## Metadata - Author: [[Isobel Cockerell]] - Full Title: Green Colonialism - Category: #articles - Summary: Kiruna, Sweden, a mining town in the Arctic, is facing the consequences of extensive iron ore mining, which has caused tectonic shifts in the Earth's crust and threatened the town's foundations. The region is now being targeted for carbon-free mining and the extraction of rare earth elements and precious metals. However, this push for a green transition is raising concerns among environmentalists, Indigenous groups, and academics, who see it as simply replacing one extractive industry with another. The Sami people, the region's last Indigenous culture, are particularly impacted by the tradeoffs between sustainability and the destruction of their land. The article highlights the complex tensions between economic growth, climate goals, and the preservation of nature and Indigenous cultures. - URL: https://www.noemamag.com/green-colonialism/ ## Highlights - Whatever you do in your daily life, it has started in the mine,” he said as his headlights flashed across the roughly hewn rock of the tunnel wall. “The tools you use, the chair you’re sitting on, the bike you’re riding on your way to work. The pens you’re writing with, the computer, your mobile phone. It has all started in the mine.” ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hhrk886yb9nc7yt7yds041bj)) - From Kiruna, the iron is taken by train to ports in Norway and Sweden, where it is refined into steel or shipped to LKAB’s clients. At least 80% of iron ore in Europe comes from LKAB’s mines ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hhrk9n11zrmpg9rgyexc2pr4)) - Globally, the steel industry is [responsible](https://www.iea.org/reports/emissions%2Dmeasurement%2Dand%2Ddata%2Dcollection%2Dfor%2Da%2Dnet%2Dzero%2Dsteel%2Dindustry/executive%2Dsummary) for about 8% of carbon emissions. But LKAB says they can transform the whole process from mine to end-product by using electricity generated by water and wind instead. “This far-flung northern region is a crossroads of technologies, ideologies and ambitions for the planet.” ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hhrkb3h6wjbqg3s240bdvxpg)) - LKAB, along with its partners — a steelmaking and hydropower company — is currently testing out a new way of making steel, which leaves behind the traditional blast furnace but requires a phenomenal amount of electricity. How much exactly? “We would need approximately 70 terawatt hours of electricity a year,” said LKAB’s Lindberg. He explained this would amount to roughly half the electricity that all of Sweden’s population of 10 million consumes in a year. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hhrky38wv1zzhkd6kh5dvqgr))