration of the process very helpful. The one thing I was curious about was whether the Borax method was as affordable as the Mercury method, but I think this is something that can definitely be clarified in verbal presentation.
The visuals in your poster were great, especially figures 3-5, which showed the Borax Method step by step. I liked how you included a background of Mongolia’s history, with a focus on the mining practices. You did a great job describing the use of mercury, and how detrimental it could be. Showing the change in labor was a valuable addition.
I really like the color scheme and visuals of this poster. It’s interesting that mercury is used in the mining process and creates such harm when the country runs mostly on service industries. Has the government worked or sought to regulate the mercury use?
The Macaulay event was very educative. I learned a lot about the different environmental issues encompassing the world, and about some creative conclusions some groups made from their own unique experiments. It was fun conversing with the Macaulay student body, and very much enthusing when picking the brains of the fellow professors and honorable judges about their expertise and understanding of environmental issues. I really enjoyed this experience and would love to go another round if possible.
The Macaulay event was interesting in that it made us defend our poster to anyone walking by. Of course, there were people who simply appreciated what we had to say and were interested on our topic, but there were many who wanted to know why. Why this? Why now? Why not? Embracing this questioning actually made me think more about our project. A lot of people were actually right. Why is this issue not being talked about and why isn’t it simply fixed? Our poster presents a somewhat simple method to remedy a huge problem, so why ins’t someone on top of this?
The shades of blue unite your poster very well visually and the structure is both effective and interesting. Additionally, your content was clear and straight forward but was still nuanced and your conclusions were thorough. The images your chose were not distracting and your maps and charts added to my understanding.
Besides the remediation technologies presented, what can be done to have the local people become aware of mercury poisoning? If the public becomes aware of the problem then maybe the government will pay more attention to regulation factors.
I really like the pictures and graphs on this poster. They are very informative and interesting. The pie chart is especially interesting in showing how labor in agriculture decreased and services increased. Overall I really like this poster.
The overall theme of this poster and other ones is that as long as the developed world continues their thirst for precious metals the developing countries will always pay the price.
Great poster and a good explanation of the alternative borax method. the one thought I had is what about replacing the populations livelihood altogether with an alternative industry? Although mercury pollution is by far the biggest concern, small scale gold mining as a whole is ecologically damaging. Wouldn’t finding an alternative source of income for the population be a good remediation option to pursue?
Education is a crucial aspect of every remediation process as this is a long term prevention technique. Especially when considering public health impacts it’s important to establish sustainable methods and incorporating education would ensure that.
What can be doen to influence the economy of the region so that there are better opportunities for the residents than panning for gold?
Beautiful layout. The data was well organized and I like how you listed the remediation methods concisely and gave lots of background.
during your research, did find anyone died because of an exposure?
Very nice poster, and my only suggestion is that you should make a separate box for the health effects.
What can be done to so the gold “Ninjas” accept and implement the Borax method in their work? The lack of health risk awareness plays key role in this, I think. Raising awareness will undoubtedly have a positive impact.
This is a unique topic for me because I have not seen many people research in areas such as Mongolia. There is quite a lot of chemistry involved since this deals with small-scale gold mining. I like how the author uses pie charts to demonstrate the different divisions of agriculture, industry, and services in two years.
Wow that is great, I don’t see why they shouldn’t transition to the Borax method!
Very complicated position, because this provides a lot of careers for a lot of people, but at the same time there are health hazards.
The visuals for the poster were well designed. The organization i would say was a little to sporadic. However, each section was easy to distinguish between one another. Additionally, the challenge section was nice to see so that notable things that might cause problems are known.
I am very big on pictures to help sell your point and i think you all did a very good job with that along with the presentation of the materiel.
What can be done to make sure implementation of this Borax method among the miners? It seems like a better solution and you suggest out reach programs, but these programs have rarely worked in such environments.
the method introduced here is quite unique, but the damage would be vast, to human or to environment.
Interesting presentation. Are there any other methods beside borax method? It is intriguing how government doesn’t enforce mercury usage or doesn’t implement other methods
Great description of gold extraction methods. I would have liked a little bit more info why the borax method is not yet fully implemented. Are there any disadvantages if using it exclusively, even if of a smaller degree than mercury?
This is some fine work because it offers an alternative to Mercury mining of gold in Mongolia. The people can continue mining and do it in an environmentally friendly way. How is the Borax method going to be presented to the people of Mongolia? I think if we can get the point, that Mercury is dangerous, across plus the solution many lives would be affected positively.