Crazy Town

Escaping Imperialism: Where Does Darth Vader Get His Lithium?


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Perhaps no community has undergone more versions of imperialism than the tiny island nation of Nauru, which has morphed from being "Pleasant Island" to the mined-out home of offshore banks, discarded refugees, and deep sea mining interests. Jason, Rob, and Asher take a bad trip to wrap their heads around Nauru, the topic of "psychedelic imperialism," and imperialism's new frontier - the clean energy transition.

Warning: This podcast occasionally uses spicy language.

Sources/Links/Notes:

  • "A Dark History of the World's Smallest Island Nation" tells the tale of Nauru.
  • S.J. Gale, "Lies and misdemeanours: Nauru, phosphate and global geopolitics," The Extractive Industries and Society, vol 6, July 2019.
  • FAQs of the Metals Company
  • Eric Lipton's New York Times article about imperialistic mining of the Pacific Ocean floor.
  • Mining Watch Canada questions the claims of the Metals Company.
  • Elham Shabahat's article in Hakai Magazine, "Why Nauru Is Pushing the World Toward Deep-Sea Mining
  • Definition of imperialism from the Cornell Law School
  • J.A. Hobson's book Imperialism: A Study
  • Jason Hickel et al., "Imperialist appropriation in the world economy: Drain from the global South through unequal exchange, 1990-2015," Global Environmental Change, vol 73, March 2022.
  • Critique of lithium extraction in the Atacama Desert
  • Indigenous people's response to lithium mining in Nevada
  • How the Sami people are protesting Sweden's "green transformation"
  • Episode 3 of the Holding the Fire podcast, featuring Sami leader Aslak Holmberg
  • Cobus van Staden on "Green Energy's Dirty Secret: Its Hunger for African Resources"
  • Jim Robbins in Yale Environment 360 on "How Returning Lands to Native Tribes Is Helping Protect Nature"
  • "Indigenous Land Return Announcement by Sogorea Te’ Land Trust and Movement Generation!" -- article by Ines Ixierda
  • "New Zealands's Maori fought for reparations -- and won"

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