{"product_id":"the-elements-of-power-a-story-of-war-technology-and-the-dirtiest-supply-chain-on-earth","title":"The Elements of Power: A Story of War, Technology and the Dirtiest Supply Chain on Earth","description":"\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003cb\u003e‘A tale of rapacious colonialism, Cold War spy games,\ndazzling technical innovation, big business rivalry, big power geopolitics […]\nan unflinching, landmark work on the nature of extractive capitalism.’ Patrick\nRadden Keefe, bestselling author of \u003ci\u003eEmpire of Pain \u003c\/i\u003eand \u003ci\u003eSay\nNothing\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003cb\u003e‘Joseph Conrad called colonial ventures in Africa “the\nvilest scramble for loot that ever disfigured the history of human conscience”.\nAfter reading this book you might want to add the words “until now”’ \u003ci\u003eThe\nTimes\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eHow we became addicted to a supply chain that wreaks\nhavoc across the globe.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003eEpic, shocking, and deeply reported, \u003ci\u003eThe Elements of\nPower\u003c\/i\u003e tells the story of the war for the global supply of battery\nmetals – essential for the decarbonization of our economies – and the terrible,\nbloody human cost of this badly misunderstood industry.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003eCongo is rich. Swaths of the war-torn African country lack\nbasic infrastructure, and, after many decades of colonial occupation, its\npeople are officially among the poorest in the world. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003eBut hidden beneath the\nsoil are vast quantities of cobalt, lithium, copper, tin, tantalum, tungsten,\nand other treasures. Recently, this veritable periodic table of resources has\nbecome extremely valuable because these metals are essential for the global\n“energy transition”—the plan for wealthy nations to wean themselves off fossil\nfuels by shifting to sustainable forms of energy, such as solar and wind. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003eThe\nrace to electrify the world’s economy has begun, and China has a considerable\nhead start. From Indonesia to South America to Central Africa, Beijing has\ninvested in mines and infrastructure for decades. But the U.S. has begun\nfighting back with massive investments of its own, as well as sanctions and\ndisruptive tariffs.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003eIn this rush for green energy, the world has become utterly\nreliant on resources unearthed far away and willfully blind to the terrible\npolitical, environmental, and social consequences of their extraction. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003eIf the\nDemocratic Republic of the Congo possesses such riches, why are its children\nroutinely descending deep into treacherous mines to dig with the most\nrudimentary of tools, or in some cases their bare hands?\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e Why are Indonesia’s\nseas and skies being polluted in a rush for battery metals? Why is the Western\nSahara, a source for phosphates, still being treated like a colony? Who must\npay the price for progress?\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003eWith unparalleled, original reporting, Nicolas Niarchos\nreveals how the scramble to control these metals and their production is\noverturning the world order, just as the global race to drill for oil shaped\nthe twentieth century. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003eExploring the advent of the lithium-ion battery and\ntracing the supply chain for its production, Niarchos tells the story both of\nthe people driving these tectonic changes and those whose lives are being\nupended. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003eHe reveals the true, devastating consequences of our best intentions and\nhelps us prepare for an uncertain future. If you have ever used a smartphone or\ndriven an electric vehicle, you are implicated.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"TIMES DISTRIBUTION PTE LTD","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44877722517711,"sku":"9780008553951","price":39.19,"currency_code":"SGD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0574\/5662\/3823\/files\/download_82b57d06-bf6c-4db7-80f6-bc8d21baec11.jpg?v=1772443055","url":"https:\/\/popular.baby\/products\/the-elements-of-power-a-story-of-war-technology-and-the-dirtiest-supply-chain-on-earth","provider":"Popular Book Company Pte Ltd","version":"1.0","type":"link"}