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Blink 3 of 8 - The 5 AM Club
by Robin Sharma
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Cobalt Red summary
Siddharth Kara
How the Blood of the Congo Powers Our Lives
17 mins
Brief summary
Cobalt Red by Siddharth Kara delves into the grim realities of cobalt mining in the Democratic Republic of Congo, exposing exploitative labor practices, human rights abuses, and environmental devastation tied to the global tech industry's demand for this mineral.
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Cobalt Red
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The dark side of modern technology.
Over the past few decades, our use of digital devices has skyrocketed. Thanks to their falling costs, these modern technologies have become accessible to almost everyone on the planet. But no one is talking about the real price of this development.
All our modern devices come at the cost of human suffering and environmental devastation. Sounds like dystopian fiction – but this is the reality of cobalt mining in the Democratic Republic of Congo, or DRC.
The DRC holds over half of the world’s cobalt reserves, a vital metal for the rechargeable lithium batteries found in smartphones, laptops, electric cars, and more. As demand for these devices soars, so does the need for cobalt.
To meet this demand, thousands of people in the southeastern corner of DRC have been forced into hazardous artisanal mining. They dig in dangerous pits and tunnels with rudimentary tools, earning barely a dollar a day. The conditions are appalling – toxic exposure, cave-ins, and child labor are rampant.
This exploitation is part of a complex supply chain that connects impoverished Congolese miners to some of the world’s richest tech and automotive companies. Despite claims of ethical sourcing, the reality is that there’s no such thing as a clean cobalt supply chain. The informal artisanal sector, which accounts for up to 30 percent of the Congo’s cobalt production, inevitably mixes with industrial mining output.
The irony is stark. The same cobalt that powers our “green” electric vehicles is extracted through methods that are anything but sustainable or ethical. The push for renewable energy and reduced carbon emissions inadvertently fuels a system of modern-day slavery and environmental destruction.
How did we get here?
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What is Cobalt Red about?
Cobalt Red (2023) exposes the dark underbelly of our digital age with a deep dive into the human and environmental toll of cobalt mining in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The investigation lays bare the brutal realities faced by those who extract the essential component of our rechargeable batteries, challenging us to confront our unwitting complicity in a global humanitarian crisis.
Who should read Cobalt Red?
- Consumers curious about the ethical implications of modern technology
- Human rights activists and advocates focusing on labor issues and exploitation
- Anyone interested in investigative journalism
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