POWER METAL

A disturbing study of the high cost of the secret machinery embedded in our myriad digital devices.

It is easy to think of electric vehicles, green energy, and other advanced technology as surefire ways to save the planet, but award-winning journalist Beiser, author of The World in a Grain, advises us to look at the issues more deeply to assess the true costs. The author focuses on the metals required to power new-gen tech, which include huge amounts of copper and nickel as well as cobalt, boron, lithium, and less familiar substances like gallium and germanium. These elements are necessary for batteries and chips that support everything from EVs and smartphones to wind turbines and solar panels. A critical problem is that mining and refining these metals can, if not done carefully, create horrifying environmental and humanitarian problems. The key players in the global business are China and Russia, which deliberately chose to accept the damage in order to cut costs and corner the market. Both countries have shown themselves willing to leverage their positions for geopolitical advantage. Other countries have acknowledged the danger and are trying to catch up in the marketplace, but there is a long way to go. Beiser also investigates the global market in scrap, noting that the recycling of the metals in tech devices is useful but often exploitative to laborers. The U.S. has huge mineral resources, but to develop them without damaging the environment would be expensive. Beiser argues that the higher costs must be borne and that the cheap ride enjoyed so far is not really so cheap. This is a message that many people might not want to hear, but the author underlines the point that there is no real alternative.

Beiser’s research is alarming and his evidence sobering, but his well-informed conclusions are difficult to deny.