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| This is an old story.. 2019. But still very relevant.
As rolling blackouts in Texas proved last week.. transitioning to some supposedly “Green” technologies are dangerously unreliable.. the wind doesn’t always blow.. the sun doesn’t always shine.. and the Natural Gas backup doesn’t always flow.
Furthermore the US has very little precious metal mining capacity to generate the resources to grow Electric Vehicles etc..
Is going “Green” on the grid really a good idea?
From a domestic security perspective.. as well as a moral perspective?
https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2019/dec/16/apple-and...
“ A landmark legal case has been launched against the world’s largest tech companies by Congolese families who say their children were killed or maimed while mining for cobalt used to power smartphones, laptops and electric cars, the Guardian can reveal.
Apple, Google, Dell, Microsoft and Tesla have been named as defendants in a lawsuit filed in Washington DC by human rights firm International Rights Advocates on behalf of 14 parents and children from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The lawsuit, which is the result of field research conducted by anti-slavery economist Siddharth Kara, accuses the companies of aiding and abetting in the death and serious injury of children who they claim were working in cobalt mines in their supply chain.
The families and injured children are seeking damages for forced labour and further compensation for unjust enrichment, negligent supervision and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
It is the first time that any of the tech companies have faced such a legal challenge.
Cobalt is essential to power the rechargeable lithium batteries used in millions of products sold by Apple, Google, Dell, Microsoft and Tesla every year. The insatiable demand for cobalt, driven by desire for cheap handheld technology, has tripled in the past five years and is expected to double again by the end of 2020. More than 60% of cobalt originates in DRC, one of the poorest and most unstable countries in the world.”
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Tesla being sued over child labor mining precious metals for car batteries.
