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Decolonize the Lithium Boom
Rhetoric about American energy independence has long been used to trample Indigenous rights. The new era of renewables should be different.
Cavan Images/Shutterstock Premier
Last week,
The
New York Timesreported on the upcoming opening of what will be America’s second functional lithium mine a signal of the nation’s official entrance into the current lithium boom, which is being driven by the worldwide transition to electric vehicles. Summarizing the fight over the open-pit mine that mining corporation Lithium Americas has proposed for a site in Nevada, the
Times noted opposition from “members of a Native American tribe, ranchers and environmental groups.” The tribal nation is the Fort McDermitt Paiute and Shoshone Tribes, whose tribal government leader, Maxine Redstar, told the
María Paula Rubiano is a freelance science journalist based in Colombia who writes about biodiversity, environmental justice, food, and climate change. She started her career reporting on Colombia’s diverse ecosystems for El Espectador newspaper. Since graduating from New York University s masters program in Science, Health and Environmental Reporting, her work has appeared in Popular Science, Audubon, Gastro Obscura, The Open Notebook, Mutante.org, and more.