07/08/2025
Have you ever wondered how the phone in your hand works, what components and materials it is made of, and where they come from?
We are living in an increasingly technology-centric world, and technical advances are often presented to us as solutions to global issues. The green transition—the shift toward an environmentally, socially, and economically sustainable future to help combat climate change—has been facilitated in part by advancements made in clean energy technology, like solar power and electric vehicles (EVs).
However, there is a paradox at the heart of this so-called green transition: the technologies meant to move us away from extractive, polluting, and unsustainable systems still depend on those same systems.
Technology like the batteries that power EVs, the storage cells for solar power, and the magnets inside wind turbines rely on a wide range of “transition” minerals. Cobalt, lithium, and nickel in particular are key components of energy-storing batteries. These minerals are critical components of sought-after renewable technologies, accelerating a modern-day gold rush as companies race to bring them to global markets. To get them, we dig deep, even when it is at a great cost.
Read more and subscribe to The AGS Globe on Substack: https://americangeo.substack.com/p/the-ags-globe-the-hidden-costs-of
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