There’s a Fortune to Be Made in the Obscure Metals Behind Clean Power

This article discusses high returns on early investment in developing mining infrastructures and operations for supplying the ensuing/projected renewable energy boom. They mention the "lithium-rich salt flats in Chile" and the "polysilicon plants in China’s Xinjiang region," both of which have issues concerning environmental justice. The approach discussed in the article exemplifies a "business as usual" model of transitioning to renewables, where market development and profit incentives guide renewable development strategies. No mention is made of the ethical issues around these extractive industries. Scholars and activists invested in a just transition to renewables will have their work cut out for them. There is a need to develop rhetoric to combat technocratic framings of energy transition as a primarily economic and technological issue. What is needed is a more holistic approach that includes concern for diverse cultural values and ethics.