Electric Car Batteries Are Turning This Country Into an Actual Hellscape:
As the demand for gadgets and electric cars grows, so too are the mining operations that dig up cobalt to use in lithium-ion batteries.
And that's become a serious problem for the Democratic Republic of the Congo, The New Yorker reports, which sits atop about 3.4 million metric tons of the stuff — half of the entire planet's supply. A massive, gold rush-like mining industry was born after residents in poverty-stricken areas discovered ore deposits under their homes. But now, many are finding that digging up the valuable mineral has failed to lift them out of poverty. And meanwhile, dangerous conditions are killing miners as exposure to the metal is poisoning both people and the environment.
A lack of regulations and enforcement over the mines has resulted in the miners, who risk their health and safety for financial security, being exploited by officials and traders who are unscrupulously lining their own pockets, according to The New Yorker. One miner told the publication that he now struggles to pay his $25 monthly rent even as the value of cobalt continues to soar — and the only alternative was to work at a major corporation's mine for considerably less money.
Meanwhile, thousands of children have been put to work as well, according to The New Yorker, some of whom say they can't remember the last time they could afford a meal. In order to keep them working, the kids are often even drugged with appetite suppressors.
(Score: 5, Insightful) by Beryllium Sphere (r) on Monday June 07 2021, @08:16PM (5 children)
What's "3rd world" got to do with it?
Most of that story could have come from coal country in West Virginia. Replace the drugs with air strikes:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Blair_Mountain [wikipedia.org]
Both explosives and poison gas.
We had the child labor too:
https://shop.capstonepub.com/consumer/products/breaker-boys/ [capstonepub.com]
Drive through that place sometime. Look at the dismal poverty and reflect on the billions that have been taken out.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by DeathMonkey on Monday June 07 2021, @08:32PM (3 children)
Well, not yet... But the Republicans are doing their best!
(Score: 1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Monday June 07 2021, @10:22PM (2 children)
You ... uh, you realise that until very recently West Virginia was pretty much cobalt blue, with only relatively recent changes as the democrats decided that the blue dogs were a problem rather than allies, right? And that guys like Joe Manchin are the last of a dying breed, pretty much propped up by tradition and long-standing links with groups like miners' unions?
The republicans have very, very, VERY little to do with the way that West Virginia is, and haven't for decades.
(Score: 2) by DeathMonkey on Tuesday June 08 2021, @03:23PM (1 child)
Nope.
Following the 2019 election, the Democratic Party held a majority of seats in both the House and the Senate for the first time since 1996. They were sworn into office on January 8, 2020 at the start of the 161st session. [wikipedia.org]
(Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 08 2021, @05:21PM
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virginia_General_Assembly [wikipedia.org]
That's VIRGINIA.
Not WEST VIRGINIA.
Not even the right state.
Holy fucking shit.
If you go to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Virginia_House_of_Delegates [wikipedia.org] you'll see that the house didn't swing until 2014, and if you go to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_party_strength_in_West_Virginia [wikipedia.org] you'll see that the senate didn't swing until the same timeframe.
To find the last period when West Virginia was run by republicans, you have to go back pretty much to the Hoover era.
But 10/10 for the conviction behind that "Nope." I mean, you really nailed that. I mean, wow. Awesome. You dunked that one. Brilliant. Lost in admiration. There are no words.
(Score: 4, Informative) by JoeMerchant on Monday June 07 2021, @08:52PM
Oil country is no better: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/jun/06/boomtown-oil-williston-north-dakota [theguardian.com]
and it wasn't long ago (2003) I drove through what could have easily passed for a slaver/share cropper town on 441 next to Lake Okeechobee, feeding the sugar barons. I think it might have been Bryant: https://www.ghosttowns.com/states/fl/bryant.html [ghosttowns.com]
🌻🌻 [google.com]