Climate Week is set to start New York City’s largest annual climate event of its kind and as thousands pray to take part we’re looking at the ways that we consume energy two-thirds of us adults say that the country should prioritize developing renewable energy over oil coal and natural gas production according to the twenty twenty-three pew research center survey Americans wanna see wind and solar energy alternatives.
But these solar devices also rely on critical minerals that must be mine so joining us right now is Ernest Scheider senior correspondent for reuters and author of The War Below Lithium Copper and the Global Battle to Power Lives to talk about mining’s links to helping fight climate change. Great ability to yeah absolutely so so let’s talk about this because this just blew my mind you say that the climate change fight relies on mining yet mining is deeply deeply unpopular by those fighting against climate change.
So how does mining play this crucial role in saving our planet. sure all things like solar panels wind turbines electric vehicles are all built with critical minerals. you know lithium and or lithium-ion battery that powers electric vehicles solar panels and wind turbines have a lot of copper and other critical minerals. and I’m Nicole cobalt is used across our green energy economy and all of these critical minerals.
Coming out of the ground which means that I’m a change is intrinsically linked to mighty which does seem like a paradox too many people. but it’s a reality that many people just don’t think about and so the more we have a deep discussion about where and how we want to get is critical merrill. and actually, we’re going to be doing better in our fight against climate change i mean that’s fan-eating and you also say that this fight and or energy transition is about so much more than just electric cars.
So what should everyday Americans be demanding of policymakers when it comes to fighting climate change. Sure thing well as you say this is about so much more than electric vehicles and either chapter in the book talks about leaf blowers which might sound silly and basic bush league players. I just don’t that we’ve been powered by gas-powered engines and those are just gnarly for the environment. they spew out this toxic plume of just gunk make on a change worse.
So many people say is to get electric power and I did actually why was reading this book when and has no emissions? but I became curious about where did the building blocks came from and where did the lithium in cobalt and the nickel in this electric blower come from. I gotta tell you Geo I have a lot of resources at my disposal and I couldn’t figure out where they came from. But I didn’t know that they didn’t come from a mile in the United States. So what I think we have to be discussing about as Americans are us citizens of the world.
What are the standards by which we would allow are there some places special to mine and are there places where we would allow extraction we’re not having those discussions right now just take this as is geo the law that governs abiding in the United States has been around since eighteen seventy-two. it was President Ulysses as around now I wasn’t around then but I met a better president granted not envision our climate fight he did not envision . I found this is it an invasion of solar panels of law is just ran for a very very very different time and so we’re not debating right out what it looks like to have a law firm my knee in the twenty-first century that would allow Americans to have more production here at.
I think more regional production matters especially for talking about reducing emissions you know just think about it. It was four and a half years ago that the world discovered the current virus. I endemic entered the United States we got shocked.