The contentious path to a cleaner future
MIT Technology Review
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The US needs to mine a lot more metal in order to build the batteries, EVs, wind turbines, solar panels, and other cleantech products required to rapidly shift the economy away from fossil fuels. But mining proposals can often spark local conflicts, even among groups of people who agree that we need to do much more to combat climate change.?
In this edition of What’s Next in Tech, explore the tension that arises when a community is forced to decide between achieving climate goals and preventing environmental dangers.
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A proposed mining project is dividing a tiny Midwest town even as the Biden administration signals its strategic importance to a cleaner future.
The US offshored the dirty business of mining for decades. But producing the critical minerals needed for climate-tech projects has suddenly become a high national priority again. One company promises it can do it in a cleaner way—can it deliver?
In June last year, Talon Metals, an exploratory mining company, submitted a proposal to Minnesota state regulators to begin digging up as much as 725,000 metric tons of raw ore per year, mainly to unlock the rich and lucrative reserves of high-grade nickel in the bedrock.
Talon is striving to distance itself from the mining industry’s dirty past, portraying its plan as a clean, friendly model of modern mineral extraction. It proclaims the site will help to power a greener future for the US by producing the nickel needed to manufacture batteries for electric cars and trucks, but with low emissions and light environmental impacts.
But as the company has quickly discovered, a lot of locals aren’t eager for major mining operations near their towns. While many are in favor of the economic opportunities the mine will bring, plenty of others fear that it will pollute local waterways and undermine Indigenous rights to natural resources.
This is the story of what happens when a community is caught between achieving climate goals and preventing environmental dangers, and the bitter local battles that arise. Read the story.
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Image: Ackerman + Gruber
The future(s) that lie ahead are full of unexpected and uncertain debates and compromises like the interesting one in this article. Thanks for sharing! For those who are interested in the future of climate change, we just published another free English-learning resource on the theme of Climate Futures. Check it out here! https://www.dhirubhai.net/posts/finch-languages_fl-aeeb-climate-futures-activity-7249327689507966976-k6Gi?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop
Innovation meets responsibility! ????? Aristotle once hinted at finding harmony in the face of challenges, hinting at the wisdom of achieving balance. Let’s pave the future with tech that honors our planet and communities alike! #SustainableTech #HarmonyInInnovation
Photographer, Business Owner, Wildlife Professional, Leader
9 个月https://www.usgs.gov/centers/national-minerals-information-center/mineral-industry-minnesota
Account Executive @ Stat.Trans LLC | Small Business Owner
10 个月Bullshit! We don't need to Pollute or destroy the Planet for Clean Energy! The technology exists to extract hydrogen from water with Plasmoids. When it is burned as you say the Energy can be captured in heat and light as the Torus collapses oxygen is released and hydrogen turns back into water. The Zero Point runs through the Torus . 432 hz cavitation bubbles collapses Sono luminescence not PEM or electrolysis which are not efficient.
Generalist
10 个月Cut use of metals elsewhere...