Is the shift to renewable energy and digital devices going to free us from severe pollution, material shortages, and military tensions?

Rare metals are essential to electric vehicles, fighter jets, wind turbines, and solar panels, and also to our smartphones, computers, tablets, and other everyday connected objects. But consumers know very little about how they are mined and traded, or the environmental, economic, and geopolitical costs of this dependence.

This book reveals the dark side of the world that awaits us. It is an undercover tale of a technological odyssey that has promised much, and a look behind the scenes. Behind it all lurks China, which has captured the lion's share of the ownership and processing of rare metals we now can't do without. Drawing on six years of research across a dozen countries, this book shows that by breaking free of fossil fuels, we are in fact setting ourselves up for a new dependence--on rare metals that have become vital to our new ecological and digital society.

Author: Guillaume Pitron
Binding Type: Paperback
Publisher: Scribe Us
Published: 10/06/2020
Pages: 288
Weight: 0.8lbs
Size: 9.10h x 6.00w x 0.90d
ISBN: 9781950354313


Review Citation(s):
Kirkus Reviews 08/15/2020
Publishers Weekly 08/24/2020

About the Author
Jacobsohn, Bianca: -

Bianca Jacobsohn is a South African/French translator and conference interpreter who specialises in energy, finance, strategic metals, and high-level diplomacy.

Pitron, Guillaume: -

Guillaume Pitron, who was born in 1980, is a French award-winning journalist and documentary-maker for France's leading television channels. His work focuses on commodities and on the economic, political, and environmental issues associated with their use. The Rare Metals War, his first book, sold 80,0000 copies in France and has been translated into ten languages. Guillaume Pitron holds a master's degree in international law from the University of Georgetown (Washington, DC), and is a TEDx speaker. More information at www.guillaumepitron.com.