Gerry McGovernMar 6

Mining copper is environmentally devastating

In 1920, mining 1 ton of copper caused 30 ton of toxic waste

In 2020, mining 1 ton of copper caused 180 ton of toxic waste

Since 1900, the energy required to produce a unit of copper is up 16 fold.
The water required has doubled.

We need to mine as much copper in the next 18 years than in all of previous history.

In 2020, a data center might have used 5,000 tons of copper.

An AI data center can require up to 50,000 tons of copper

'Green'?

Show threadColeen Walter
@gerrymcgovern Cobalt mining is another example. The author, Siddharth Kara, documented the stories of those injured or killed while mining for cobalt.
Mar 6 at 1:37pmMastodon for iOS