Solutions to climate change are repeating mistakes in new models

 The problem with lithium batteries

Presently, our total and complete dependence on information and communications technology (smartphones, tablets, lap tops, smartwatches etc…) increases an already colossal market for mined resources. It’s nearly impossible to name anything around you that did not come from a mine; from the walls in your house to the fertilizer in your garden. 

Lithium batteries produced for our devices which are constantly being “improved” and updated, rendering previous ones obsolete. This not only further increases the market for mined materials but constantly uses energy and depletes non-renewable resources. 

“Going Green” is not as easy as it seems. Ironically, the attempt to transition from the massive use of fossil fuels to alternative energy for example, the mining of minerals like cobalt increases for the production of lithium batteries for electric cars  (Campbell) not only further damages the environment and vital ecosystems but also uses massive amount of energy in the process. These mined minerals are becoming increasingly scarce, as there is only a finite amount of them on the earth. Eventually, mineral shortages would render this approach obsolete. Although many of them can be used again if recycled, the process is not always convenient for consumers, so they just end up in a land fill.

Many of the electrical components necessary for our devices are mined from minerals such as tungsten, tantalum, tin and gold which are also used for medical devices, automotive, defense and aerospace industries. Cobalt is mined for use in rechargeable batteries, to make airbags, catalysts for the petroleum and chemical industries. (US Geological Survey). 

There is also a grave human impact beyond environmental damage. In the Congo, the mining of these minerals funds and perpetuates war and violence. The working conditions are hazardous and the impoverished mine workers are exploited, abused and barely compensated. Many of these workers are children (Campbell). 

We continue to exploit people, use finite resources, and mine even though it is environmentally hazardous rather than create new models. We are using the same unsustainable business models, relying on capital that allows those with power to gain more wealth while keeping others in poverty and using them for cheap labor. Right now, china is creating a huge infrastructure in Africa not purely for altruist reasons (Adeshokan). 

I fear that pretending to relieve us of the burden of carbon with these same models will only perpetuate even more dependency on dangerous corrupt and environmentally destructive industries.

The container ship of thousands of luxury cars that recently sunk to the bottom of the ocean (Paúl) seems like an apt metaphorical warning.

by Kim Keown; edited by Hazel James

Campbell, John. https://www.cfr.org/blog/why-cobalt-mining-drc-needs-urgent-attention. 29 October 2020. 17 September 2021.
Malan, Dr. Susy. https://www.iisd.org/articles/how-advance-sustainable-mining. 18 October 2021. 25 February 2022.


Adeshokan, Oluwatosin. https://thediplomat.com/2021/12/chinas-investment-drive-and-africas-disjointed-infrastructure/. 21 December 2021. 12 March 2022.

Campbell, John. https://www.cfr.org/blog/why-cobalt-mining-drc-needs-urgent-attention. 29 October 2020. 17 September 2021.

Malan, Dr. Susy. https://www.iisd.org/articles/how-advance-sustainable-mining. 18 October 2021. 25 February 2022.

Paúl, María Luisa. https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2022/03/01/cargo-ship-felicity-ace-porsche-cars-sinks/. 2 March 2022. 12 March 2022.

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