Trigger warning: modern day slavery and r* pe
Hello friends, I don't know if you've been seeing news of what's happening in the Congo or not, I have seen some videos on social media but at least in my feed it's been rather overshadowed with the horrors of what is happening in Palestine. To put it bluntly, there is modern day slavery happening in order to mine rare earth minerals, especially cobalt, which is used in the batteries of our modern devices. One video I saw had a woman say that they used to be able to farm, but the mines have taken over all the land, and on top of that, if the women and girls in particular don't go to the mine and work that day, they are r* ped by the armed guards that oversee the mines. So not only is it "if you don't go to the mine you don't eat today," but it's also "if you don't go to the mine you are r* ped." I just can't imagine what the nightmare of that must be like, or do it justice here, so do please go look for videos from the people there talking about it or read the NPR article I linked above.
The advice, generally that I've seen, talks about how these minerals are used in modern electronics: the rechargeable batteries in our phones, laptops, tablets, and electric cars. They say to not get a new phone/laptop/tablet until the old one dies, and to not get an electric car if you haven't gotten one already. Fair enough. And we shouldn't be wastefully buying so many electronics anyway!
But I wondered: are rechargeable batteries that are like, AAs, AAAs, C and D batteries that you might use in radios, flashlights, and children's toys also made of the same stuff?
I've had this charger and batteries for many years, and only recently the charger started giving me error codes. The batteries I have for it are also years old, but I tried every one of them in there, and even the newest ones gave the same error code when I tried to charge them. When I looked it up online, it said the charger itself must be kaput. So I had put a new charger and batteries on my wishlist, but not gotten them yet. The ones I found online said they were Ni-MH batteries, so I did some sleuthing.
I couldn't find an answer by googling the question directly, so I went to the Wiki page about Ni-MH batteries and it turns out, yes: also made of the same minerals as the expensive batteries in your phone and such:
Now I have primarily, if not always, used rechargeables since literally the 80s, when my parents bought a set of them when I was a kid. My parents were not and are not environmentalists, they just didn't want to buy batteries all the time for our kids' toys, ha ha. But I am an environmentalist, so once I was on my own I got myself that charger above because I didn't want to create all that toxic battery waste. But. I took the rechargeables off my wishlist, and got me some disposables instead (I did look, and disposables don't seem to be made of the same minerals).
I cannot in good conscience support this industry while they are actively committing atrocities. I understand people need a phone/computer to survive in the world today and I'm not going to condemn anyone for buying another phone when theirs actually dies (although you can also buy a refurbished one, perhaps). But this is an easy alternative even though it's not the most environmental one. I think the horrors of what is going on trumps my concerns about making too much waste.
"There is no ethical consumption under capitalism" the saying goes, and that's very true in this case. You've always got to choose the least harmful out of a bunch of bad choices generally, and people's knowledge of various industries and the evils they produce, their priorities, and their needs are going to vary. But I think we really need to start thinking about these rare earth minerals the same way we think about blood diamonds and avoid them as much as possible. These giant corporations that profit from atrocities like this only care about their profits. We can petition them and complain until the cows come home, but until we boycott and start to effect their bottom line, they will shut their ears and keep doing whatever is the most profitable, no matter how much suffering it causes for how many. The boycott of Starbucks has been effecting their stock price, which shows that boycotts work and get noticed. So in solidarity with the people of the Congo, I think we need to boycott rechargeable batteries as much as possible until these companies feel it in their pockets. And get the word out! I hope you will join me. 💚