Good as Gold

The City Club of Cleveland and the Cleveland Council on World Affairs and International Partners in Mission present tonight's Happy Dog Takes on the World lecture featuring Michael N. Melampy, Ph.D., an ecologist and Professor of Biology at Baldwin Wallace University, and Steve Cagan, a photographer based in Cleveland who's been leading a multimedia project to expose the impact of gold mining in El Chocó, Colombia. They'll talk about the price of gold and other precious metals in the global market has risen in recent years. And they'll try to assess the real cost of these commodities. The discussion will also address "the environmental damage done by modern mining, as well as the threats to the rights of local communities, the disruption of the social fabric, and the violations of human and legal rights of local people." It starts at 7:30 p.m. at the Happy Dog, and it's free. (Niesel)