The Lion's Pride Volume 9 (January 2018) | Page 72
elements come almost entirely from China, from some of the most
environmentally damaging mines in the country, in an industry
dominated by criminal gangs.” Bradsher also quoted Wang Caifeng, the
top rare-earths industry regulator at the Ministry of Industry and
Information Technology in China: “In many places, the mining is
abused, this has caused great harm to the ecology and environment.”
Andrew Meggison, a writer for Gas2 a “green” car news site explains:
An increase in pollution caused by graphite mines throughout
China has led to more than 50 of the mines and processing plants
being shut down…Reports of “graphite rain“ (basically rain drops
filled with graphite dust and other particles) and hydrochloric acid
being released untreated into waterways has prompted the mine
shutdowns. This isn’t the first time China has done this, either. In
December 2013, approximately 55 graphite mines and processing
centers were suspended in Shandong province, which controls 10%
of the global graphite supply.
Manufacturers like Tesla are trying to bring mining of these elements
to the U.S., but resource deposits aren’t plentiful. For now, we will
continue to see and smell the black smoke from an old pickup truck’s
tailpipe as the worst pollution. What we won’t see is the pollution an EV
creates before it is even on the road; the damage it is causing to the
world is oceans away.