Sep 12, 2023 06:14 PM
(This post was last modified: Sep 13, 2023 02:02 AM by C C.)
The idea that climate change and social justice are so compatible with each other that they could be integrated as a common activist cause -- now known as climate justice -- actually goes back to at least 1990.
So in this particular instance where green technology (lithium for electric vehicles, etc) conflicts with social justice... it will be interesting to see who/what takes a back seat in the end.
The people ultimately running the show are progressives, and progressives are capitalists who simply opportunistically borrow the latest ideological fads outputted by left scholars. If there are a lot of Sinophiles among them that are upbeat about maintaining "white gold" dependency, then perhaps the local population groups don't have much to worry about in terms of rights and culture being trampled on. But otherwise...
The environmental aspect, of course, isn't anything new, though. Wind energy apparatus, kilometers of solar panel arrays, extraction of raw materials (as in this instance) for both new and old green technology, etc are well known to still have environmental impacts. Adequately primitive Plain People lifestyle would be the way to truly reverse this (if the posturing was serious and authentic). Not accommodating our continued addiction to industrial civilization.
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https://www.sciencealert.com/ancient-sup...ever-found
EXCERPTS: An ancient supervolcano in the United States may be hiding the largest deposit of lithium found anywhere in the world.
A new study hypothesizes that the McDermitt Caldera, which sits on the border between Nevada and Oregon, contains more than double the concentration of lithium seen in any other bed of clay globally, around 20 to 40 million metric tons in total.
It's worth noting that the study was funded by a mining company, and current plans to mine the soft, silvery metal are steeped in controversy.
Many scientists, environmentalists, ranchers, and First Nations people are concerned by the US government's recent decision to approve the Thacker Pass Lithium mine in the McDermitt Caldera, which sits on land that is sacred to several Indigenous tribes and contains precious wildlife habitats.
[...] "If you believe their back-of-the-envelope estimation, this is a very, very significant deposit of lithium,' Anouk Borst, a geologist who was not involved in the study, told Chemistry World. "It could change the dynamics of lithium globally, in terms of price, security of supply, and geopolitics."
But it also comes at a significant cost.
Ranchers are concerned that the lithium project will cause groundwater levels to drop to precipitous levels, and an environmental review by the US Interior Department highlighted possible dangers to native pronghorn antelope, sage grouse, and golden eagles, which are particularly sacred birds to local First Nations people.
Thacker Pass, also known as Peehee Mu'huh, is the traditional homeland of several Indigenous nations, who hunt deer here, tend to native cherry orchards, and forage for traditional medicines.
It is also the place of a bloody massacre, in which American soldiers killed 31 members of the Paiute tribe in 1865. The many caves in Thacker Pass are said to have saved the Fort McDermitt tribe from being rounded up by soldiers and sent to faraway reservations over a century ago.
Building a mine on these lands, some tribal members say, is equivalent to desecrating Pearl Harbor or Arlington National Cemetery.
"We understand that all of us must be committed to fighting climate change," wrote the People of Red Mountain in a Statement of Opposition to the mine in 2021. "Fighting climate change, however, cannot be used as yet another excuse to destroy native land. We cannot protect the environment by destroying it." (MORE - missing details)
So in this particular instance where green technology (lithium for electric vehicles, etc) conflicts with social justice... it will be interesting to see who/what takes a back seat in the end.
The people ultimately running the show are progressives, and progressives are capitalists who simply opportunistically borrow the latest ideological fads outputted by left scholars. If there are a lot of Sinophiles among them that are upbeat about maintaining "white gold" dependency, then perhaps the local population groups don't have much to worry about in terms of rights and culture being trampled on. But otherwise...
The environmental aspect, of course, isn't anything new, though. Wind energy apparatus, kilometers of solar panel arrays, extraction of raw materials (as in this instance) for both new and old green technology, etc are well known to still have environmental impacts. Adequately primitive Plain People lifestyle would be the way to truly reverse this (if the posturing was serious and authentic). Not accommodating our continued addiction to industrial civilization.
- - - - - - - - - -
https://www.sciencealert.com/ancient-sup...ever-found
EXCERPTS: An ancient supervolcano in the United States may be hiding the largest deposit of lithium found anywhere in the world.
A new study hypothesizes that the McDermitt Caldera, which sits on the border between Nevada and Oregon, contains more than double the concentration of lithium seen in any other bed of clay globally, around 20 to 40 million metric tons in total.
It's worth noting that the study was funded by a mining company, and current plans to mine the soft, silvery metal are steeped in controversy.
Many scientists, environmentalists, ranchers, and First Nations people are concerned by the US government's recent decision to approve the Thacker Pass Lithium mine in the McDermitt Caldera, which sits on land that is sacred to several Indigenous tribes and contains precious wildlife habitats.
[...] "If you believe their back-of-the-envelope estimation, this is a very, very significant deposit of lithium,' Anouk Borst, a geologist who was not involved in the study, told Chemistry World. "It could change the dynamics of lithium globally, in terms of price, security of supply, and geopolitics."
But it also comes at a significant cost.
Ranchers are concerned that the lithium project will cause groundwater levels to drop to precipitous levels, and an environmental review by the US Interior Department highlighted possible dangers to native pronghorn antelope, sage grouse, and golden eagles, which are particularly sacred birds to local First Nations people.
Thacker Pass, also known as Peehee Mu'huh, is the traditional homeland of several Indigenous nations, who hunt deer here, tend to native cherry orchards, and forage for traditional medicines.
It is also the place of a bloody massacre, in which American soldiers killed 31 members of the Paiute tribe in 1865. The many caves in Thacker Pass are said to have saved the Fort McDermitt tribe from being rounded up by soldiers and sent to faraway reservations over a century ago.
Building a mine on these lands, some tribal members say, is equivalent to desecrating Pearl Harbor or Arlington National Cemetery.
"We understand that all of us must be committed to fighting climate change," wrote the People of Red Mountain in a Statement of Opposition to the mine in 2021. "Fighting climate change, however, cannot be used as yet another excuse to destroy native land. We cannot protect the environment by destroying it." (MORE - missing details)