Unearthed: The Mining Issue
Fighting climate change is going to require a lot of minerals. But at what cost?
Recent
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![The sun sets on the mining vessel ‘Hidden Gem’]()
![The sun sets on the mining vessel ‘Hidden Gem’]()
Digging for minerals in the Pacific’s graveyard: The $20 trillion fight over who controls the seabed
“The soul of our ancestors, when they leave this world, they go into the deep.”
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![A pile of electronics in a warehouse with a sign indoors that says 'redwood materials']()
![A pile of electronics in a warehouse with a sign indoors that says 'redwood materials']()
Mining is an environmental and human rights nightmare. Battery recycling can ease that.
Recycling provides economic, national security, and environmental benefits. But the United States is playing catch-up to Asian countries, particularly China.
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![A geologic map of Arizona's castle rock quadrangle]()
![A geologic map of Arizona's castle rock quadrangle]()
Why Biden and Trump both support this federal mineral mapping project
A U.S. Geological Survey effort to find underground deposits of clean energy metals has gotten bipartisan support.
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![A woman in traditional Indigenous clothing holds her fist aloft during a protest]()
![A woman in traditional Indigenous clothing holds her fist aloft during a protest]()
Most critical minerals are on Indigenous lands. Will miners respect tribal sovereignty?
Grist spoke with five experts to understand what free, prior, and informed consent should look like in this new era of extraction.
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Grist reports on topics like Politics, Energy, Equity, Solutions, and how they intersect with climate. All topics.
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Indigenous Affairs
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Alaska Natives want the US military to clean up its toxic waste
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A $250M investment will help this lithium mine get up and running. That’s bad news for these tribes.
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In Canada, Indigenous advocates argue that mining companies violate the rights of nature
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![Oil pump jacks at the Elk Hills oil field in Kern County, California.]()
Inside a California oil town’s divisive plan to survive the energy transition
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An invisible chemical is poisoning thousands of unsuspecting warehouse workers
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The people who feed America are going hungry
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![illustration in the style of WPA posters of 3 electricians with electric bolts above them; a heat pump and solar panels in the background]()
To get off fossil fuels, America is going to need a lot more electricians
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![Senator Debbie Stabenow speaks with an aide before a committee meeting]()
The Senate’s new farm bill would prioritize the climate. Too bad it’s basically doomed.
More climate fiction
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![A gas pump and ev charger juxtaposed]()
![A gas pump and ev charger juxtaposed]()
Trade-offs of the green transition: Is mining critical minerals better than extracting fossil fuels?
Extracting resources from the Earth always comes with costs. As we race toward a cleaner, greener future, there is a risk of repeating the abuses of mining for coal and other fossil fuels.
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In the race to find critical minerals, there’s a ‘gold mine’ literally at our shoreline
Instead of continuing to dig tunnels or pits, some scientists are looking to a promising — but challenging — source of minerals: seawater.
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![A man walks in front of the USDA building in Washington]()
![A man walks in front of the USDA building in Washington]()
Farmers are reeling from Trump’s attacks on agricultural research
A "rollercoaster" of funding cuts and layoffs have gutted critical agricultural research projects across the nation.
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![The skyline of lower Manhattan is seen in the distance, the World Trade Center glinting in the sunlight, with water and a bridge on which a person is walking in the foreground]()
![The skyline of lower Manhattan is seen in the distance, the World Trade Center glinting in the sunlight, with water and a bridge on which a person is walking in the foreground]()
Can cities ban natural gas in new buildings? A federal judge just said yes.
After a string of discouraging rulings for other cities, a court upheld NYC's efforts to decarbonize its buildings.
Watch This
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An early-life wildfire exposure sickened these monkeys for decades
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The Gulf Coast is home to one of the last healthy coral reefs. It’s surrounded by oil.
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Nature can’t run without parasites. What happens when they start to disappear?
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How efforts to protect an Indigenous oasis almost led to its demise
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![a close-up of a vegan chicken nugget from Impossible Foods]()
![a close-up of a vegan chicken nugget from Impossible Foods]()
These vegan meat brands taste almost as good as the real thing. Taste tests prove it.
New research shows which products are closest to "taste parity" — and which need more work.
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![A coal ash pond next to a body of water in foreground. A coal plant in the background and behind it the skyline of the city of Richmond, Virginia.]()
![A coal ash pond next to a body of water in foreground. A coal plant in the background and behind it the skyline of the city of Richmond, Virginia.]()
Power companies would rather not clean their toxic messes. Trump’s EPA is granting their wish.
Advocates fear the agency will “justify avoiding any enforcement whatsoever” of millions of tons of coal ash nationwide.
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![View of an estuary going through Gaza.]()
![View of an estuary going through Gaza.]()
Environmentalists in Israel and Palestine fight to save cross-border water resources
"The health of Palestinians affects the health of Israelis and vice versa. And the best example is water."
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![A white and blue house sits on a mound of mud at a perilous angle above a murky pool of muddy water]()
![A white and blue house sits on a mound of mud at a perilous angle above a murky pool of muddy water]()
The Trump administration’s climate policies jeopardize research in disaster-prone Puerto Rico
As one of the regions most affected by the global climate crisis, local scientists are struggling with canceled research grants and funding cuts from federal agencies.
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