Waubonsee Community College

Cobalt red, how the blood of the Congo powers our lives, Siddharth Kara

eng

Includes bibliographical references (pages [253] -260) and index

illustrations

index present

non fiction

Cobalt red

bibliography

1310766504

Siddharth Kara

how the blood of the Congo powers our lives

"An unflinching investigation reveals the human rights abuses behind the Congo's cobalt mining operation-and the moral implications that affect us all. Cobalt Red is the searing, first-ever exposé of the immense toll taken on the people and environment of the Democratic Republic of the Congo by cobalt mining, as told through the testimonies of the Congolese people themselves. Activist and researcher Siddharth Kara has traveled deep into cobalt territory to document the testimonies of the people living, working, and dying for cobalt. To uncover the truth about brutal mining practices, Kara investigated militia-controlled mining areas, traced the supply chain of child-mined cobalt from toxic pit to consumer-facing tech giants, and gathered shocking testimonies of people who endure immense suffering and even die mining cobalt. Cobalt is an essential component to every lithium-ion rechargeable battery made today, the batteries that power our smartphones, tablets, laptops, and electric vehicles. More than 70 percent of the world's supply of cobalt is mined in the Congo, often by peasants and children in sub-human conditions. Billions of people in the world cannot conduct their daily lives without participating in a human rights and environmental catastrophe in the Congo. In this stark and crucial book, Kara argues that we must all care about what is happening in the Congo-because we are all implicated."--, Provided by publisherCobalt is an essential component to every lithium-ion rechargeable battery made today, the batteries that power our smartphones, tablets, laptops, and electric vehicles. Kara examines the immense toll taken on the people and environment of the Democratic Republic of the Congo by cobalt mining. He documents the testimonies of the people who live, work, and die because of brutal mining practices in militia-controlled mining areas. He traces the supply chain of child-mined cobalt from toxic pit to consumer-facing tech giants. Kara argues that we must all care about what is happening in the Congo-- because we are all implicated. -- adapted from jacket

Introduction -- "Unspeakable richness" -- "Here it is better not to be born" : Lubumbashi and Kipushi -- The hills have secrets : Likasi and Kambove -- Colony to the world -- "If we do not dig, we do not eat" : Tenke Fungurume, Mutanda, and Tilwezembe -- "We work in our graves" : Kolwezi -- The final truth : Kamilombe -- Epilogue

adult

How the blood of the Congo powers our lives