The Rare Metals War by Guillaume Pitron

The Rare Metals War by Guillaume Pitron

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.

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 is his first book, and has been translated into eight 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.