We are in northern Argentina, near the Bolivian border, at an altitude of over 3000 metres. The sun shines brightly on the vast, snow-white landscapes of the Salinas Grandes, the country\u2019s largest salt flats. In summer, temperatures here soar to 45 degrees Celsius. The air is thin \u2013 it\u2019s harder to breathe, and walking takes effort \u2013 and the light is different. Brighter, warmer, more immediate. It is bone dry, and the salt crunches beneath our feet. <\/span><\/p>\n We have driven a hundred kilometres without seeing a single oncoming vehicle \u2013 only vicu\u00f1as (a wild relative of the llama), jackals, and hawks. Passing through a landscape almost devoid of vegetation, the road was littered with stones, reminiscent of the Dakar Rally. It is here, in these arid Argentine highlands, that the <\/span>world\u2019s second-largest lithium reserve<\/span><\/a> is located.<\/span><\/p>\n Lithium is sometimes called <\/span>white gold<\/span><\/a>. \u2018With its attractive silvery-white colour, lithium is the least dense of all metals. It is so light that it floats on water, and so soft that it can be cut with a knife. But the property that makes it such a coveted and strategic element today is its great capacity for energy storage,\u2019 writes Spanish science journalist H\u00e9ctor Rodr\u00edguez. Used in electric car batteries, wind turbines, solar panels, mobile phones, and computers, lithium is indispensable for the energy transition. <\/span><\/p>\n A World Bank report published in 2020 predicts that by 2050, graphite, cobalt, and lithium production could increase by as much as 500 per cent to meet the <\/span>rising demand for minerals<\/span><\/a> associated with the transition to renewable energy. The war in Ukraine is further speeding up the energy transition as countries aim to generate more <\/span>green energy<\/span><\/a> domestically, thus reducing their exposure to geopolitical tensions. As a result, renewable energy could become the main source of electricity worldwide as early as 2025. A resource rush in the Salinas Grandes, led by the Argentine government as well as Australian, Chinese, and Canadian mining companies, therefore seems inevitable.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n This article was published in \u2018Up in Arms: Environmental Divides Reshaping Politics\u2019, the summer issue of Green European Journal<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n The so-called Lithium Triangle, comprising the border region of Argentina, Chile, and Bolivia, accounts for more than 60 per cent of the world\u2019s lithium reserves. Brine rich in the metal is pumped from reservoirs 200 metres beneath the salt flats and transported through pipelines to a series of large open-air basins, where most of the water slowly evaporates. The remaining brine is then pumped to a recovery facility, and the metal is extracted. <\/span><\/p>\n The region\u2019s aridity favours particularly rapid evaporation, conferring a financial advantage on operations there. However, it also means that water resources are scarce. As the lithium extraction process is highly water intensive, with an estimated 400,000 to 2 million litres of water needed to extract one tonne of lithium, it is unsurprising that it is leading to the <\/span>depletion of groundwater<\/span><\/a> in the surrounding regions.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The Salinas Grandes, salt flats in Argentina. Image via Wikimedia Commons<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n A 2020 projection estimated that lithium mining in Argentina would use up to 50 billion litres of water in 2022, equivalent to the annual consumption of a city with a population of 350,000. This is catastrophic for a region already experiencing <\/span>severe drought<\/span><\/a> linked to the increasingly tangible effects of climate change. Most residents depend on agriculture for their survival. If the groundwater runs dry, crops will fail, and there will be no food on the table. <\/span><\/p>\n According to social movement news portal <\/span>El Ciudadano<\/span><\/i><\/a>, farming communities in this drought-stricken corner of South America fear for their livelihoods. <\/span>Gil Cruz<\/span><\/a>, a weaver from Santa Cruz, testifies, \u2018The day I run out of llamas, I don\u2019t know what I\u2019ll live on, what I\u2019ll feed my children. If the water runs out, life will disappear. What will our cattle live on if there\u2019s no water left? The mining companies think of today\u2019s bread, but not tomorrow\u2019s. We are worried about the future of our children and grandchildren.\u2019\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u2018Aqu\u00ed la Pacha se defiende\u2019 is written in large letters on the walls of the villages that line the salt flats. This phrase, which means both \u2018Here the Earth is defended\u2019 and \u2018Here the Earth defends itself\u2019, gets to the crux of the matter: the fundamental clash between two worldviews. On the one hand, that of the indigenous communities of the salt flats in their struggle to protect their livelihoods, traditions, and ecosystem. On the other, that of the modern world in its desperate need to find an alternative to oil that will allow its system of production and consumption to go unchallenged.<\/span><\/p>\n Since the beginning, the exploration and exploitation of lithium have led to territorial conflicts with local indigenous communities. In the case of the Salinas Grandes, this concerns a population totalling 6000 people who depend on small-scale agriculture, salt mining, and tourism. But the problem extends much further, with <\/span>protests<\/span><\/a> also growing in the Atacama Desert, just across the Chilean border.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n In the Argentine region of Jujuy, locals have been <\/span>resisting<\/span><\/a> the continued expansion of mining projects for more than a decade. They organize regular inter-communal consultation meetings, raise awareness of the cause via social media, and create murals. Every year on 12 October \u2013 the day Columbus first set foot in the Caribbean, a day that for them marks the beginning of genocide \u2013 they organize a <\/span>march for water and life<\/span><\/a>. <\/span><\/p>\n \u2018Our ancestors cared for this land for centuries, now it is up to us. The rotation of crops, of pastures\u2026 These companies don\u2019t understand that. They come, they clear the land, and leave again. But that\u2019s not how it works: it\u2019s about a delicate collaboration [with the planet Earth and water] so that there is enough for everyone,\u2019 says <\/span>Clemente Flores<\/span><\/a>, a representative of the 33 communities resisting the advance of mining in the Salta and Jujuy regions. \u2018We depend on the landscape for our agriculture, for cattle breeding. And tomorrow, what then? Moreover, the mines do not provide many jobs even though they claim otherwise.\u2019\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n One of the major problems is the infringement of the right to free, prior, and informed consultation as recognized in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples \u2013 both by the government and by the companies themselves. \u2018We are not against mining per se,\u2019 Flores continues, \u2018we just want our voice to be respected.\u2019 <\/span><\/p>\n The communities inhabiting the region <\/span>have complained<\/span><\/a> for years that the government approves mining projects without consulting them, despite the fact that these projects have a direct impact on their culture and way of life and take place on their ancestral land. They refer to the right to <\/span>self-determination of indigenous communities<\/span><\/a>, which should allow them to \u2018freely determine their political status and freely pursue their economic, social and cultural development\u2019. \u2018If these rights are not at least respected, colonialism in all its facets remains in force,\u2019 says anthropologist <\/span>Gustavo Ontiveros<\/span><\/a>, himself a member of the Omaguaca community in the region.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n In spite of the protests, the colonization of indigenous territories and sacrifice of their traditions to \u2018save the world\u2019 appears to be inevitable. Are we doomed to repeat the history of past centuries? Will the salt flats and the life they support become <\/span>zonas de sacrificio <\/span><\/i>(\u2018sacrifice zones\u2019) for the North American, European, and Asian energy transitions? Sociologist and activist Maristella Svampa and environmental lawyer Enrique Viale underline the importance of recognizing the role of historical ecological debt: the Global North\u2019s centuries-long predation on the natural environments and human rights of the Global South. The high environmental costs still paid by the peoples of the Global South reflect the deep inequalities between continents.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n A large-scale 2021 <\/span>study by Wetlands International<\/span><\/a> confirms that lithium mining is associated with massive water loss and leads to freshwater salinization, posing a huge threat to fragile wetlands in Argentina, Bolivia, and Chile. These ecosystems in the heart of the Andes are not only of great value to the local economy; they also support unique ecosystems and represent an invaluable cultural heritage. Moreover, a group of scientists from the <\/span>British Royal Society<\/span><\/a> concluded in a 2022 study that the recent large-scale flamingo deaths in the region were effectively due to a lack of water. The bird, emblematic of the region, lives in large flocks in the salt lakes. A further increase in lithium mining and an associated reduction in surface water could have dramatic consequences for the population.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The debate around lithium extraction is a microcosm of the broader cultural-philosophical crisis faced by contemporary industrialized societies. We continue to view the environment as the backdrop to human activity, thus placing ourselves outside nature. This clashes heavily with the worldview of communities seeking to preserve their environments and traditions. The example of lithium also highlights the importance of climate justice: it is often the most vulnerable groups in society that are hit hardest by the effects of climate change. The case of the salt flats, however, seems to present us with a \u2018Sophie\u2019s choice\u2019 between the consequences of climate change and the harm done by extracting the resources necessary to fight it.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n There is no doubt that the energy transition is a necessary step in the move to a post-fossil society. The continued rollout of renewable energy is crucial to keep our planet liveable. The only question is how to make it happen in an equitable way, involving all parties. There is much talk in progressive European circles about a just transition, but this is still too often limited to workers\u2019 rights within the borders of our own continent. If we want to combat global inequality, we need to broaden our perspective and apply these principles of justice and compensation to the entire supply chain.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n In this context, the rollout of EU <\/span>due diligence legislation<\/span><\/a> is a hopeful step forward. Its aim is to promote sustainable and responsible corporate behaviour and embed human rights and environmental considerations in companies\u2019 operations and governance. The new rules will ensure that companies address the negative impacts of their actions, including in value chains within and outside Europe. This is clearly a positive development, but it is not enough. We need global due diligence legislation that goes beyond the European Union to include the rest of the world.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nThe white gold rush<\/span><\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.eurozine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/VOL-25-Edition-Page-Featured-Image-450-x-600.webp\")
<\/p>\n![\"Salina](\"https:\/\/www.eurozine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/Salinas_Grandes_Salta-Jujuy1.jpeg\")
<\/p>\nWater and drought, life and death<\/span><\/h2>\n
The salt flats as a sacrifice zone\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n
Threatened local ecosystems\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n
Due diligence and the ethics of care\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n
![Wikimedia Commons<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\nWater and drought, life and death<\/span><\/h2>\nA 2020 projection estimated that lithium mining in Argentina would use up to 50 billion litres of water in 2022, equivalent to the annual consumption of a city with a population of 350,000. This is catastrophic for a region already experiencing <\/span>severe drought<\/span><\/a> linked to the increasingly tangible effects of climate change. Most residents depend on agriculture for their survival. If the groundwater runs dry, crops will fail, and there will be no food on the table. <\/span><\/p>\nAccording to social movement news portal <\/span>El Ciudadano<\/span><\/i><\/a>, farming communities in this drought-stricken corner of South America fear for their livelihoods. <\/span>Gil Cruz<\/span><\/a>, a weaver from Santa Cruz, testifies, \u2018The day I run out of llamas, I don\u2019t know what I\u2019ll live on, what I\u2019ll feed my children. If the water runs out, life will disappear. What will our cattle live on if there\u2019s no water left? The mining companies think of today\u2019s bread, but not tomorrow\u2019s. We are worried about the future of our children and grandchildren.\u2019\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n\u2018Aqu\u00ed la Pacha se defiende\u2019 is written in large letters on the walls of the villages that line the salt flats. This phrase, which means both \u2018Here the Earth is defended\u2019 and \u2018Here the Earth defends itself\u2019, gets to the crux of the matter: the fundamental clash between two worldviews. On the one hand, that of the indigenous communities of the salt flats in their struggle to protect their livelihoods, traditions, and ecosystem. On the other, that of the modern world in its desperate need to find an alternative to oil that will allow its system of production and consumption to go unchallenged.<\/span><\/p>\n Since the beginning, the exploration and exploitation of lithium have led to territorial conflicts with local indigenous communities. In the case of the Salinas Grandes, this concerns a population totalling 6000 people who depend on small-scale agriculture, salt mining, and tourism. But the problem extends much further, with <\/span>protests<\/span><\/a> also growing in the Atacama Desert, just across the Chilean border.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nThe salt flats as a sacrifice zone\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\nIn the Argentine region of Jujuy, locals have been <\/span>resisting<\/span><\/a> the continued expansion of mining projects for more than a decade. They organize regular inter-communal consultation meetings, raise awareness of the cause via social media, and create murals. Every year on 12 October \u2013 the day Columbus first set foot in the Caribbean, a day that for them marks the beginning of genocide \u2013 they organize a <\/span>march for water and life<\/span><\/a>. <\/span><\/p>\n\u2018Our ancestors cared for this land for centuries, now it is up to us. The rotation of crops, of pastures\u2026 These companies don\u2019t understand that. They come, they clear the land, and leave again. But that\u2019s not how it works: it\u2019s about a delicate collaboration [with the planet Earth and water] so that there is enough for everyone,\u2019 says <\/span>Clemente Flores<\/span><\/a>, a representative of the 33 communities resisting the advance of mining in the Salta and Jujuy regions. \u2018We depend on the landscape for our agriculture, for cattle breeding. And tomorrow, what then? Moreover, the mines do not provide many jobs even though they claim otherwise.\u2019\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nOne of the major problems is the infringement of the right to free, prior, and informed consultation as recognized in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples \u2013 both by the government and by the companies themselves. \u2018We are not against mining per se,\u2019 Flores continues, \u2018we just want our voice to be respected.\u2019 <\/span><\/p>\nThe communities inhabiting the region <\/span>have complained<\/span><\/a> for years that the government approves mining projects without consulting them, despite the fact that these projects have a direct impact on their culture and way of life and take place on their ancestral land. They refer to the right to <\/span>self-determination of indigenous communities<\/span><\/a>, which should allow them to \u2018freely determine their political status and freely pursue their economic, social and cultural development\u2019. \u2018If these rights are not at least respected, colonialism in all its facets remains in force,\u2019 says anthropologist <\/span>Gustavo Ontiveros<\/span><\/a>, himself a member of the Omaguaca community in the region.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nIn spite of the protests, the colonization of indigenous territories and sacrifice of their traditions to \u2018save the world\u2019 appears to be inevitable. Are we doomed to repeat the history of past centuries? Will the salt flats and the life they support become <\/span>zonas de sacrificio <\/span><\/i>(\u2018sacrifice zones\u2019) for the North American, European, and Asian energy transitions? Sociologist and activist Maristella Svampa and environmental lawyer Enrique Viale underline the importance of recognizing the role of historical ecological debt: the Global North\u2019s centuries-long predation on the natural environments and human rights of the Global South. The high environmental costs still paid by the peoples of the Global South reflect the deep inequalities between continents.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nThreatened local ecosystems\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\nA large-scale 2021 <\/span>study by Wetlands International<\/span><\/a> confirms that lithium mining is associated with massive water loss and leads to freshwater salinization, posing a huge threat to fragile wetlands in Argentina, Bolivia, and Chile. These ecosystems in the heart of the Andes are not only of great value to the local economy; they also support unique ecosystems and represent an invaluable cultural heritage. Moreover, a group of scientists from the <\/span>British Royal Society<\/span><\/a> concluded in a 2022 study that the recent large-scale flamingo deaths in the region were effectively due to a lack of water. The bird, emblematic of the region, lives in large flocks in the salt lakes. A further increase in lithium mining and an associated reduction in surface water could have dramatic consequences for the population.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nThe debate around lithium extraction is a microcosm of the broader cultural-philosophical crisis faced by contemporary industrialized societies. We continue to view the environment as the backdrop to human activity, thus placing ourselves outside nature. This clashes heavily with the worldview of communities seeking to preserve their environments and traditions. The example of lithium also highlights the importance of climate justice: it is often the most vulnerable groups in society that are hit hardest by the effects of climate change. The case of the salt flats, however, seems to present us with a \u2018Sophie\u2019s choice\u2019 between the consequences of climate change and the harm done by extracting the resources necessary to fight it.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nThere is no doubt that the energy transition is a necessary step in the move to a post-fossil society. The continued rollout of renewable energy is crucial to keep our planet liveable. The only question is how to make it happen in an equitable way, involving all parties. There is much talk in progressive European circles about a just transition, but this is still too often limited to workers\u2019 rights within the borders of our own continent. If we want to combat global inequality, we need to broaden our perspective and apply these principles of justice and compensation to the entire supply chain.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nIn this context, the rollout of EU <\/span>due diligence legislation<\/span><\/a> is a hopeful step forward. Its aim is to promote sustainable and responsible corporate behaviour and embed human rights and environmental considerations in companies\u2019 operations and governance. The new rules will ensure that companies address the negative impacts of their actions, including in value chains within and outside Europe. This is clearly a positive development, but it is not enough. We need global due diligence legislation that goes beyond the European Union to include the rest of the world.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nDue diligence and the ethics of care\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\nThe due diligence principle aligns with what we call a \u2018care ethic\u2019 in <\/span>Dare to Care: Ecofeminism as a source of inspiration<\/span><\/i><\/a>. <\/span><\/i>Such an ethic assumes that we, as human beings, are embedded in numerous natural and social relationships and dependencies that must be taken into account when considering a particular course of action. Science and technology professor and feminist thinker Maria Puig de la Bellacasa translates this insight as concern for \u2018more-than-human worlds\u2019. She shows that we cannot separate human and non-human care relationships. Those who care for nature also care for humans. There is only one health, and planet and people are inseparable. This new position calls for us to carefully decentralize ourselves \u2013 not always considering humans as the centre of everything \u2013 while at the same time staying very close to the fortunes of people in their concrete and sometimes precarious life situations. It demands that we change some of our fundamental conceptions. It involves re-grounding ourselves with an open gaze and taking responsibility for the world that sustains us.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nIn their book <\/span>El colapso ecol\u00f3gico ya lleg\u00f3<\/span><\/i>, Maristella Svampa and Enrique Viale stress the importance of decentralizing energy systems. According to them, the lithium issue inhabits both the old paradigm of predatory extractivism \u2013 linked to unsustainable water consumption, the destruction of biodiversity, and disrespect for human rights \u2013 and the new paradigm of a post-fossil society and renewable energy. The energy transition should not and cannot be limited to a mere switch to renewable energy sources that allows our current mode of consumption to go unchallenged. Decarbonization must lead to a profound change in our production, distribution, and consumption systems. Above all, it must change our social conduct \u2013 towards each other and towards our environment. It must restore and strengthen our interdependence with nature. This can only be achieved by adopting a perspective that considers the rights of local populations and nature as well as environmental costs. Besides recycling and developing a circular economy, we need to develop energy systems that operate by decentralisation and devolution to guarantee equal access to and distribution of energy. Energy cooperatives are one means to ensure civil society participation in energy governance and production.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nThe case of the Argentine salt flats demonstrates that the way we generate energy, whether fossil or green, has a concrete impact on the lives of people worldwide. It is imperative that we continue to work towards an energy system that emphasizes social and environmental responsibility along all parts of the supply chain. This is not an individual, but a collective, political task.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n[ad_2]\nSource link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"[ad_1] We are in northern Argentina, near the Bolivian border, at an altitude of over 3000 metres. The sun shines brightly on the vast, snow-white<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":209934,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[154],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/michigandigitalnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/209933"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/michigandigitalnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/michigandigitalnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/michigandigitalnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/michigandigitalnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=209933"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/michigandigitalnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/209933\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":340454,"href":"https:\/\/michigandigitalnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/209933\/revisions\/340454"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/michigandigitalnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/209934"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/michigandigitalnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=209933"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/michigandigitalnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=209933"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/michigandigitalnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=209933"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}](\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:Salinas_Grandes_Salta-Jujuy1.jpg\"){kind=link}