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Cobalt Red: How the Blood of the Congo Powers Our Lives

bySiddharth Kara

Siddharth Kara investigates the cobalt mines of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where a mineral essential to phones, computers, and electric vehicles is extracted at devastating human cost. Testimony from miners and families reveals dangerous tunnels, child labor, displacement, pollution, injury, and poverty hidden inside global supply chains. Kara follows cobalt from informal pits through traders and corporations that market clean technology. The book challenges consumers, manufacturers, and governments to confront the contradiction between a green-energy future and an industry that treats Congolese lives and landscapes as expendable.

Publisher

St. Martin's Press

Publication date

2023

Format

Print edition

Pages

—

ISBN

9781250284303