Blood and Earth Chapter 3-4
What kinds of medical issues face those working the mines?
Silicosis, flying shards of rock damaging eyes, rockfalls and other accidents breaking bones, scabies
Why don't government officials in Bangladesh stop the illegal labor practices in the shrimp industry?
There is money and corruption involved, leading to them turning a blind eye.
What is the role of the company Mining and Processing Congo (MPC) in the working conditions of the mines in Bisie?
They came to develop the Bisie site. The local military extorted them and they had to leave.
Why would a shrimp processor want a small factory rather than a large one?
They make more money; seen as safer, cleaner, and more ethical to the outside world
Why do they build dikes and what are they made of?
To separate the wet and dry areas and kill off forests where they want to make shrimp farms; clay
How did the woman interviewed by the author describe working conditions in the shrimp factory and why did she stay?
Unfair; contractors are rough, beat the workers; delayed, sometimes no pay; It is uncertain if she will be able to find another job and she needs to provide for her children.
Why are mangrove trees important?
Without them, people die because of cyclones. The trees protect people from them.
What is a "carbon sink" and what is "sequestration"?
A place where the CO2 is literally scrubbed out of the air and deposited into the oceans in a way that keeps it locked away; Locking away atmospheric carbon
What does the Enough Project report about Apple, Intel, and Nintendo regarding progress on the issue of mining by slave labor? Which company is the worst?
Apple and Intel are doing fairly well (Intel > Apple) but Nintendo is doing the worst.
What are miners digging for in the Bisie mine and what is it used for?
Cassiterite, used to make solder to hold electronics together
What can individuals do to address the problems described in this chapter?
Contact companies to let them know that it's important to you to have products free of slavery, make smart and ethical purchases
To what extent are major corporations that use minerals harvested by slave labor guilty of slavery or ecocide?
Even though it's not completely illegal to purchase minerals harvested by slave labor, if one doesn't take responsibility, then they become morally culpable.
What are the ways that people come to work in the mine at Bisie?
Freed orphaned ex-child soldiers, slavery, rounded up at gunpoint
In the opening story what happened to the boy who was sent to cut fish and hang them on racks?
He was enslaved for a short period of time for little money
Who are the negotiants and the comptoirs and what do they do?
Negotiants are middlemen who buy the ore at the mine and arrange for its transportation. Comptoirs are businessmen who are aiding and abetting the crimes of slavery and ecocide.
What is the dried fish used for?
Pet food, livestock feed, human food