War Below: Lithium, Copper, And The Global Battle To Power O

Description: Acclaimed Reuters reporter Ernest Scheyder reveals the trillion-dollar battle for the resources to power our future.

Tough choices loom if the world wants to go green. The United States and other countries must decide where and how to procure the materials that make our renewable energy economy possible. To build electric vehicles, solar panels, cell phones, and millions of other devices means the world must dig more mines to extract lithium, copper, cobalt, rare earths, and nickel. But mines are deeply unpopular, even as they have a role to play in fighting climate change. These tensions have sparked a worldwide reckoning over the sourcing of these critical minerals, and no one understands the complexities of these issues better than Ernest Scheyder, whose exclusive access has allowed him to report from the front lines on the key players in this global battle to power our future.

This is not a story of tree-hugging activists, but rather of industry titans, scientists, and policymakers jostling over how best to save the planet. Scheyder explores how a proposed lithium mine in Nevada would help global automakers slash their dependance on fossil fuels, but developing that mine could cause the extinction of a flower found nowhere else on the planet. A hedge fund manager's attempt to resuscitate rare earths mining in California relies on Chinese expertise, exposing the paradox in Washington's quest for minerals independence. The fight to end child labor in Africa's mining sector is a key reason, supporters contend, to dig out a vast reserve of cobalt and nickel under Minnesota's vulnerable wetlands. An international mining conglomerate's plan to extract copper for electric vehicles deep beneath Arizona's desert would destroy a Native American holy site, fueling tough questions about what matters more.

In The War Below, Scheyder crafts a business story that matters to everyone. If China continues to dominate production of these critical minerals, it will have a profound impact on the geopolitical order. Beyond China, countries such as Bolivia, Indonesia, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo aim to wield their vast reserves of key minerals. There are no easy answers when it comes to energy. Scheyder paints a powerfully honest and nuanced picture of what is needed to fight climate change and secure energy independence, revealing how America and the rest of the world's hunt for the "new oil" directly affects us all.

Review: "With his keen eye for detail and gift for storytelling, Scheyder digs deeply into the vast mineral supply chain supporting the electrical vehicle revolution, the political and economic forces driving it, and the far-reaching consequences for biodiversity, the environment, and the communities wherever these resources are found. Required reading for anyone interested in the 360-degree impacts of the energy transition."
-Daniel Poneman, former U.S. Deputy Secretary of Energy

"The War Below is an entertaining and insightful look at the enormous complexity-technological, environmental, financial and political-of mining the metals needed to make the green energy revolution possible. It illuminates a dimension of the challenge confronting the energy transition that is little understood and dangerously real-a wakeup call for us all."
-Michael Kowalski, former CEO and Chairman, Tiffany & Co.

"In The War Below, Ernest Scheyder unearths the contours of the struggles to mine the minerals essential for America's energy transition. Combining reportorial grit with literary skill he vividly captures the physical and political landscapes over which the future is being fought."
-Daniel Yergin, Pulitzer-Prize winning author of The New Map: Energy, Climate and the Clash of Nations and The Prize: The Epic Quest for Oil, Money, and Power
"The War Below provides an illuminating account of the global struggle for control of critical minerals. As the world uses more batteries it will need vastly more lithium, cobalt, nickel, and copper. The War Below takes readers on an extraordinary journey from the bottom of the world's deepest mines to the commanding heights of the world's energy system. Scheyder uncovers the forces shaping the struggle for critical minerals, from geopolitical competition between China and the U.S. to political clashes between environmental groups and the world's largest mining firms. This is essential reading for understanding the critical minerals upon which the energy transition-and our future prosperity-relies."
-Chris Miller, author of Chip War: The Fight for the World's Most Critical Technology
"Finally, the real story of the difficulties of mining and processing enough minerals in the US to supply a green, carbon free energy transition. Scheyder introduces us to the people living in our mining communities whose lives are greatly affected by America's goal to de-carbon energy. In this telling we confront the reality that there are no easy answers or quick fixes. We are also made uncomfortable with the ethics of wanting to preserve our beautiful places, while we rely on foreign supply chains where minerals are mined and processed with no real attention to environmental, labor, and human rights abuses."
-Heidi Heitkamp, Former United States Senator of North Dakota
"Addressing climate change by digging up the earth for minerals is like putting out a fire with gasoline. Veteran journalist Scheyder helps cut through the smoke with his new book. The War Below gives the reader a front row seat to one of the critical debates of our time: how to power the clean energy transition without adding to ecological and human harm through irresponsible mining. Scheyder's detailed storytelling and research help convey what's at stake in this new 'race to the bottom.'"
-Payal Sampat, Earthworks

Author Biography: Ernest Scheyder is a senior correspondent for Reuters covering the green energy transition and the minerals that undergird it. He previously covered the US shale oil revolution, politics, and the environment, and held roles at the Associated Press and the Bangor Daily News. A native of Maine, Scheyder is a graduate of the University of Maine and Columbia Journalism School. Visit his website at ErnestScheyder.com and follow him on Twitter @ErnestScheyder.