Many renewable energy technologies make use of uncommon elements, such as the lithium in your cell phone battery or the neodymium in your EV. Climate Hawks should ask questions about how those materials are mined and purified. The time is now to think about just and sustainable methods to fuel the renewable energy revolution.

The reading list

• Moore's film is taken off You Tube for copyright infringement
• The Verge (February 2019) on the sourcing of rare materials
• A call to reduce the enviro impact of cobalt mining
• How to get cobalt from ore
• Efforts to design rare earths out of EVs

Because we recognize the necessity of personal accountability for our actions, because we accept responsibility for a building a durable future and because we believe it is our patriotic duty as citizens to speak out, we must insist the United States transform it’s energy sector, over the next decade, under a just and equitable plan, that uses regulations, investments and a price on carbon to safeguard our collective future.

Thanks for listening.

…Ted McIntyre