Boundary Waters Mining Threat, Extraction: The Frontiers of Green Capitalism, and Community-Led Wildfire Prevention in Africa.

About this episode

The episode discusses the threats of mining near the Boundary Waters, the environmental costs of green technology extraction, and community-led wildfire prevention efforts in Africa.

The US Senate recently voted to reverse a moratorium on mining near the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness in Minnesota, a million acres on the US-Canada border that’s teeming with wildlife and crystal-clear waters. The region is also rich in valuable copper, nickel, and cobalt, but Sen. Tina Smith (D-MN) says mining in the same watershed as the Boundary Waters poses unacceptable risks. Also, while electrifying transportation is essential to addressing the climate crisis, the mining of nickel, copper, and lithium required to build out these green technologies brings its own environmental and social costs. To understand these impacts, author and political scientist Thea Riofrancos traveled to the Atacama Desert in Chile, home to one of the largest lithium reserves in the world. She discusses her book, Extraction: The Frontiers of Green Capitalism. And Nigerian conservation ecologist Iroro Tanshi rediscovered the short-tailed roundleaf bat in 2016, after decades when it was believed extinct in the region. The species is still critically endangered, with habitat loss from wildfires as one of its top threats. So Iroro joined with local groups to start a community-led program to…

People in this episode

Host: Steve Curwood

Guests: Thea Riofrancos, Iroro Tanshi

Topics covered

• mining
• environmental impact
• wildlife conservation
• green capitalism
• community-led initiatives
• climate crisis

Keywords

• Boundary Waters
• mining
• lithium
• wildfires
• green technology
• environmental conservation
• community initiatives
• climate change

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Goldman Environmental Prize

Places: Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, Atacama Desert, Minnesota, Africa

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