[Rockstar]

We gotta save the planet!

Mining drives extensive deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-017-00557-w

Mining poses significant and potentially underestimated risks to tropical forests worldwide. In Brazil’s Amazon, mining drives deforestation far beyond operational lease boundaries, yet the full extent of these impacts is unknown and thus neglected in environmental licensing. Here we quantify mining-induced deforestation and investigate the aspects of mining operations, which most likely contribute. We find mining significantly increased Amazon forest loss up to 70 km beyond mining lease boundaries, causing 11,670 km2 of deforestation between 2005 and 2015. This extent represents 9% of all Amazon forest loss during this time and 12 times more deforestation than occurred within mining leases alone. Pathways leading to such impacts include mining infrastructure establishment, urban expansion to support a growing workforce, and development of mineral commodity supply chains. Mining-induced deforestation is not unique to Brazil; to mitigate adverse impacts of mining and conserve tropical forests globally, environmental assessments and licensing must considered both on- and off-lease sources of deforestation.

https://foreignpolicy.com/2023/04/22...s-rare-earths/

That this scramble for resources is centered on the Amazon lays bare an uncomfortable truth: Climate policy and environmental protection are not the same thing, and as the energy transition gathers pace, that trade-off is becoming increasingly evident. Indonesian rainforests have been cleared for palm oil plantations producing biofuels, and West African forests are felled for wood pellets to heat green homes in Europe. Open-pit mining is one of humanity’s most ruinous industries, razing everything in its path—while toxic runoff, tailings, and waste products can poison rivers and wreak havoc for miles.