From Earth to Space: Who and What is Worth Saving in the Race for Critical Minerals?
UW Mechanical Engineering Building 1513 University Ave. , Madison, Wisconsin
media release: UW Center for Sustainability & the Global Environment Weston Roundtable lecture, Room 1153.
Speaker: Julie Klinger, associate professor, UW-Madison
Space exploration, energy generation, warfare, disaster recovery: these activities rely on ‘critical’ minerals, metals and materials. But extraction of these materials exacerbates many of the same problems it is invoked to solve: displacement, insecurity, geopolitical competition, and human suffering. Based on fieldwork in mining, energy, policy, and space development on four continents, this talk investigates how the extraction dilemma plays out. What are the futures envisioned by these conflicting critical mineral regimes? What, and whom, is considered worth saving in the race for critical minerals below the ground and in the heavens?
Cookies, coffee, and tea will be served.
