Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA, Oct. 21st, 2013:  Greg Valerio will make his first stop in his American book tour, reading from Making Trouble: Fighting for Fair Trade Jewelry at New Mexico’s premier independent bookstore, Collected Works. The event, which will take place on Friday, October 25th at 6pm, will be a fund raising effort

By Marc Choyt “From the CEO to shovel operator,” the brochure reads, “the company believes the areas unspoiled air, clean water and natural beauty are more valuable than any mineral wealth.” A proposed gold mine threatens a pristine region of New Mexico, while using Orwellian PR to tout its commitment to “sustainability.” In June, Santa

Will ‘Silly’ Regulation Prevail Over Common Sense? By Ian Doyle The issue of conflict diamonds, and more recently conflict minerals, remains a problem at many levels. On the ground, what can be done to change the deplorable conditions of artisanal miners exposed to extreme poverty, slave labour and rape as a weapon, in those regions