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https://getpocket.com/explore/item/the-dystopian-lake-filled-by-the-world-s-tech-lust>
"From where I'm standing, the city-sized Baogang Steel and Rare Earth complex
dominates the horizon, its endless cooling towers and chimneys reaching up into
grey, washed-out sky. Between it and me, stretching into the distance, lies an
artificial lake filled with a black, barely-liquid, toxic sludge.
Dozens of pipes line the shore, churning out a torrent of thick, black,
chemical waste from the refineries that surround the lake. The smell of sulphur
and the roar of the pipes invades my senses. It feels like hell on Earth.
Welcome to Baotou, the largest industrial city in Inner Mongolia. I'm here with
a group of architects and designers called the Unknown Fields Division, and
this is the final stop on a three-week-long journey up the global supply chain,
tracing back the route consumer goods take from China to our shops and homes,
via container ships and factories.
You may not have heard of Baotou, but the mines and factories here help to keep
our modern lives ticking. It is one of the world’s biggest suppliers of “rare
earth” minerals. These elements can be found in everything from magnets in wind
turbines and electric car motors, to the electronic guts of smartphones and
flatscreen TVs. In 2009 China produced 95% of the world's supply of these
elements, and it's estimated that the Bayan Obo mines just north of Baotou
contain 70% of the world's reserves. But, as we would discover, at what cost?"
Via Girl of the Sea.
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
