Tensions grow as China ramps up global mining for green tech
Tensions grow as China ramps up global mining for green tech
China has taken big stakes in mines across the world extracting minerals vital to the green economy.
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As Chinese companies have increased their overseas mining operations, allegations of problems caused by these projects have steadily risen.
The Business and Human Rights Resource Centre, an NGO, says such troubles are "not unique to Chinese mining" but last year it published a report listing 102 allegations made against Chinese companies involved in extracting critical minerals, ranging from violations of the rights of local communities to damage to ecosystems and unsafe working conditions.
These allegations dated from 2021 and 2022. The BBC has counted more than 40 further allegations that were made in 2023, and reported by NGOs or in the media.
“Strip mining for the environment!”
Maybe our tech isn’t so “green” if this is the process.
The problem is, what's the alternative? Unless we make some new discovery or give up on modern society, this is how we get off fossil fuels. I hate it, I just don't see another answer.
The alternative is moving away from rare earth minerals to more common ones for battery tech, which is starting to happen. A long term transition will likely require more fundamental shifts in society, which will bring a lot of benefits too. But in the short term, fossil fuels need to be abandoned rapidly.
The same solution that's been around since 1879...... the electric train.
There is no environmentally friendly way to keep our current mass transit system, which is currently just everyone over the age of 16 having a car.
The problem is simple, the solution is simple, the only thing that makes it a difficult problem is because we don't have an economic incentive to shift capital away from private ownership.
Thankfully electric vehicles are becoming cheaper then ICE vehicles which is a very good sign that we don't need as many rare earth metals. Unfortunately for renewable technology we still need rare earth metals, and they need to be mined using fossil fuels first. That's the stage we're at right now. We still need to get much better at recycling which I believe we will.
Oh and anyone that says electric vehicles are worse for the environment than ICE vehicles are idiots and shills. ICE vehicles also rely on rare earth metals and produce significant air pollution.