Mining and the clean energy paradox

Make Me Smart

Today we’re talking about a key piece of the global transition to renewable energy: metals. Specifically, metals like copper, lithium and cobalt that we need to build wind turbines, electric vehicles and to improve our energy grid. Vince Beiser, author of the forthcoming book “Power Metal: The Race for the Resources That Will Shape the Future,” said we’ll need hundreds of millions more tons of these metals. But mining them comes at a cost. On the show today, Beiser explains the environmental and social consequences of mining for these metals, China’s dominance over the supply chain, and ways to make the transition to renewables more fair. Plus, why mining in space is a pipe dream, at least for now.

Then, we’ll get into how the U.S. dairy industry could be upended if former President Donald Trump’s plan for mass deportations took place. And, how one listener makes voting a party.

Here’s everything we talked about today:

• “The Green Economy Is Hungry for Copper—and People Are Stealing, Fighting, and Dying to Feed It” from Wired
• “Mining Critical to Renewable Energy Tied to Hundreds of Alleged Human Rights Abuses” from Inside Climate News
• “How does the environmental impact of mining for clean energy metals compare to mining for coal, oil and gas?” from MIT Climate Portal
• “The Indispensable Industry: Mining’s Role in the Energy Transition and the Americas” from the Center for Strategic and International Studies
• “What a Crackdown on Immigration Could Mean for Cheap Milk” from The New York Times
• “Trump’s economic plans would worsen inflation, experts say” from AP News
• “Boeing to Sell at Least $10 Billion in Shares to Plug Cash Drain” from The Wall Street Journal

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