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posted by janrinok on Monday June 07 2021, @06:38PM   Printer-friendly

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.


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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 08 2021, @02:36PM (2 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 08 2021, @02:36PM (#1143139)

    Somehow I don't think that the GPP is having the meltdown here.

    Y'know, just going by the evidence on hand ... but I'm sure there will be a detailed, well-reasoned rebuttal explaining what I missed here.

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 08 2021, @11:35PM (1 child)

    by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 08 2021, @11:35PM (#1143317)

    "It's probably all Whitey's fault"

    ^ is a mental meltdown

    maybe breakdown would be more accurate? doesn't sound like they are emotionally flipping out which is more the image confured by meltdown

    either way, idiots get mocked, especially the ones that get mad about people pointing out their historic crimes and suggesting it might be a good idea to help people out

    fookin sociopathic douche nozzles

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday June 09 2021, @04:58PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday June 09 2021, @04:58PM (#1143588)

      "It's probably all Whitey's fault"

      just seems like sarcasm to me, based on the context of the post.

      Sarcasm != meltdown, mental or otherwise (but might induce it in readers)