Staggering quantities of energy transition metals are winding up in the garbage bin

Grist

Lean Left

High Factuality

Staggering quantities of energy transition metals are winding up in the garbage bin

To build all of the solar panels, wind turbines, electric vehicle batteries, and other technologies necessary to fight climate change, we’re going to need a lot more metals. Mining those metals from the Earth creates damage and pollution that threaten ecosystems and communities. But there’s another potential source of the copper, nickel, aluminum, and rare-earth minerals needed to stabilize the climate: the mountain of electronic waste humanity …