AUDIOBOOK
About
To build electric vehicles, solar panels, cell phones, and millions of other devices means the world must dig more mines to extract lithium, copper, and other vital building blocks. But mines are deeply unpopular, even as they have a role to play in fighting climate change and powering crucial technologies. These tensions have sparked a worldwide reckoning over the sourcing of necessary materials, and no one understands the complexities of these issues better than Ernest Scheyder.
“The War Below” reveals the explosive brawl among industry titans, conservationists, community groups, policymakers, and many others over whether the habitats of rare plants, sensitive ecosystems, Indigenous holy sites, and other places should be dug up for their riches.
Scheyder shows the human toll of this war and explains why recycling and other newer technologies have struggled to gain widespread use. He also expertly chronicles Washington's attempts to wean itself off supplies from China, the global leader in mineral production and processing. “The War Below” paints a powerfully honest and nuanced picture of what is at stake in this new fight for energy independence, revealing how America and the rest of the world's hunt for the "new oil" directly affects us all.
“The War Below” reveals the explosive brawl among industry titans, conservationists, community groups, policymakers, and many others over whether the habitats of rare plants, sensitive ecosystems, Indigenous holy sites, and other places should be dug up for their riches.
Scheyder shows the human toll of this war and explains why recycling and other newer technologies have struggled to gain widespread use. He also expertly chronicles Washington's attempts to wean itself off supplies from China, the global leader in mineral production and processing. “The War Below” paints a powerfully honest and nuanced picture of what is at stake in this new fight for energy independence, revealing how America and the rest of the world's hunt for the "new oil" directly affects us all.
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Reviews
"The War Below provides an illuminating account of the global struggle for control of critical minerals. As the world uses more batteries it will need vastly more lithium, cobalt, nickel, and copper. The War Below takes readers on an extraordinary journey from the bottom of the world's deepest mines to the commanding heights of the world's energy system. Scheyder uncovers the forces shaping the st
Chris Miller, author of Chip War: The Fight for the World's Most Critical Technology
"Finally, the real story of the difficulties of mining and processing enough minerals in the US to supply a green, carbon free energy transition. Scheyder introduces us to the people living in our mining communities whose lives are greatly affected by America's goal to de-carbon energy. In this telling we confront the reality that there are no easy answers or quick fixes. We are also made uncomf
Heidi Heitkamp, Former United States Senator of North Dakota
"Addressing climate change by digging up the earth for minerals is like putting out a fire with gasoline. Veteran journalist Scheyder helps cut through the smoke with his new book. The War Below gives the reader a front row seat to one of the critical debates of our time: how to power the clean energy transition without adding to ecological and human harm through irresponsible mining. Ernie's deta
Payal Sampat, Earthworks