How the race for critical minerals is creating ‘sacrifice zones,’ impacting the world’s poorest people

There is a troubling contradiction at the heart of the global transition to a cleaner, greener, tech-driven future: Modern technologies - everything from AI to wind turbines, as well as cellphones, electric vehicles and defense systems - depend on critical minerals. But many of the communities where those minerals are mined end up with polluted water and poorer health because of the mining. Lithium powers batteries. Cobalt stabilizes them. Copper carries electricity. Rare earth elements make wind turbines and digital devices efficient and durable.