The California Gold Rush
Daniel Ramírez The California Gold Rush When I arrive in the heart of the Gold Rush, I see thousands of miners working under brutal conditions. They swing heavy tools for long hours, their hands cracked and bleeding, with little pay and no protection from accidents. The air is thick with dust, and many men cough from breathing in fine particles that damage their lungs. Native Americans are treated cruelly, forced off their lands, and often attacked when they try to defend their homes and resources. Massive hydraulic mining machines blast water at hillsides, ripping away soil and rock while sending mud and chemicals into the rivers. The once-clear streams are now brown and choked with debris, killing fish and poisoning the water that nearby families depend on. Farms downstream are covered in silt, and whole communities suffer from floods caused by the mining waste. This situation is dangerous for the future because the destruction of land and water cannot be easily undone, and it...
