A cleaner era in energy appears to be digging in
Environmental impacts are business as usual in mining and other extractives. Yet amid an uptick in the demand for metals, minerals, fuels and rare earths that feed everything from cars to construction to clean energy technologies, the mining industry — squeezed by ever greater forces — is slowly shifting, and even cleaning up its act. There’s no question that the mining industry finds itself in a hole, reputationally speaking. Activists long have targeted mining titans over working conditions, most recently in electronics and jewelry supply chains. Then there’s outrage over ecological degradation. Yet more potent than lawsuits or sanctions is …
