As minerals do not adhere to political borders, the most desirable mining zones are often located in countries lacking the economic or technological means to take full advantage of them.
So when mining companies enter a poorer country with the intention of taking advantage of their resources, is that imperialism, or do organizations like the WTO or the World Bank have to be involved in the exploitation?
the huge, multi-national corporations that develop in these areas are primarily profit-driven, and may take advantage of more relaxed regulations to the detriment of local communities.
Once a profit-driven corporation enters the picture, imperialism becomes almost imminent.
the price of tantalum is once again above $100/lb
That must make coltan mining extremely important for buisness, considering that tantalum is extracted from it.
To maintain control of mining operations, these organizations have conducted years of systematic brutality, raping, murdering, and committing other atrocities in order to keep local populations terrified (2010).
This is an example of a human rights violation that coltan mining has caused in the DRC.
the uncontrolled, unregulated mining erodes the land and pollutes waterways, and miners have been killing critically-endangered gorilla species and destroying their habitats (Redmond 2001).
This is an example of an enviormental issue that is caused by coltan mining in the DRC.
most coltan in the DRC is ‘mined' from stream beds by hand, in a process similar to the one used by prospectors during the American gold rush.
So coltan is mined by hand.
Brazil is currently the world's largest producer of tantalum, supplying 180 tons of the world's total 790 in 2011 (“USGS Minerals Information” 2012).
I had no idea... this is useful information.
conflict minerals
What are these? This term has showed up more than once.
One of the primary minerals extracted here is coltan, a type of ore that is used in mobile phones and other electronic devices to help store electricity.
That's good to know
Gorillas are “teetering on the edge of extinction,”
How much has coltan mining contributed to this?
without a mobile phone,
OK nevermind
You probably use it every day and don’t think once about gorillas.
It's unclear what is being used.
where one-third of the world’s tin comes from
Wow that's alot I wonder how much labor is necessary to mine that much tin
We need political leadership to immediately cut emissions across all sectors of the economy, in order to limit warming to 1.5°C. Also, Liam Campbell is a loser.
Why the hell does it say I'm a loser wtf
Coral reefs are projected to decline by a further 70-90% at 1.5°C.
How will that effect the species that rely on the reefs for shelter? Will some be able to survive?
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change says a 1.5°C average rise may put 20-30% of species at risk of extinction.
That is really scary... I wonder how it would affect human ecosystems and everyday life.