War Below: Lithium, Copper, and the Global Battle to Power Our Lives

          
★克里斯．米勒(《晶片戰爭》作者)、丹尼爾．尤金(《全球新版圖》作者)、前美國能源部副部長伯納曼等人齊聲讚譽
★全方位剖析當前能源轉型議題的必讀佳作
 
　　為解決氣候變遷問題，降低碳排放量已是全球共同目標，綠色能源產業的需求和商機正持續攀升。然而，電動車的製造，或再生能源基礎設施的建設，都必須使用鋰、銅等關鍵金屬原物料。手機等科技產品，生產製造亦仰賴鈷、稀土、鎳等金屬礦物，正如電動車大廠頻頻示警的，上游金屬原物料顯然供不應求。
 
　　各國都已經意識到這場關鍵金屬戰，對未來幾十年間，國力和經濟上的發展至關重要！若中國繼續主宰關鍵礦物的生產和加工，將對地緣政治產生深遠影響。
 
　　儘管美國國土內不乏礦藏資源，但礦業開發涉及環境保護和居民權益等問題，例如：若要在內華達州開採鋰礦，極可能會導致一種僅存於當地的植物滅絕；在亞利桑那州沙漠開挖銅礦，勢必會破壞當地原住民的聖地……這些棘手的議題，令美國政府陷入艱難的選擇。
 
　　玻利維亞、印尼和剛果等其他擁有金屬礦藏資源的國家，在這場卡位戰中，又抱持著什麼樣的態度？路透社資深記者歐內斯特·沙德(Ernest Scheyder)在書中全盤檢視資源開採與否，背後複雜的因素和角力。 (文/博客來編譯)

　　Acclaimed Reuters reporter Ernest Scheyder reveals the trillion-dollar battle for the resources to power our future.

　　Tough choices loom if the world wants to go green. The United States and other countries must decide where and how to procure the materials that make our renewable energy economy possible. To build electric vehicles, solar panels, cell phones, and millions of other devices means the world must dig more mines to extract lithium, copper, cobalt, rare earths, and nickel. But mines are deeply unpopular, even as they have a role to play in fighting climate change. These tensions have sparked a worldwide reckoning over the sourcing of these critical minerals, and no one understands the complexities of these issues better than Ernest Scheyder, whose exclusive access has allowed him to report from the front lines on the key players in this global battle to power our future.

　　This is not a story of tree-hugging activists, but rather of industry titans, scientists, and policymakers jostling over how best to save the planet. Scheyder explores how a proposed lithium mine in Nevada would help global automakers slash their dependance on fossil fuels, but developing that mine could cause the extinction of a flower found nowhere else on the planet. A hedge fund manager’s attempt to resuscitate rare earths mining in California relies on Chinese expertise, exposing the paradox in Washington’s quest for minerals independence. The fight to end child labor in Africa’s mining sector is a key reason, supporters contend, to dig out a vast reserve of cobalt and nickel under Minnesota’s vulnerable wetlands. An international mining conglomerate’s plan to extract copper for electric vehicles deep beneath Arizona’s desert would destroy a Native American holy site, fueling tough questions about what matters more.

　　In The War Below, Scheyder crafts a business story that matters to everyone. If China continues to dominate production of these critical minerals, it will have a profound impact on the geopolitical order. Beyond China, countries such as Bolivia, Indonesia, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo aim to wield their vast reserves of key minerals. There are no easy answers when it comes to energy. Scheyder paints a powerfully honest and nuanced picture of what is needed to fight climate change and secure energy independence, revealing how America and the rest of the world’s hunt for the “new oil” directly affects us all.

　　Ernest Scheyder is a senior correspondent for Reuters covering the green energy transition and the minerals that undergird it. He previously covered the US shale oil revolution, politics, and the environment, and held roles at the Associated Press and the Bangor Daily News. A native of Maine, Scheyder is a graduate of the University of Maine and Columbia Journalism School. Visit his website at ErnestScheyder.com and follow him on Twitter @ErnestScheyder.