In a stark reminder of the unintended consequences of renewable energy adoption, a new study warns that the global rush for lithium, copper and rare earth minerals to power wind turbines, solar panels and electric vehicles is causing irreversible environmental damage. Researchers from universities in Austria, Australia, Germany and the U.S. found that metal extraction has nearly quadrupled since 1970, with mining now threatening ecosystems, contaminating water supplies and displacing communities worldwide. Published in Nature Reviews Earth & Environment, the study underscores a critical dilemma: the clean energy transition cannot be sustained if it replicates the ecological exploitation of the fossil fuel era.
But critics argue these projects threaten pristine landscapes, Indigenous lands and water resources. “The renewable revolution is built on a foundation of extraction (blowing up mountains), and that has real costs,” said Scott Odell, an MIT researcher studying mining and climate policy, referencing toxic sludge from copper mines in Chile’s Atacama Desert.
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