Extraction: The Frontiers of Green Capitalism

by Thea Riofrancos

"Dazzling in the bold questions it asks.…An immense contribution." —Naomi Klein



An in-depth investigation into the growing industry of green technologies and the environmental, social, and political consequences of the mining it requires.


Lithium, a crucial input in the batteries powering electric vehicles, has the potential to save the world from climate change. But even green solutions come at a cost. Mining lithium is environmentally destructive. We therefore confront a Is it possible to save the world by harming it in the process?


Having spent over a decade researching mining and oil sectors in Latin America, Thea Riofrancos is a leading voice on resource extraction. In Extraction, she draws on groundbreaking fieldwork on the global race for lithium. Taking readers from the breathtaking salt flats of Chile’s Atacama Desert, to Nevada’s glorious Silver Peak Range, to the rolling hills of the Barroso Region of Portugal, she reveals the social and environmental costs of “critical minerals.” In Washington, DC, and Brussels, she tracks the escalating geopolitics of green technology supply chains. And she takes stock of new policy paradigms in the Global South, where governments seek to leverage mineral assets to jumpstart green development. In the process, Riofrancos uncovers surprising links across history, from colonial conquest to the 1970s energy crisis, to our still uncertain green future.


While unregulated mining could inflict irreversible harm, Riofrancos offers optimistic proposals to transform the governance of mining while also reducing the sheer volume of global extraction. A rigorous and hopeful call to action, Extraction shares how we can harmonize climate goals with social justice—and set the planet on a course to ecological flourishing.

Genres: Environment, Nonfiction, Economics, Climate Change, Politics, Ecology

287 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 23, 2025

Reviews

[⭕ slt · Rating 5 out of 5]

what is called green capitalism is just a continuation of the logic of exploitation but with the rhetoric of green technology. in this book the author shows how the same logical exploiting the land and it's resources while degrading the conditions of life for native people is shaping the world but using green technologies to wash the blood of its hands.
Also, in the last part of the book Thea Riofrancos asks an interesting question. what's the best way to go green at all? is it good enough to replace all the regular cars with electric ones or we can do better? she finds out that there is a better way to go green. not just replacing every fossil fuel energy source with an electric one (this needs a huge amount of mining and resources which is catastrophic for ecosystems, people who live in the mining areas and countries and to the whole planet). instead we can implement policies to reduce the need for consumption and waste. maybe by expanding public transit or by reducing the amount of unnecessary activities in the society which has usually been justified in the name of economic growth. this will reduce the need for mining ever more and more materials and can help us go green much much faster while also improving the conditions of Life for billions of people.
the book also gives an overview of the historical struggle between countries of what is called the global south (but not just them) with big corporations and extractive powers of the north.

[Peter Herrel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hopefully a circular economy can come to fruition, unlike fossil fuels these materials aren’t a use once scenario.

[Tess Desire'e · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars. Lots of good information and I learned a lot. However, the scope of the book is rather narrow. She focuses a lot on Chile, and much more briefly mentions the US and Portugal. Focused on lithium solely and mostly in relation to passenger EV battery production. Could have used another go around with an editor, as well.

[Mary Kesson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Books about climate change and the environment can get repetitive – there’s only so much “do this, don’t do that” that anyone needs to read. They’re more interesting when they dig into a topic you don’t encounter in your routine news diet. Extraction brings you into the world of mining the materials that power the batteries that fuel green energy. What does it take to bring lithium to market so that you can charge your mobile phone or car?

I first heard the author on a local radio program and then was able to attend a book talk that was held at Providence College, where she teaches. She’s excellent at explaining her materials to a general audience, so I recommend going to one of these events if you can.

In addition to covering what might be considered traditional issues – such as the environmental impact of extraction – there’s also a focus on how governments and corporations strive to control the supply chain. The old model of pushing most mining off on other countries gets disrupted as countries such as the US desire more control over sourcing. (Some of these practices are more visible given the transparent corruption of the current administration.) Countries that traditionally have played a role in mining, in turn, want to build industries further down the supply chain to retain more wealth domestically.

The author takes you to Chile and other locations that happen to contain the largest and/or most easily accessed deposits of these critical minerals. At some sites, the lithium is concentrated in underground reservoirs of brine, which is pumped out into ponds where evaporation works its magic to concentrate it further. This leads to absurd regulatory discussions about whether or not brine is, in fact, water. Discuss. 😊

I’ve always been inclined to hold on to my electronics as long as possible – what is now framed as “device hoarding” just seemed like good old-fashioned thrift in my eyes. Having learned more about what it takes to bring lithium to market, I feel better about my efforts to get the most mileage out of my phones and tablets, and to return them through official channels when they’re past their prime.

[Audrey Benson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is deeply well-researched, and you can feel that it comes from someone who has spent over a decade studying extractivism and working on the front lines. There’s a real sense of care and love behind it; not just for the Earth, but for the people who live on it. That care is visible in the author’s interactions with people across the entire supply chain, from cushy energy conferences to communities whose lands are directly impacted by mining. What stood out most to me was how the book gives equal importance to people, plants, landscapes, and even microorganisms—using examples like a rare Tiehm’s Buckwheat flower in Nevada as a symbol of resilience. The heart of the book lies in these long-term, personal relationships, which make the consequences of extraction impossible to ignore.

The book ultimately makes clear that we cannot simply “electrify the status quo.” Mining as it exists today is already causing immense harm to people and the planet, and real climate action requires reducing consumption and imagining a fundamentally different future. This feels especially urgent now. In the U.S., sustainability discourse has increasingly shifted toward national security, with onshoring and stockpiling minerals justified through fear and militarization. We’ve seen this in rhetoric around claiming or controlling places like Greenland and Venezuela for resources, and in the diversion of so-called “green transition” minerals into Pentagon stockpiles and weapons production. Even since this book was written, things have grown darker. That makes its call to action even more powerful: in a time of volatility and rising inequality, we have a choice. To let extraction deepen violence and concentration of power, or to fight for a future that prioritizes people and planet over the interests of the wealthy few.

[Michael Mayr · Rating 4 out of 5]

Highly relevant deep-dive into an inherently conflictuous sustainability issue, that I‘m still unsure what to think about. Many years of research woven into a story about mining and its consequences in different places, leading deeper and deeper into the structural inequalities of global capitalist production networks. Had some difficulties following the details of Chilean politics and economy but loved the lively picture of the Atacama salt flat and its ecology that I’ve been missing in academic works on the issue. Also, the impressive amount of detail in the acknowledgement section communicates very clearly the thoroughness that Riofrancos puts in her work.

[Brendan Ng · Rating 3 out of 5]

A really interesting read about lithium mining (something that I really knew nothing about), and all the complexities of ‘green’ energy, extraction, the implications and interplay for local communities, the consumer, governments, carbon emissions, the natural world, the future etc etc.

I want to be hopeful, but I do wish the last part of the book was more built out - where Riofrancos talks about the future and what a better future might look like. There was also a focus on Chile (which is fine), but the reality is this is a global problem and by not going into as much detail on other players (such as China, which I acknowledge could be a while book in itself) it’s not a full picture.

[Sean Lynch · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was really excited to read this book, especially after listening to Riofrancos’ Dig interview. But the book honestly fell short of expectations. It does a good job of presenting the dilemma of extraction—the simultaneous need to mine more lithium and the toll that mining take on the environment and local communities—but it doesn’t really say much about how we should navigate this dilemma. Only in the last few pages does the book discuss how redesigning our cities to be more dense would reduce our need for lithium: a discussion that felt rushed.

[Matt Beaty · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great read about the realities of the transition to "green" energy. It's complicated. But also, this book. calls for focusing our choices in an ethical way that protects everyone, not just the Global North.

[indi · Rating 3 out of 5]

surprisingly (frustratingly) light on detail