Mining for electric-powering minerals has left 23 million people exposed to toxic waste
By Paul Homewood
Tens of millions of people — more than live in the entire state of Florida — are now exposed to toxic water runoff from metal mining, a new study has found.
The report lays bare the devastating impacts that can follow a reckless transition to ‘green’ energy, compounding the ecological damage wrought by over 150 years of drilling and mining for fossil fuels.
The researchers found that 23 million people worldwide, as well as 5.72 million in livestock, over 16 million acres of irrigated farmland and over 297,800 miles worth of rivers have been contaminated by mining’s toxic byproducts seeping into the water.
This metal mining includes many so-called ‘rare earth elements’ essential to the manufacture of high-tech electronics, solar cells, wind turbines and all the batteries needed to store sustainable ‘green’ energy (and power electric cars and iPhones).
While the new study focuses on environmental impacts, global metals mining has recently faced shocking lawsuits against major tech firms, including Apple, Google, Microsoft and Tesla, over child slavery in the Congo, where 70 percent of the industry’s cobalt is sourced.
Researchers found that over 297,800 miles worth of rivers have been contaminated by toxic mining byproducts.
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NOT A LOT OF PEOPLE KNOW THAT 
So much for ‘saving the planet’.
Collateral damage? All is necessary for The Cause? Useful idiots?
We have to destroy/bomb the planet/Vietnamese village in order to save it.
NOT Imby – so who cares. Certainly not China & other devoping nations.
Welcome to the clean green energy transition 🙄
Rich white people abusing third world countries and their people. Without a care. It has long been thus. However, now the abusers declare themselves the most moral and superior people on Earth. Their power comes from that arrogance. And for a totally non-existent ‘problem’.
As with slavery being touted as a “rich white people” crime, which it undoubtedly was, so is mining. However, that version of slavery was removed by the actions of many enlightened people including well known “rich white people” and despite that slavery still exists in every corner of the planet and the people involved “today” do not appear to be exclusively “rich white people”.
It is hardly acknowledged that slavery historically was carried out by people who exploited their own populations for monetary/money’s worth gain – eg the continent of Africa, the Middle/Far East – and that egregious treatment carried on long after slavery was abolished in the populations in which “rich white people” lived, to the present day. Equally mining similarly enriched the already wealthy and powerful scions of those countries who suborned their own populations, which continues today – need I point out the massive corruption that has/still does exist in these locations where powerful people enrich themselves in the name of representing “The People” – viz Robert Mugabe and a host of others non “rich white people”.
Power does not come from money; its pursuit fuels that. In one sense I am as guilty as the “next” as I have an iPhone. Please do not cite “me” as ” the most moral and superior people” – I work f*****g hard at trying to be the polar opposite. Most of the bandwagoning of popular “isms” in the 21st century are because people like you write inaccurate, sloppy, one eyed, one sided and extremely simplistic rubbish devoid of any context. You may not set out to do so; but you certainly add fuel to the fire; you only have to read and listen to the “mis/disinformation” apparatchiks denouncing “antivaxxers” or AWG/CC “deniers” to see the effect. That is my opinion and I am free to express it – although for how much longer is moot – but you are perhaps a whole lot freer to disagree given that “rich white people” are THE villains.
You certainly can and must have the right to state your opinion and it should be respected. My point is that the world is currently in thrall to self-impressed Left ‘liberals’, who force ever more stupid ideas on society. Aided by what must be the thickest politicians, world wide, ever to have disgraced the planet. As an older person I am lost at the inability of youngsters, generally, to actually think for themselves.
The not so secret dirty secret the greenies would rather you didn’t mention. In effect this is net zero in action, pushing the problem overseas, in this case to the lands of cheap slave labour and non-existent oversight and regulation.
What do the lives of 23 million matter so long as the members of the WEF can add more billions to their coffers which they will never live long enough to spend?
But what are they going to spend it on? They are destroying economies with their “climate”, “green” and “net zero” obsessions and hysterics.
>> add more billions to their coffers
Agreed. If you impoverish your customer base who will buy your products? Even more so if your plan includes killing off large numbers of the population.
“…compounding the ecological damage wrought by over 150 years of drilling and mining for fossil fuels.”
It is this lie that has sustained the oil-hating wing of the Green movement for decades. Like so many Leftie lies it has a bizarre contradiction at its heart – that greedy oil companies would just let oil seep out if wells and pipelines even though that sane self oil is what makes them their money. And it is telling that these terrible environmental issues only ever occur in out of the way places to out of the way people. But it’s that hatred of oil that drives things like the switch to EVs, not love of the environment. Hatred is a far more sustaining and long-lived driver than love.
The WEF loons are simply the lackeys of SATAN and taking his shilling.
‘Tens of millions of people — more than live in the entire state of Florida — are now exposed to toxic water runoff from metal mining, a new study has found.’
Tricks with chemistry. ‘Toxic’ depends on the dose. Mere presence of a substance – that in high concentrations can be toxic – is meaningless scaremongering. Does living within 5 miles of a river constitute ‘exposed?’
“The report lays bare the devastating impacts that can follow a reckless transition to ‘green’ energy”
Reckless ??? What would a non-reckless transition have looked like?
‘compounding the ecological damage wrought by over 150 years of drilling and mining for fossil fuels.’
Ahhh . . . they don’t want Man to have any energy at all. Are water wheels acceptable?
Not if they interfere with snail darter spawning.
‘as well as 5.72 million in livestock’
Me thinks they are making their numbers up . . . with incredible precision.
This Mail article looks like a press release from some environmentalist whacko group.
Some interesting perspective on the Great Reversal of Sushi on Turbulent Times showing that it is not what it seems. As of January car makers will be fined £15,000 per vehicle if they fail to sell 22% battery cars despite the push back to 2035. Of course the ecofascists are lining up to take the government to court and it does look like legislation as in an Act of Parliament as opposed to an SI would be needed.
off topic but flicking tv round news channels and found BBC parliament showing Environmental Audit select committee from Monday discussing Heat Resilience and Sustainable Category . When they starting discussing naming heatwaves i lost it……… I never realised so many MPs (including Lucan and Ashworth) and experts (obviously part of the 97% of scientists) talked such bollox.
Heres the website… enjoy
https://committees.parliament.uk/event/19350/formal-meeting-oral-evidence-session/
that should be “Heat Resilience and Sustainable Cooling enquiry”
its a joke .. just got onto question from Claudia Webbe (who is the MP expelled from labour party for conviction for harassment!) which started “why is there insufficient academic and scientific information about the effects of heatwaves on the menopause?” what a committee!!!
Always I welcome off topics if only to dilute the manic tendency in some of the Comment postings.
“more than live in the entire state of Florida” I see we have a new unit “Floridian Populace” i.e. FPs – but not to be confused with foot pounds. It should be remembered FP equates to 7 Wales population but over 8 size of Wales in area. Not sure how it equates to London buses or Olympic sized swimming pools.
How many Wadhams is that?
Thx, Ray. Good pickup.
Great. Why not pick a populace that won’t be missed after voting in christianofascists?
People learn by losing. 4M libertarian votes in 2016 reshuffled 127 electoral votes, made Trump lose the popular and the anti-energy Dems lose the electoral vote. Girl-bullying and warmunist Sharknado hysteria hardest hit.