The Consumption Conundrum: Driving the Destruction Abroad

Oswald J. Schmitz and T.E. Graedel, Yale Environment 360

Our high-tech products increasingly make use of rare metals, and mining those resources can have devastating environmental consequences. But if we block projects like the proposed Pebble Mine in Alaska, are we simply forcing mining activity to other parts of the world where protections may be far weaker?

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