Mining for Clean Energy Could Undermine Biden’s Environmental Justice Goals
The Biden administration has said it is activating all the levers of government to advance environmental justice for people of color. However, one of President Joe Biden’s own policies for climate action might challenge his commitment to racial equity.
One proposed mine—Lithium Americas Corp.’s Thacker Pass lithium project in Nevada—could present Biden’s most immediate conflict between the mineral needs of the energy transition and environmental justice. On Friday, Lithium Americas formally applied to the Energy Department for a government-backed loan to finance some of its activities at the mine.
“Joe Biden, you come live here for a year and drink the water and then tell us you want more mining,” said Hatley, who also serves as chair of the Indigenous Caucus for the grassroots activist organization Western Mining Action Network. Activists filed another petition to the White House in November, asking for “generational harm” against Indigenous communities to be considered as a factor during the government’s typical reviews of environmental justice impacts during the permitting process .
“History has shown us that people of color and Indigenous communities always disproportionately have to bear that sacrifice role. We should not continue that horrific legacy going into 2023,” said Bullard, a professor at Texas Southern University who is often described as the father of the environmental justice movement.
During the visit, Daranda Hinkey, a Paiute-Shoshone tribal member, said she had come to see “green energy” as a form of “cultural genocide.” Taking stock of how many U.S. lithium reserves overlap with lands close to Native communities, she asked, “Are we in the sacrifice zone?” The Biden administration could potentially give hundreds of millions of dollars to the mining company overseeing the project, Lithium Americas, which on Friday applied to DOE for an interest-free loan under the Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing Loan Program.
Lithium Americas spokesman Tim Crowley told E&E News in an emailed statement that the mine was the result of “extensive engagement with surrounding communities—like the Fort McDermitt Paiute Shoshone Tribe.” “These are transformative initiatives, and when you do a transformation as opposed to incremental change, obviously there’s some time and foundational work that needs to happen,” Martinez said. “People in the administration are working hard.”
Conor Bernstein, a spokesperson for the National Mining Association, said in a statement that the trade group “recognizes the importance of respecting the rights, cultures, customs and values of people and communities” that are “affected by companies’ activities,” as well as “the importance of working to obtain the free, prior and informed consent of Indigenous peoples for projects that are likely to have significant impacts” on their lives.
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