How Gold Rush Damages The Environment

According to Earthworks.org, gold mining takes a tremendous toll on the environment by contaminating water supplies with chemicals like arsenic and lead, polluting habitats, and killing off wildlife. The organization even alleges that a single gold wedding ring creates around 20 tons of waste. Beyond the simple considerations of gold mining, the crew of “Gold Rush” themselves have been implicated in issues surrounding the show’s alleged carelessness. 

In 2017, some residents of a Colorado town sued their local board of county commissioners for allowing “Gold Rush” to film in the area, according to The Denver Post. They claimed that the crew had destroyed the natural habitat of a nearby hill and were disrupting the otherwise peaceful community by running their industrial equipment all hours of the day. A 2011 article about the show in The Oregonian also details several alleged environmental issues, including a moment when the crew drove industrial equipment through a possible salmon habitat and another where they killed a black bear. 

“Gold Rush” certainly shows no signs of slowing down, but there is always an unseen cost to be considered when it comes to the exploitation of resources.

According to Earthworks.org, gold mining takes a tremendous toll on the environment by contaminating water supplies with chemicals like arsenic and lead, polluting habitats, and killing off wildlife. The organization even alleges that a single gold wedding ring creates around 20 tons of waste. Beyond the simple considerations of gold mining, the crew of “Gold Rush” themselves have been implicated in issues surrounding the show’s alleged carelessness. 

In 2017, some residents of a Colorado town sued their local board of county commissioners for allowing “Gold Rush” to film in the area, according to The Denver Post. They claimed that the crew had destroyed the natural habitat of a nearby hill and were disrupting the otherwise peaceful community by running their industrial equipment all hours of the day. A 2011 article about the show in The Oregonian also details several alleged environmental issues, including a moment when the crew drove industrial equipment through a possible salmon habitat and another where they killed a black bear. 

“Gold Rush” certainly shows no signs of slowing down, but there is always an unseen cost to be considered when it comes to the exploitation of resources.