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    The War Below: Lithium, Copper, and the Global Battle to Power Our Lives
    The War Below: Lithium, Copper, and the Global Battle to Power Our Lives
    The War Below: Lithium, Copper, and the Global Battle to Power Our Lives
    Audiobook12 hours

    The War Below: Lithium, Copper, and the Global Battle to Power Our Lives

    Written by Ernest Scheyder

    Narrated by Matt Godfrey

    4.5/5

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    About this audiobook

    This unprecedented look inside the global battle to power our lives is “required reading for anyone interested in the 360-degree impacts of the energy transition” (Daniel Poneman, former US Deputy Secretary of Energy) from acclaimed Reuters reporter Ernest Scheyder.


    To build electric vehicles, solar panels, cell phones, and millions of other devices means the world must dig more mines to extract lithium, copper, and other vital building blocks. But mines are deeply unpopular, even as they have a role to play in fighting climate change and powering crucial technologies. These tensions have sparked a worldwide reckoning over the sourcing of necessary materials, and no one understands the complexities of these issues better than Ernest Scheyder.

    The War Below reveals the explosive brawl among industry titans, conservationists, community groups, policymakers, and many others over whether the habitats of rare plants, sensitive ecosystems, Indigenous holy sites, and other places should be dug up for their riches.

    With accessible and “illuminating” (Chris Miller, author of Chip War) writing, Scheyder shows the human toll of this war and explains why recycling and other newer technologies have struggled to gain widespread use. He also expertly chronicles Washington’s attempts to wean itself off supplies from China, the global leader in mineral production and processing. The War Below paints a powerfully honest and nuanced picture of what is at stake in this new fight for energy independence, revealing how America and the rest of the world’s hunt for the “new oil” directly affects us all.

    Editor's Note

    The price of going green…

    As it turns out, avoiding harmful emissions via green alternative fuels isn’t straightforward: Electric energy requires extensive mining of lithium, nickel, and more. And what happens when digging up those mineral sites disrupts ecosystems, local communities, or sacred lands? From geopolitics to domestic interests, “The War Below” gives a balanced and highly informative account of the complex decisions we face on the path to going green.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherSimon & Schuster Audio
    Release dateJan 30, 2024
    ISBN9781797171302
    Author

    Ernest Scheyder

    Ernest Scheyder is a senior correspondent for Reuters, covering the green energy transition and the minerals that undergird it. He previously covered the US shale oil revolution, politics, and the environment, and held roles at the Associated Press and the Bangor Daily News. A native of Maine, Scheyder is a graduate of the University of Maine and Columbia Journalism School. Visit his website at ErnestScheyder.com and follow him on Twitter @ErnestScheyder.

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    Reviews for The War Below

    4.5/5

    11 ratings2 reviews

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    • 5/5
      A whole lot of information presented in a digestible way?
    • 5/5
      Definitely an eye-opener to all the externalities of lithium production. Everyone who considers electric vehicles, green, should read this book.

      1 person found this helpful