Gold, silver and lithium mining on federal land doesn’t bring in any royalties to the US Treasury – because of an 1872 law

Hard rock minerals like gold, silver, copper and lithium on public lands belong to the American public, but under a 150-year-old law, the US gives them away for free.

Sam Kalen, Associate Dean and Professor of Law, University of Wyoming • conversation
Feb. 15, 2024 • ~11 min

‘We miners die a lot.’ Appalling conditions and poverty wages: the lives of cobalt miners in the DRC

Cobalt is a critical component in the production of batteries, smartphones, jet engines and electric vehicles. Yet miners who risk their lives digging it up receive almost none of the profits.

Roy Maconachie, Professor of Natural Resources and Development, University of Bath • conversation
Jan. 30, 2024 • ~24 min

Nickel Mine, Environmental Activists Exist Together in Michigan
VOA Learning English • voa
Dec. 11, 2023 • ~6 min

Ukraine’s Coal Mines Turn to Women during Wartime
VOA Learning English • voa
Nov. 26, 2023 • ~4 min

Why surging sales of large electric vehicles raises environmental red flags

More and more motorists are opting for bigger EVs – but there are several environmental concerns to consider.

Grazia Todeschini, Reader in Engineering, King's College London • conversation
Nov. 6, 2023 • ~6 min

NASA's robotic prospectors are helping scientists understand what asteroids are made of – setting the stage for miners to follow someday

Upcoming NASA missions will help scientists understand the composition of asteroids – which could inform companies one day hoping to commercially mine asteroids.

Valerie Payré, Assistant Professor of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Iowa • conversation
Nov. 2, 2023 • ~6 min

German police have long collaborated with energy giant RWE to enforce ecological catastrophe

Clashes at a huge coal mine were the latest episode in a long struggle.

Andrea Brock, Lecturer in International Relations, University of Sussex • conversation
Sept. 21, 2023 • ~11 min

Pulverised fuel ash: how we can recycle the dirty byproduct from coal-fired power stations

Pulverised fuel ash can be recycled and used to manufacture concrete as well as other products.

Jonathan Oti, Associate Professor at the Advanced Materials Testing Centre (AMTeC), University of South Wales • conversation
Sept. 1, 2023 • ~5 min

50 years after the Bunker Hill mine fire caused one of the largest lead-poisoning cases in US history, Idaho's Silver Valley is still at risk

A fire and decades of silver and lead mining created the largest contiguous Superfund site in the nation in what today is one of the fastest-growing states. It includes popular Lake Coeur d’Alene.

Martin Schiavenato, Assistant Professor of Nursing, Gonzaga University • conversation
Aug. 30, 2023 • ~11 min

What social change movements can learn from fly fishing: The value of a care-focused message

Founded in 1959, the membership group Trout Unlimited has changed the culture of fly-fishing and mobilized members to support conservation. Could its approach work for other social problems?

Madeline Toubiana, Associate Professor of Entrepreneurship and Organization, L’Université d’Ottawa/University of Ottawa • conversation
Aug. 28, 2023 • ~9 min

/

10