Climate Week is about to kick off in New York City, the largest annual climate event of its kind. With thousands of people lined up to attend, we’re considering ways we consume energy. Two-thirds of us adults say the country should prioritize the development of renewable energy instead of oil, coal, and natural gas production, according to a Twenty Twenty Three Pew Research Center survey Americans would like to see alternatives to wind and solar power. But these solar devices also depend on critical minerals that must be mined, so joining us right now is Ernest Schneider, Reuters senior correspondent, and author of The War Below Lithium Copper and The Global Battle to Power Lives, to talk about mining’s link to helping fight climate change sincerely welcome to the Good Morning Show.
Tastes great potential yes absolutely so let’s talk about this because it blew my mind you say the fight for climate change depends on mining. Yet mining is deeply unpopular among those fighting against climate change. So how does mining play this vital role in saving our planet? Of course, all of these things like solar panels wind turbines electric vehicles are all made from critical minerals. You know lithium goes into it. Lithium-ion batteries that power electric vehicles, solar panels, and wind turbines have a lot of copper and other critical minerals.
I’m Nicole and cobalt is used in our green energy economy. Once all of these critical minerals come out of the ground which means I’m a change. Which is intrinsically linked to the powerful. Which sounds like a paradox to a lot of people but it’s a reality that a lot of people don’t think about. So the more we have really deep discussions about where and how we want to get there. That’s important Meryl and really the better we’re going to do in our fight against climate change. I mean it’s fan.
eating And you also say that this fight and or the energy transition is much more than just electric cars. So when it comes to fighting climate change. So what should everyday Americans be demanding from policymakers? Certainly, as you say it’s much more than electric vehicles and either chapter in the book that talks about leaf blowers. That may sound silly and a basic bush league player. I just we’re powered by gas-powered engines. They’re very, very dangerous to the environment, they put out such toxic fumes. This makes the change even worse, so a lot of people say get electric power. I read this book and there are no emissions, but I got curious to know where the building blocks came from. Where did the lithium in the cobalt and the nickel in this electric blower come from, I have to tell you I have a lot of resources.
But I didn’t know they didn’t come from a mile in the United States. So I think we should discuss that. Because Americans are American citizens of the world what are the standards by which we will allow our mining, are there certain places? Where we will allow mining. Are there places where we would allow extraction, we’re not having those discussions right now. Take this, there’s legislation in place in the United States to follow. Wow since eighteen seventy-two, it was President Ulysses.
As I was not around now, better presidents did not imagine our climate fight, they did not imagine, I found it to be an invasion. Solar panels of law have been run for very very very different times. So we’re not debating what that looks like, I have a law firm on my knee in the twenty-first century that would allow Americans to produce more here. I think more regional production matters. Especially 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 and I see endemic entering the United States.