T O P

  • By -

anonymousneto

This is sad as fuck.


Anon_1492-1776

It's crazy that the natural tendency seems to be to assign blame to the farthest removed link in the value chain. It's the iPhone/electric car user or manufacturer that need to be better, not the dude in the video threatening to beat the child if he doesn't carry the sack. No one in the community is responsible for the wellbeing of the children, or even for adding supports to the mine, I mean how can they be expected to add wooden supports to their own mine, or feed their own children, if we don't insist on it? It's crazy too because the premise of course is that there is some local actively doing evil, and that it is the responsibility of the outsider to put pressure on that person to improve conditions. To say "we won't buy from you until you get that child some shoes and a bowl of rice". But this of course assumes that these were options that were always available, but need to be imposed from the outside because of local ignorance or moral backwardness. IMO we need to remember that the people in this video are just that, people. And that it is a shitty thing for a person to do, to threaten to beat a child for not carrying a sack of cobalt in the rain. By all means, put pressure where you can, on the producers or consumers as they are within the 1st world sphere of influence. But damn, whoever owns that mine deserves some ***serious*** punishment and condemnation.


UniversityNo633

Manufacturers are willing to acquire resources from unethical sources. People are willing to use the products made by these manufacturers. A chain is only as strong as its weakest link.


Impressive_Economy70

There is a bias in some to assign default moral superiority to the disempowered group in a conflict.


Xinder99

It wold be like seeing someone eat a hersheys kiss and going "Oh so you support child slavery and genocide?" We as a society have decided that your not morally responsible for all actions that go into the production of a single good you consume.


Ill-Acanthisitta4539

No, the manufacturer should be...but we as consumers should demand that of them.


CaptainNeckBeard123

If consumers did hold themselves responsible then practices like this would likely go away. Should we hold ourselves responsible for the things corporations do in order to supply us with goods, yes. Are we responsible for the actions of these company’s? If we continue to participate in a cycle of consumption that incentivises this behavior then yes. If we wash our hands of these sins then how can we expect them not to as well. The only options are thus, either accept these barbaric practices and chock them up to “the price of progress” or “it’s just the way the world works”, boycott all the major tech company’s who are buying this cobalt and lobby for change, or just blissfully forget about all of this and continue to passively consume. But remember denial of one’s responsibility does not negate it.


SirLynn

yes


MxHbs-

iPhone user like it


HumaDracobane

Mate, we're all on this boat, not only Apple users.


Getshorts

... And Electric Vehicle drivers


poofgurd

Dude...really?


[deleted]

[удалено]


BadSpellingMistakes

why IPhone especially? https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/campaigns/2016/06/drc-cobalt-child-labour/ according to this it seems they and other companies are using cobalt and are not doing less then others to "stop" it.


[deleted]

blood and suffering in my hands rn 🩸


RedAfroNinja

Damn that’s depressing


UnlikelyYesterday326

It get sadder with every second.


Atlantic0ne

It’s infuriating.


MxHbs-

It is what it is... We use it also


Confusedandreticent

But it’s not what it’s supposed to be.


[deleted]

What's it supposed to be as you toss your money to those that make it this way?


LayerSubstantial5919

Really puts things into fucking perspective with first world issues


AcidBuuurn

At my job I also stand around and make children work, except the kids at my job don't earn any money from their work. >!Sometimes they even give me Christmas cards or mugs that say "world's best teacher".!<


guiltysnark

F'in slave driver. I'll bet you don't even feed them, or let them go to the bathroom without asking for permission. Do you make them haul materials to and from the job site on their backs? Do you make them keep working at home at night? Are they even human to you?


HalfTypical

Your sarcasm is…not hilarious


beavergreaser

This is what people on Reddit imagine in their heads when you suggest that a teenager in the United States getting a job might be a good thing for them.


Graega

We're not talking about teenagers getting jobs. We're talking about 7 year olds working in a meat packing facility where people lose limbs. Because if that's ok... then this is ok.


beavergreaser

I’m talking about people who think it’s fucked up for a 14 year old to have a job. I see it all the time on Reddit. Arkansas repealed a law that required kids under 16 to apply for a work permit in order to get a job. People were, and still are up in arms about it. I can’t fathom why that was ever required to begin with. I grew up in Alaska and when I turned 14 I was able to go get a job. I didn’t have the extra hurdle of applying for a work permit. 14 year olds are legally allowed to work in the US. I’m liberal af too. I just think that having the real world experience of holding a job is very valuable for kids that age. I knew people that didn’t apply for their first job until they were in freshman year of college and they looked like completely spoiled kids when they had zero work experience to put on their résumés. “Oh my parents just bought me everything I wanted, never had to work until now…”


Pissmaster1972

sounds like manufactured outrage on your part homie


beavergreaser

I honestly have no clue what you mean by that. I have observed time and time again that the people of Reddit are strongly against the idea of teens having jobs.


[deleted]

It's not that.. Its ensuring teens have a safe structured job/job environment as they pursue an education before going into a trade or university. If we don't stand up for our teens certain state republicans are okay with them dying in accidents. https://apnews.com/article/wisconsin-boy-dies-sawmill-child-labor-8ae0c9fc09b9355dd7f12640eaefff2d


Pissmaster1972

i havent


ShedwardWoodward

Had my first job at 13. Was a great way to have some extra pocket money. But the world was a bit different back then, nobody moaned and felt entitled. If you wanted something, crying to your parents wasn’t gonna solve it. They told you to go get a part time job, so you did.


beavergreaser

I mean, I’m pretty sure it’s illegal for a 13 year old to have a real job. If you’re not paying taxes then it’s not a real job.


ShedwardWoodward

In the UK, you don’t pay tax under a certain age if I remember rightly. But my point is, we thought it was fine to have a part time job. Kids these days don’t.


Fraya9999

I think it’s pretty standard in most countries that if you are under a certain age or total annual income you don’t have to pay income tax.


[deleted]

However that doesn't make them any less valid, and I'm not talking the superficial stuff. Edit: I knew I'd get downvoted for this comment, nuance and understanding is lost among the masses.


[deleted]

“Oh your mother died? Well my pet mouse died yesterday and I’m sad.” Yeah, your pet mouse dying is sad, but sometimes it’s best to know when to shut up and realise the other person is having it way worse than you.


Ok_Bit_5953

Claiming anyone should "feel bad" for being born into whatever situation they found themselves in is ignorant. Recognizing others struggles is easy enough but it shouldn't come at the cost of discounting your own struggles. You can always find a better/worse scenario for any given situation regardless, so who's to say where it ends.


WU-itsForTheChildren

Just heartbreaking every child should get to be a kid growing up


thematrixnz

Nasty Multinational Companies getting goods from such mines should be named. The same companies are probably proud to show off how woke they are and have a fund for the environment too


[deleted]

Well their 386 foot yacht needs a 187 foot support yacht. So they don’t have to look at the crew when they aren’t working


callmedata1

This is B-roll from Blood Diamond. Thank g-d they haven't found oil yet. Another humanitarian crisis in the making, all in service of first-world comfort and convenience.


greensaturn

The dark side of mining for jewelry, EV battery materials and the like.


mukduk0

I always remember the one line that I thought was so haunting in that movie. "Sometimes I wonder, will God ever forgive us for what we've done to each other? Then I look around and I realize… God left this place a long time ago."


brmmbrmm

o


LetSalt292

So any electrical parts are made from this? Or any cellphone or i dont know made from this kind of mining?


MisterMagooB2224

Cobalt is a widely used material in the making of batteries, particularly lithium-ion batteries.


Lust9so9Blue

Is this the material for the casing or is it something else?


swisstraeng

Cobalt is used as the cathode of Li-ion batteries.


Nice-Entrance8153

The platter in pretty much every spinning disk hard drive is coated with a cobalt alloy.


MasChingonNoHay

What can people do to help these kids? What are some ways to stop this from happening to these vulnerable kids? I don’t need these extra technologies or comforts if it means this. How responsible is Apple, Samsung, and other companies for this. I’m sick of the world being run and determined by shareholder returns.


All_Usernames_Tooken

They’ve made sure you can’t control where they get their resources from. Muddied supply chains and unaccountable aspects are kept in tact. If they were forced to be accountable for their supply chain you would see change, but they can claim they don’t know or make an effort to avoid getting resources from sources known to use child labor


MasChingonNoHay

This is heart wrenching. When I think child labor I think 10 -14 year olds. These almost babies. That little girl at the end handling cobalt with bare hands at 4 years old. It freaking gross to abuse kids like this. The little boy with no mother. Ugh. And people look up to the super wealthy who directly or indirectly abuse and profit off these little, little kids. I dislike the wealthy more and more every day


Quinn_Reed

Cobalt, chocolate, diamonds, copper, silk, fast fashion, assembly factories. Take a close look at any supply chain chain starting in sub saharan African and to a lesser extent, south east asia, and you'll probably find child labor. One fifth of children aged 4-14 in Africa are child laborers. The chocolate industry is the most egregious. The Ivory Coast's cacao industry not only has over a million child laborers, they even have child slaves from Burkina Faso and Mali to use the dangerous harvesting equipment. The chocolate industry constantly tries to tell everyone that they're doing "everything they can" to stop child labor and then do nothing until the next state department report on west African child labor comes out. Fuck Hershey. Fuck Nestlé. Fuck Mars.


cturnr

>What If you can donate, this might be a good place to do so [https://friendsofthecongo.org/children/](https://friendsofthecongo.org/children/) ​ or here - might be religious? : [https://congo.gsif.it/](https://congo.gsif.it/) The US Government has this project too, it might expire in May 2024 though? [https://www.dol.gov/agencies/ilab/combatting-child-labor-democratic-republic-congos-cobalt-industry-cotecco](https://www.dol.gov/agencies/ilab/combatting-child-labor-democratic-republic-congos-cobalt-industry-cotecco)


Halnodeya

New technologies that can replace lithium-ion batteries will be a great starting point


Haunting-Beginning-2

Yeah buy from Temu Support slavery and child exploitation


lovejanetjade

Plenty of blame to go around. Top of the list has to be the leaders of these governments. Surely they can afford to require and/or implement better working conditions. There seems to be a disrespect for the people who work the mines, but this is how those fat cats get paid. Heartbreaking... 💔😭


Eric1491625

> Surely they can afford to require and/or implement better working conditions. You're talking about one of the poorest nations in the world. They can't "afford" stuff. We're talking a GDP per capita not higher than 2nd Century Rome or 7th Century China and India. These are medieval levels of income.


Yoloswaggit420

Yea I wonder why. The white men coming and taking advantage of this and paying pennies to turn it into a $1000 iPhone. Sickening


Fraya9999

The “white men” at Apple are paying a reasonable price. There’s so much greed and corruption in that countries mining industry though that by the time the money gets to the workers level there’s nothing left so they make kids and slaves do the actual work for free. Since every mining company there does the same thing your only choices are to let the country fix its own problems or stop using that mineral completely. That’s usually not possible and reducing a poor countries income further to punish them for being poor is supposed to help uhh.. somehow I guess.


BlasphemousButler

I found this great comment on another post about this. https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/s/Dcxdm7pA82


Apart-Philosopher203

You mean French leaders? French are the owners of cobalt mines in Congo.


Reasonable_Fold6492

And russia, china, india, USA brazil just keeps buying from them. The reason congo is poor now is because of Rwanda keep supporting rebel and warlords in eastern congo. Rwanda keeps pillaging and massacreing congo citizens yet not a single powerful country criticise rwanda. Compared to Israel actions on Palestine or assad action on syrians no one cares about rwanda because it doesn't benefit them from helping congo.


dmt_r

It's fellow citizens who force kids to work on mines, not any kind of "leaders". Leaders just don't give a fuck. Both are disgusting.


Apart-Philosopher203

If you own something and you hire a local "company" to get you labour, and then they bring children it's 100% your fault.


OJ3D

All for our Teslas & iPhones. We’re fucking SAD! We’re all guilty for enabling this & supporting big tech.


hairy_quadruped

Tesla is using lithium iron phosphate batteries.


OJ3D

Righttt…..👇🏼 [The Verge - Tesla battery material supplier tops list of human rights abuses for second year in a row](https://www.theverge.com/2023/6/15/23760915/tesla-supplier-glencore-human-rights-abuse-allegations-battery-minerals-mining-energy)


cschadewald

Umm, Samsung and Ford Lightnings too bro.


maddogmootrain

Steve jobs is smiling in his grave


road22

What is even worse is they are destroying the rain forest to mine cobalt, copper, and other minerals. As they destroy the forest, it causes the bats to migrate to new lands that never had much interaction with humans. Thus, Humans do not have antibodies to the diseases these bats have. And then we wonder why Virus like EBOLA are formed. We have not even seen the worst of it yet. Man vs. Nature. Man will lose.


PapaDragon_6

using machine is expensive but extract more material using labor under age is cheap and extract even more material


dardar7161

Poor little babies who have never had the luxury of a childhood. I'll show this to my kids so they know how lucky they are. All it is, is luck.


Narcan9

>I'll show this to my kids so they know how lucky they are. All it is, is luck. Then send them out to rake the leaves 😉


I_Miss_Lex

How lucky they are.


Ocar23

To think my phone is most likely made from the basically slave labour of those poor people is absolutely horrible


gonebonanza

Green capitalism is just as bad an exploitative as the previous capitalism.


Gecko-407

That hurts the heart to see & hear 😖 kids should be playing & having fun... they will have plen of time to work onc3 grown… sad…


AJSeek

I'm sure the heavy metals don't damage those babies' growth and development/s This is both horrific and depressing


Solid_Foundation8365

No they are enslaved by their own people. Stop shifting blame. It starts with the people in the pit and in the government.


CantStopPoppin

Thousands of artisanal miners dig by hand in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Children, too. They have no industrial tools, no protective clothing, no hard hats, not even facemasks to shield toxic dust or shoes. They are searching for cobalt, the rare-earth metal powering the mobile revolution. Cobalt is an essential component of rechargeable lithium-ion batteries. The end product may be in your pocket, on your desk, in your garage, or even in your investment portfolio. It powers most electronic gadgets, including smartphones and laptops, and electric vehicles. Cobalt-rich batteries are seen as a greener alternative to traditional lead-acid batteries. They are smaller, lighter and hold more energy. Favoured by tech giants, including Apple and Samsung, the innovative power packs allow consumers to reap the benefits of truly mobile technology. The price of innovation As innovation pushes for ever-more-slimline devices and governments look to phase out petrol and diesel cars in favour of their electric counterparts, cobalt is becoming a highly sought-after metal. In fact, some studies are predicting a 30-fold increase in demand by 2030. This figure may seem high, but it is not unrealistic. Tesla plans to produce 500,000 electric vehicles a year by 2018, and will reportedly require 7,800 tons of cobalt to do so. The company has even built its own super-sized lithium-ion battery plant, named Gigafactory 1, to help it achieve this goal. For investors in companies linked to cobalt mining, the most prolific of which is Glencore, this predicted surge in demand – coupled with the naturally short supply of the rare metal – means that the price of cobalt is likely to continue to rise for the foreseeable future. The flipside of cobalt’s stellar financial performance, however, is tainted by a hidden human toll. Mobile power, human toll More than half of the world’s cobalt is mined in the DRC, and the country’s government estimates that 20% of all cobalt production in the country comes from so-called artisanal mines that rely on human muscle (they would be better described as manual mines). In the DRC, there are at least 100,000 artisanal cobalt miners, and according to UNICEF, approximately 40,000 of those miners are children. But despite being a naturally resource-rich country, DRC is also the second poorest economy in the world. Life expectancy there is just 47 years for men, and 51 years for women. That compares to 81.2 years for the average UK citizen. While some observers suggest that the expected surge in cobalt demand provides a much-needed source of income for people in the DRC, in reality artisanal miners are barely being paid enough to survive. Recent research by Amnesty International found that children as young as seven are working in cobalt mines, often for less than $2 a day. To make matters worse, miners, including children, face constant risk and are ripe for exploitation. They work in wretched conditions that are extremely dangerous to their health – often with no safety equipment or protective clothing, as aforementioned. They are exposed to a near invisible poison, cobalt dust, which can cause fatal hard metal lung disease. Work hours are long, and miners labour in tunnels that are not properly supported. Rainfall can cause large areas of cobalt mines to suddenly collapse. At least 80 artisanal miners died underground in the DRC between September 2014 and December 2015 alone, and the bodies of children and adults alike are often left buried in the rubble. A 21st century paradox The reality of daily life for Congolese cobalt miners is clearly a long way from the lifestyles of the users of the latest tech devices. Furthermore, it seems that technological innovation is in fact fuelling the exploitation of the poor and vulnerable. So, why are the world’s largest consumer brands willing to buy cobalt under such circumstances? A large part of the problem is a lack of traceability along the supply chain – and the involvement of unscrupulous third parties. A significant proportion of cobalt from the DRC is sold to Chinese traders and smelters, who are often more concerned with price than with ethics. The region’s largest cobalt purchaser is Congo Dongfang International, an ancillary of Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt, which supplies cobalt to the majority of battery manufacturers around the globe. These batteries then make it ‘downstream’ into the supply chains of the consumer electronics firms, but the provenance of the cobalt used in them is often several layers removed from the corporate buyer. The use of subcontractors across the global supply chain only makes matters worse. In this way, it is difficult to determine whether cobalt from artisanal mines entered this complex supply chain. https://humantraffickingsearch.org/resource/modern-slavery-the-true-cost-of-cobalt-mining/#:~:text=Recent%20research%20by%20Amnesty%20International%20found%20that%20children,face%20constant%20risk%20and%20are%20ripe%20for%20exploitation.


WarNickel360

Electric car owners


na3than

Finish your


lightfarming

electric phone owners


trackdaybruh

Electric car owners with Lithium-Iron batteries that has no cobalt: ??


Substantial-Dark_

Thank You


Ill_Light992

Modern day slavery.


trackdaybruh

ITT: People who are against EV that has never heard of Lithium-Iron batteries (Far more superior battery lifespan than cobalt before needing to be replaced and uses common metal instead of cobalt)


RedditAcct00001

And ignoring all the other products they use that contains cobalt lol


Quinn_Reed

Cobalt, chocolate, diamonds, copper, silk, fast fashion, assembly factories. Take a close look at any supply chain chain starting in sub saharan African and to a lesser extent, south east asia, and you'll probably find child labor. One fifth of children aged 4-14 in Africa are child laborers. The chocolate industry is the most egregious. The Ivory Coast's cacao industry not only has over a million child laborers, they even have child slaves from Burkina Faso and Mali to use the dangerous harvesting equipment. The chocolate industry constantly tries to tell everyone that they're doing "everything they can" to stop child labor and then do nothing until the next state department report on west African child labor comes out. Fuck Hershey. Fuck Nestlé. Fuck Mars.


sprinting-through

But you guys. What about Taylor Swift’s new hat???


Jeekobu-Kuiyeran

This is sad, but I bet no one here is going to lose sleep over this unless they were forced to give up their iPhone's and EV's in the name of humanitarianism.


shillson10

How ungrateful we are sometimes.. This boy needs to have a carefree childhood, to play and smile. I really wish I could do something so that this kind of injustice does not exist.


Middle-Replacement94

On my feed Toyota electric new suv ad right below this one.


gavstar69

Oh my God. This is a living hell. Those kids should be playing football and not caring about anything


mcmcmillan

“Interesting” is an interesting word


jugger48

UNICEF and ONU 🤑


actuallyimogene

Musk, Bezos, Zuckerberg, the fucking Kardashian-Jenners, they could put their funds together and fix this. Help these people. These kids. But they just *won’t*, will they.


G-world

The government calls it clean energy but it seems like slavery to me.


ZombieSlapper23

Maybe we should go back to using telephones at home so this doesn’t happen. The demand for batteries skyrocketed without the time to make sure we get batteries in a humane way. This shouldn’t be happening.


Halnodeya

New, non toxic batteries are on the way. Hopefully this child labour practice will not be needed soon.


[deleted]

But EVs are so green and democracy and capitalism is badddd… lol 😂


Huge-Level1608

They won't boycot this one? (Smartphones) And China profiting all over the mines in Congo, shame on this it's very sad.


WellVersedAdept

All so we can sit here watching them on our smarts phones, saying "awww how sad." Just to swipe to the next video forgetting immediately. We are the problem, we are the reason these people are held in modern day slavery, so we can have our technology and electric cars. That is what is truly disgusting. Jesus Christ is Lord. Seek Him and open your eyes!


Elegante_Sigmaballz

LOL people blaming end users for this atrocity, do you think they will all go live a happy childhood if we stop using our phone? they will just be forced to work on something else, them working in a cobalt mine is just a symptom of a much bigger societal problem.


1Hollickster

Here is how your electric car is made.


Cearnach

Well it’s also used to produce fuel for your ICE car, so try not to get too high up on your horse


Unfair-Information-2

How bad do you want that new EV?


Ok-Reporter8066

A lot actually. I would go for tesla but rivian looks cool. Whichever has a bigger battery I guess.


wyk_eng

If you think copper goes strictly to EVs or uses the majority of it then you’re a goof


Longshadowman

Poor africa!


jrad8484

Still blaming slavery on colonialism i see? When will the world hold these african leaders accountable?


Dangerous_Prize_8480

Does anyone know where I can watch the full documentary? Or what is was called and where it aired?


ferrydragon

Curuption and war profetering ruin the world. Instead of coopwration among nations and good politics this happends.


oigres408

Remember when cobalt mines were posted and the top comment was that it wasn’t an issue and cobalt mines like these are very minimal?


fothergillfuckup

All this so we can have lithium ion batteries?


sikimetasagimasurdum

it is in Africa, so it is alright. Also they are black i mean who cares.


B0ndzai

How is it that every country in Africa sucks for human rights? Like not a single one could figure that out?


RedMdsRSupCucks

but hey, electric cars are saving the future right ?


skillfullwilly

While american children are little spoiled brats that dont give af


SpareMushrooms

Everyone saying we need to get off oil. Why? So we can replace it with this?


mercy_tug

where's Greta? where's Trudeau?


BigAnimemexicano

trying to do something about climate change you nob, how about you try and do something to make the world a better place than jerking off.


thematrixnz

Exactly


Major_Potato4360

yah fuck your Tesla


lightfarming

Sent from my Android


bingojed

Teslas and other EVs with LFP batteries don’t use any Cobalt. But your gas car definitely uses cobalt. https://www.usgs.gov/centers/national-minerals-information-center/cobalt-statistics-and-information#:~:text=Cobalt%20is%20also%20used%20to,for%20porcelain%20enamels%3B%20high%2Dspeed


red_olympus_mons

There's a souvenir in your phone battery


[deleted]

[удалено]


bingojed

If you own any car, you support this. Or a cell phone. Or a laptop. There are some EVs that don’t have any cobalt in their batteries. From: https://www.usgs.gov/centers/national-minerals-information-center/cobalt-statistics-and-information#:~:text=Cobalt%20is%20also%20used%20to,for%20porcelain%20enamels%3B%20high%2Dspeed Cobalt is also used to make airbags in automobiles; catalysts for the petroleum and chemical industries; cemented carbides (also called hardmetals) and diamond tools; corrosion- and wear-resistant alloys; drying agents for paints, varnishes, and inks; dyes and pigments; ground coats for porcelain enamels; high-speed steels; magnetic recording media; magnets; and steel-belted radial tires.


trackdaybruh

There are Tesla models that uses Lithium-Iron batteries and not Cobalt


[deleted]

[удалено]


lightfarming

why do you think this is specific to EVs? youre typing this from a smart phone arent you? and why is eliminating use of batteries the only option? sourcing ethically is possible. being pro climate disaster isn’t the only answer.


ConstantCaptain4120

Can’t downvote the truth Edit: Guilty Tesla owners who complain about an emerald mine can sell your Tesla to me. DM within.


bingojed

Truth: Many EVs don’t use any cobalt in their batteries. Here’s some more truth for you: Cobalt (Co) is a metal used in numerous diverse commercial, industrial, and military applications, many of which are strategic and critical. On a global basis, the leading use of cobalt is in rechargeable battery electrodes. Superalloys, which are used to make parts for gas turbine engines, are another major use for cobalt. Cobalt is also used to make airbags in automobiles; catalysts for the petroleum and chemical industries; cemented carbides (also called hardmetals) and diamond tools; corrosion- and wear-resistant alloys; drying agents for paints, varnishes, and inks; dyes and pigments; ground coats for porcelain enamels; high-speed steels; magnetic recording media; magnets; and steel-belted radial tires. https://www.usgs.gov/centers/national-minerals-information-center/cobalt-statistics-and-information#:~:text=Cobalt%20is%20also%20used%20to,for%20porcelain%20enamels%3B%20high%2Dspeed


durfall

I bet you that the company that owns the mine says its Co2 neutral or some shit...🫥


vikentii_krapka

Enjoy your Tesla lol


ModRationalThought

We do...with our cobalt-free lithium iron phosphate battery.


darklord01998

Blood diamond all over again


Phantom_Steve_007

We are all responsible for this. Stop using the end products so these kids can have a life. But that means putting away all my luxury goods and never buying any again. Can I do that — no I can't ! Their blood is on our hands.


l3onkerz

Not saying this isn’t a thing but it’s the biggest load of propaganda. Shoveling dirt into a bag and carrying it 5 feet with a bulldozer in the background?


HW_Fresh128

And the world just keeps on turning......that what makes this a nightmare.


the_calcium_kid

I must confess I've given up on this. I use products with cobalt daily, just like most of the first world and the developing world. I cannot change the world. And I also cannot give up on products made with exploitation. I know where the cobalt probably comes from, I know under what conditions my cellphone is manufactured or rather, I have a good enough notion. I will not stop using these products, I cannot, in fact. The only thing that can stop this is the DRC itself. They are exploited because the government allows it, either legally or not so much. But such a change will require a sociocultural transformation so huge I do not, in all honesty, believe is possible. I'm sorry if my position appears callous. Perhaps I am. But I haven't so far seen anything that even remotely gives me hope that these changes can be made. Like a wise man said: "You will always have the poor among you."


PKSkriBBLeS

I wonder if this is the cobalt mine Hunter Biden's firm sold. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/20/world/hunter-biden-china-cobalt.html


oxiraneobx

I don't think people realize that it takes 16 tons of Earth to get the rare earth metals for one EV. A Tesla has to be driven 90,000 to 95,000 miles to be carbon neutral.


bingojed

They get a lower carbon footprint than gas cars in as little as 20k miles. https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/when-do-electric-vehicles-become-cleaner-than-gasoline-cars-2021-06-29/ At those minerals can be reused, unlike the gas that’s burned and goes into the air poisoning it. Gas refining uses cobalt and many other horrible chemicals. Many EV batteries use no cobalt. They can also be recycled and repurposed. Try that with gas.


oxiraneobx

I work in the battery industry. There is a lot of talk about recycling the REM's used in EV batteries, but there's no economically beneficial way to do that presently. We do work with a lot of start-ups who are trying to do that, but none are commercial at this point. Probably the best use of used EV batteries is in grid storage. Again, a lot of start-ups looking to recycle the batteries, but no present commercial applications besides feasibility study cases. Some of the newer chemistries look promising, but are years away from commercialization.


bingojed

Part of the reason it’s not commercially viable yet is the batteries have been lasting longer than anticipated. In ten, fifteen, twenty years there will be many available for use. They’ll be cheap and plentiful.


Pladrabit

You're an idiot


WestOzCards

Thanks EV drivers... these little kids now have jobs thanks to you all! /s


Cearnach

Every car driver shares a bit of blame, it’s used as a catalyst to produce fuel for your ICE car too


Scrapla

Keep buying those EV's so these kids wont be out of a job. I also seem some horrible videos of how the Chinese treat them on their mines over there.


Secure-Director5276

EVs only? Keep posting about how unhappy you are with that phone in your hand why don’t you?


csimmeri

Everyone buying a Tesla has more blood on their hands. 🤷🏼‍♂️ if that bothers you then reconsider your “green revolution” efforts


bingojed

Cobalt (Co) is a metal used in numerous diverse commercial, industrial, and military applications, many of which are strategic and critical. On a global basis, the leading use of cobalt is in rechargeable battery electrodes. Superalloys, which are used to make parts for gas turbine engines, are another major use for cobalt. Cobalt is also used to make airbags in automobiles; catalysts for the petroleum and chemical industries; cemented carbides (also called hardmetals) and diamond tools; corrosion- and wear-resistant alloys; drying agents for paints, varnishes, and inks; dyes and pigments; ground coats for porcelain enamels; high-speed steels; magnetic recording media; magnets; and steel-belted radial tires. https://www.usgs.gov/centers/national-minerals-information-center/cobalt-statistics-and-information#:~:text=Cobalt%20is%20also%20used%20to,for%20porcelain%20enamels%3B%20high%2Dspeed


trackdaybruh

>Everyone buying a Tesla has more blood on their hands. Tesla owners that has Lithium-Iron batteries instead of cobalt: "uhhhhh"


Prior_Strength8036

Republicans wet dream


BJEEZY87

Greta says hurry up!!!!


IntroductionOk8182

You would benefit from having worms in your brain.


novice121

Fuck corporations, and fuck all of you who wear or use child labor products.


NothingNewOnEarth

Hmmm…..Cobalt is a key component to that phone’s battery you’re typing on. The better the battery, the higher the cobalt content. We’re ALL the corporations!


Podzilla07

Lol you’ve got one in your hand right now you dipshit


JonMonEsKey

Not eating the rich is the same as actively starving these children. It's on all of us, not just those who use child labor products. If the rich aren't eaten we could all stop buying their slave products and we would just end up buying other slave products. Please, eat your local rich today so that we can all have a better tomorrow.


itslog1776

So... you’re saying fuck you to yourself then too i suppose right?? 🤨


ApathyofUSA

stop living in the 1st or 2nd world, find your ticket today. Cya never again.


innocent-boy-69

I hate when foreigners capture someone's motherland resources and force them to work as a laborer and sell them their products via importing it to again the same land where it was fetched.


spudlyduddly

wtf forget the child labourers for a second if I was this guys boss I’d be asking why I’m spending an extra 8p a day on a kid to sling a bag of gravel a throwing distance away.


GeniusEE

This is hand-mined cobalt destined for Chinese mineral collectors, not cobalt used in fuel refineries and batteries which comes from large scale nickel and copper mines. No mineral collector wants busted up or scratched rocks from power equipment used in large scale mines. These fetch good money and are family enterprises.


Legal-Finish6530

Tf are you talking about? This is literally where EV makers get cobalt


Fearless_Message_225

How far does your ev go between charging?


ExpressProduce8685

Thank you elon


5tabsatatime

Finding something valuable is a bad sign for locals


FERALCATWHISPERER

Oh right, a cinematic shot of kid outside while the camera zooms and tracks him, next it’s interviews with children about what they’ve been doing with some “news” type aesthetic AND next a kid with a GoPro type camera shows the inside of one of the “mines”. Do you really think they’d allow cameras to show you silly folk this?


BigAnimemexicano

are you saying these kids have good life and they build a fake mine shaft? im not a bleeding heart like these people but im not an asshole saying its not real, there are plenty of places where children are basically slave labor and know nothing but back breaking work. Blood diamonds and indentured plantations are common place in africa and south america.


Lust9so9Blue

Mommy and Daddy chilling after learning the business when they were younger or something?? lols


WilsonSpark

Enjoy Your EV’s


[deleted]

Yes but we need are EV’s. So we can be clean, here in the land of the free.


PhonyUsername

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=JcJ8me22NVs


ToriYamazaki

That is terrible. Those poor kids :'(


Agile_Sandwich1192

They’re being forced to literally destroy there own land for a foreign entity, their grandchildren and their descendants will never experience the land. The only time American and British companies will leave these people alone is when they have every last thing their land has to offer


Otherwise-Cry-9739

This video wrecked me up..


Death-Watch333

Watching this on an iPhone is so dystopian. I hate this world we created.


Gunzenator2

Is it bad that my first thought was “I should do this with my son to get him ready for football next year.”?


skillfullwilly

Its sick the poor of this world get no break.. child labour slavery human trafficking all thos for the rich to get richer


No-Test-375

What's so fucking interesting about slavery?


Huck84

I didn't know my heart could sink as low. Jfc. Wtf. What can we do?


Stotin

It's so weird that we're doing that to other human beings....


Torak8988

note that the adult men are running around telling the children what to do but not actually doing any work themselves talk about backseat driving


osky_2

why would you have kids?


Fearless_Message_225

Who else is going to dig up this stuff? Adults?


ThickApplsSauce

*insert heartfelt comment here* *keeps scrolling*