Author Archives: Sebastián Rubiano-Galvis

Sebastián Rubiano-Galvis (Ph.D., Environmental Science, Policy, & Management, UC Berkeley) is a Postdoctoral Fellow in the International Studies Department at the University of San Francisco. He studies environmental politics and the politics of science in Latin America.
Wall in Segovia, Antioquia with graffiti

Toxicity, Violence, and the Legacies of Mercury and Gold Mining in Colombia

Toxic substances are often portrayed as stubborn molecules that resist being restricted to the places where we would like to contain them in order to free ourselves from the environmental and health damage they cause us . Mercury —a heavy metal used for different products and industrial processes— illustrates how the effects of these substances are mediated not only by their “stubbornness” or physical-chemical persistence but also by histories of power, violence, and domination. (read more...)