Why is a diehard climate-crisis sceptic like Trump forcing Zelensky\u2019s hand on a peace agreement seemingly focused on green-transition raw materials? If we temporarily set aside the highly problematic issue of bartering security with a third-party business transaction, what might be the motivation behind the Republican\u2019s proposed \u2018mineral deal\u2019? And why the drive for Ukrainian resources such as rare earth elements, which, despite their name, aren\u2019t even particularly rare?<\/p>\n
In part, mining critical raw materials is such an intense enterprise, it\u2019s difficult to find communities willing to absorb the disruption and pollution. Julie Klinger, author of Rare Earth Frontiers<\/em>, describes how \u2018if you have a big area or a geological deposit that has many, many, many millions of tons of material, if 2% of that contains rare earth elements, that\u2019s considered a really good deal.\u2019 And then, to drive the maths home, she flips the equation. \u2018Think about that: in a good scenario, 98% of the stuff that\u2019s dug up is left behind as waste.\u2019 And while some of the mined earth could be rich in \u2018gold or silver or phosphate\u2019, it could similarly contain radioactive or otherwise toxic materials such as \u2018uranium or thorium or arsenic\u2019.<\/p>\n Rare earths are evident in large parts of the world, including the USA, but only China has the long-term know-how for effectively processing raw materials. \u2018The US Department of Defense woke up to this about 15 years ago,\u2019 says Klinger, \u2018and has since then been shopping for alternatives, while also continuing to receive many \u2026 components from counterparts and manufacturers in China on a reliable basis.\u2019<\/p>\n Not unlike nineteenth-century prospectors of gold, Americans are rushing to get to new critical raw material mining locations first. Trump first set his second-term sights on Greenland: a minimally populated island of considerable size, where mining already has a centuries-old history \u2013 and would only endanger the Harbour seal, right? Now it would seem that the physically and emotionally distant neocolonialist would have no qualms extracting and profiting from the already desecrated and largely depopulated areas of an expansive, war-torn country.<\/p>\n And then there are the other applications of critical raw materials. \u2018There\u2019s a big push in the US military to develop assault rifles that are powered by lithium batteries,\u2019 says Klinger, bringing a terrifying aspect of the rational behind this deal back full circle.<\/p>\n Rare earth mine, Bayan Obo, Baotou, Inner Mongolia. A combination of satellite images captured by ASTER, NASA Earth Observatory, via Wikimedia Commons<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n By Julie Klinger<\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n The race for green transition supplies is on. But where\u2019s the thrill in metals, discreet and hidden yet widespread? Mining, intensive due to low concentrations, throws up waste elements like arsenic. Space cowboys and deep-sea dredgers contest environmental stability more than China\u2019s monopoly, based on 40-years of involved processing. Health and recycling regulations are a must.<\/p>\n By Predrag Mom\u010dilovi\u0107<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n Plans to exploit Serbia\u2019s lithium, seemingly shelved two years ago, are back on the table. Germany and the EU appear willing to overlook president Aleksandar Vu\u010di\u0107\u2019s abuses of power to access the precious metal. Will their double-standards collaboration with Serbia\u2019s right-wing government undermine citizen trust in EU accession?<\/p>\n By \u017daneta Jansa Gregorov\u00e1<\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n Eurozine associate, Green European Journal on the Czech government, private investors and the EU, who see lithium mining in Czechia\u2019s struggling coal regions as an opportunity to revitalize the economy while also boosting Europe\u2019s green transition. But local communities have different aspirations for their future.<\/p>\n Zaporizhzhia and Kakhovka Reservoir (crop), July 2023, Enno Lenze. Image via Wikimedia Commons<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n By Svitlana Matviyenko<\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n Perceiving war as a series of strategic manoeuvres delineated on a map renders a horizontal view of conflict. And projecting an end to fighting is fundamentally restorative. But deep pollution, as is occurring in Ukraine from Russia\u2019s radioactive colonialism, warns of a more persistent dimension with long-term environmental impact.<\/p>\n By Kate Brown<\/a> and Aro Velmet<\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n In the aftermath of the Chernobyl accident, international agencies dismissed local doctors\u2019 warnings about a \u2018public health catastrophe\u2019 in order to suppress scandal over nuclear tests carried out by the West since the 1950s. Kate Brown talks to Aro Velmet about the secret history of radiation and what Chernobyl means in the era of climate change.<\/p>\n By Iryna Zamuruieva<\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n Tracing responsibility for honeybee losses in rural Ukraine points to farmers and pesticide-treated rapeseed fields. But whose practices really lie behind the short-term bid to increase crop productivity? And what do the historic uses of agrochemicals tell us about their current weaponization?<\/p>\n 3D globe. Image by Thomas Amberg via Wikimedia Commons<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n![\"Divider\"](\"https:\/\/www.eurozine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Screenshot-2020-10-14-at-12.00.28.png\")
<\/p>\nThe critical list: raw earth elements, lithium<\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.eurozine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Skarmavbild-2025-01-09-kl.-16.45.58.png\")
<\/p>\nExcitement over \u2018rare\u2019 elements<\/a><\/h3>\n
![\"Divider\"](\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:Baiyunebo_ast_2006181.jpg\")
<\/p>\nThe battle over Serbia\u2019s lithium<\/a><\/h3>\n
<\/p>\nLithium mining: A Czech dilemma<\/a><\/h3>\n
<\/p>\nDeep pollution: uranium, phosphorous<\/h2>\n
<\/p>\nVertical occupation<\/a><\/h3>\n
<\/p>\nThe secret history of radiation<\/a><\/h3>\n
<\/p>\nSomething happens, somewhere<\/a><\/h3>\n
<\/p>\nGreen society ideals<\/h2>\n
<\/p>\nDivided in the Anthropocene<\/a><\/h3>\n
![Wikimedia Commons<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\nDivided in the Anthropocene<\/a><\/h3>\nBy Martin Vrba<\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\nUnlike the political challenges and wars of the past, the climate and environmental crisis we now face is universal. Yet green movements remain on the political periphery and continue to be viewed in narrow, reductionist terms. What kind of solidarity can unite the emerging ecological class?<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n[ad_2]\nSource link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"[ad_1] Why is a diehard climate-crisis sceptic like Trump forcing Zelensky\u2019s hand on a peace agreement seemingly focused on green-transition raw materials? If we temporarily<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":278556,"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\/278555"}],"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=278555"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/michigandigitalnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/278555\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/michigandigitalnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/278556"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/michigandigitalnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=278555"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/michigandigitalnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=278555"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/michigandigitalnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=278555"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}](\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:3d_earth_globe.jpg\"){kind=link}