Copper mining was done on land just upstream from the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, Minnesota Until the plan was scrapped recently.
The mine would have provided a source of minerals for the domestic economy, which is crucial for mitigating climate change. However, it was a high-priced preview of the difficult decisions ahead.
The development and exploitation of these leases would have been a catastrophe for the wilderness. It is likely that acid mine drainage and leaching toxic metals into protected waterways would result in the destruction of biodiversity in an area with a significant and established ecosystem. recreation economy.
This is why the Biden administration has recently cancelled these two mining leases. Victory forConservation, including the proposed 20 year moratorium on 200,000 acres adjacent federal lands.
There are always complex tradeoffs. These minerals would have been vital for the transition to renewable energy and decarbonization of the American economy. They would have also helped to achieve the Biden administration’s goals, as shown in the America Competes ActThe House of Representatives approved the following: These minerals includeCopper, silver, palladium (palladium), gold, and silver are all essential components of renewable energy technologies. These are all essential components of renewable energy technologies in varying degrees.
These minerals are essential to combat climate change. We need them fast.
Consider, for example, that electric cars (EVs), use 10 times as much copper as internal combustion vehicles 183 pounds versus 18-49 pounds. And a 2020 studyPredicted increased demand for materials between 2015-2060 of 87,000%, 1000%, and 3000% respectively for EV batteries, wind power, solar cells, and photovoltaics. Another study also notesThe demand for minerals for EVs, battery storage and other uses is a major force. It is expected to grow at least thirty-fold by 2040. Lithium is the most popular, with demand growing over 40 times. This is followed by graphite and cobalt (around 20-25%).
All of this is a reflection of a growing conflict between competing, but ultimately related environmental concerns. Large open-pit mines pose a serious threat to the environment as well as a major threat to water and wilderness. They also provide important resources to mitigate climate change.
Protecting undeveloped and unaffected landscapes is essential to addressing the biodiversity crisis. Recent initiatives, such as the America the Beautiful plan of the Biden administration, are part a global movement to preserve 30 percent of all lands & waters by 2030. This is an important component of slowing down. ecological devastation. This requires that not only are undeveloped areas left as they are, but many other areas be restored and increased connectivity and corridors between formally intact or protected places.
Also, it is important to increase, not decrease, the landscapes that are left intact.
Further complicating the decision space is the fact that biodiversity collapse and climate changes are related issues. Climate change is increasing the biodiversity crisis with implications not only for protected landscapes but also for all lands, and water. Without significant reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, the rate at which climactic changes will occur is very low. Limitations of adaptabilityFor many species.
Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness is one of the protected areas that is already changing due to warming shifting from boreal forest into prairie. Boundary waters, like the rest, will be dramatically altered if we don’t take immediate action to combat climate change. We must rely heavily on minerals from adjacent areas.
This is just one issue in tension at the nexus critical minerals, environment, and climate. An emerging conflict with global implications. A 2020 StudyIt was found that potential mining for resources crucial to renewable energy globally coincides overwhelmingly with 8 percent protected areas, 7% with key biodiversity zones, and 16% with remaining wilderness.
There are many new mining projects in the American West. These projects have similar conflicts between the necessity to obtain minerals for renewable energy and the preservation and conservation of ecologically intact landscapes. Sometimes, these issues can have consequences for local and Indigenous peoples. One example is the cobalt mine located near Idaho’s Frank Church Wilderness, and another lithium mine that has been opposed by Indigenous groups. Nevada, Thacker Passa gold and antinomy mining in Idaho that could negatively impact the fisheries used to by the Nez PerceThere are potential rare earth mines scattered in remote parts of the country. West and Alaska.
Although conflict may be inevitable, it can still be managed with thoughtful policy and reforms in consumption habits.
First, energy transition should not be based on postwar American style consumption and trash. This is still a major problem for many environmental issues. Instead, renewable energy should transition to a circular economy with radical reuse and recycling, just as the rest of the economy. There are many promising innovations that will allow renewable energy to not only be reused but also re-used. Recycle elementsIt is crucial for renewable energy as well as to resurrect old mines, including extracting minerals from the ashes of. Old mining sites.
Second, if the creation of new mine sites is deemed necessary. sustainable best practicesIt is important to incorporate as much as possible. This includes minimizing disturbed land, prioritizing water management, proper chemical processing, and appropriate closure and reclamation after mining has ended.
It is essential to engage more deeply with local communities in order to develop new mining opportunities. This is not only for the promise of jobs but also to better understand their concerns and expectations. This could allow us to discuss the climate implications of not moving forward in metals mining projects and the profound impacts this will have for all of us.
This tension between security, economy, and environmental goals will continue to pose serious challenges for decision-makers. Only by making the trade-offs clear from the beginning and accepting the complexity of the situation, can we hope to create sustainable policy.
Chris Dunn, Ph.D. is an environmental journalist at The Payne Institute for Public Policy with a background as conservation ethics and conservation.
Morgan Bazilian is a Ph.D. and professor at the Payne Institute for Public Policy. Colorado School of Mines. He was previously the World Bank’s lead energy specialist.
