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Pitfall: The Race to Mine the World's Most Vulnerable Places
A compelling investigation into the global race to exploit our world' s dwindling natural resources.
In order to transition to clean energy in the coming decades, billions of tons of copper, nickel, silver, and other metals will be required to build electric vehicles and green infrastructure, and power smart technology. We need more metals than ever before, yet the qualities and quantities are diminishing, making the extraction process more polluting to land, air, and water. And most of these metals will be mined from the global south, where social conflict will only grow, led by Indigenous peoples demanding a greater say in how their wealth is used.
In Pitfall, investigative journalist Christopher Pollon charts how transnational companies have controlled copper, precious metals, and lithium mining in Latin America, made inroads into war-torn countries in Africa, and extracted nickel, industrial and rare earth metals across Australia, Asia and the Pacific. Industry attention is now moving to deeper and darker places, including the depths of the ocean, sacrifice zones, and near-Earth asteroids.
The stakes couldn' t be How can we mine the metals we need without replicating the environmental and human rights abuses of the past?
In order to transition to clean energy in the coming decades, billions of tons of copper, nickel, silver, and other metals will be required to build electric vehicles and green infrastructure, and power smart technology. We need more metals than ever before, yet the qualities and quantities are diminishing, making the extraction process more polluting to land, air, and water. And most of these metals will be mined from the global south, where social conflict will only grow, led by Indigenous peoples demanding a greater say in how their wealth is used.
In Pitfall, investigative journalist Christopher Pollon charts how transnational companies have controlled copper, precious metals, and lithium mining in Latin America, made inroads into war-torn countries in Africa, and extracted nickel, industrial and rare earth metals across Australia, Asia and the Pacific. Industry attention is now moving to deeper and darker places, including the depths of the ocean, sacrifice zones, and near-Earth asteroids.
The stakes couldn' t be How can we mine the metals we need without replicating the environmental and human rights abuses of the past?
391 pages, Kindle Edition
Published January 30, 2024
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About the author
Christopher Pollon
4 books1 followerChristopher Pollon is an award-winning Canadian freelance journalist and author focused on environment, business and the politics of natural resources. He is the author of two books, including “PITFALL: THE RACE TO MINE THE WORLD’S MOST VULNERABLE PLACES” (2023) – and “THE PEACE IN PERIL: THE REAL COST OF THE SITE C DAM” (2017).
Covering a global beat of oceans, energy and mining, his writing has been published by National Geographic, VICE, The Walrus, The Globe and Mail and many more. He is a contributing editor at The Tyee, which is based in his home town of Vancouver, British Columbia.
Covering a global beat of oceans, energy and mining, his writing has been published by National Geographic, VICE, The Walrus, The Globe and Mail and many more. He is a contributing editor at The Tyee, which is based in his home town of Vancouver, British Columbia.
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