Power Metal: The Race for the Resources That Will Shape the Future with Vince Beiser

Inquiring Minds

Science, Society & Culture, Neuroscience, Female Host, Interview, Social Sciences, Critical Thinking

4.4 • 848 Ratings

🗓️ 26 November 2024

⏱️ 44 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In this episode of Inquiring Minds, Indre Viskontas sits down with award-winning journalist and author Vince Beiser to delve into the environmental, social, and ethical implications of our growing reliance on electronics and artificial intelligence. Drawing from his new book, Power Metal: The Race for the Resources That Will Shape the Future, Vince sheds light on the often-overlooked competition and global race for the critical metals essential for renewable energy, digital technology, and the foundation of the future. Together, they explore the environmental havoc and political upheaval these resources are already causing—such as unsustainable mining practices and the limitations of recycling—the ways the situation could worsen, the steps we can take to minimize the damage, and the hidden human cost behind the gadgets we use every day. The result is a gripping and sobering account of the battle between what civilization demands and what the planet can withstand. They also discuss: The trade-offs between recycling and reducing consumption. How mining for essential metals like cobalt and lithium impacts the environment and marginalized communities. Promising innovations in resource extraction and sustainable practices. The importance of reducing reliance on cars and investing in bike-friendly, walkable cities. This conversation highlights practical steps individuals and corporations can take to align their values with their actions, from supporting right-to-repair legislation to embracing reuse over constant upgrades. Listen in to uncover actionable insights and hope for building a more sustainable technological future.

Transcript

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0:00.0	You and Betty and the nancy's and bills and Joes and James will find in the study of science
0:06.4	a richer, more rewarding life.
0:09.5	Hey, welcome to Inquiring Minds. I'm Indravis Gontas.
0:12.9	This is a podcast that explores the space where science and society collide.
0:17.0	We want to find out what's true, what's left to discover, and why it matters.
0:23.6	As the impact of climate change on our lives grows more and more obvious, more and more of us are working hard to reduce our reliance on fossil fuels and our carbon emissions.
0:43.1	In our household, we've installed solar panels. We've replaced gas appliances with electric ones.
0:49.5	We use our bikes to get around as much as possible. And I have to say, most days I feel pretty virtuous.
0:56.5	But apparently it's a false virtue. And it's one that I've been thinking about a lot over the last
1:02.2	year or so. Because if I just consider for a minute all of the electronics that we have in our home,
1:08.4	whether they're the ones that are powering our dryer or our bikes or our phones and devices,
1:15.7	well, the tally of precious metals within them begins to add up pretty quickly. And of course,
1:21.0	we recycle a lot of these electronics every few years. So if you start taking into account the environmental cost of building
1:31.4	a car, for example, that's electric and has a massive battery, and then you power that battery
1:37.4	using large solar panels, I start to wonder whether the calculation really adds up in Mother Nature's favor,
1:46.4	or if I'm contributing or creating a problem where one didn't previously exist.
1:52.9	I live in San Francisco too, and I cheer on the AI boom that is bringing my beloved city back to life,
1:59.0	populating abandoned buildings near our empty downtown core.
2:03.0	But I worry about the ethics.
2:05.3	Should I also be worried about the environmental impact of the proliferation of AI?
2:11.1	I think the answer is most certainly yes, in addition to the economic impacts.
2:16.2	So let's get some facts straight about the electro-digital AI revolution
	...

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