Power Metal

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Venezuela's Other Riches
Plus: a New Year note from me; Rare Earth Explosion Visualized; and more about the real costs of renewable energy and digital technology—and how we can…
Bad As It Is, Metal Mining Generates Much Less Waste Than Coal or Oil Extraction
Plus: EV Sales Fall in North America, Boom Everywhere Else; Last Minute Gift Ideas; and more about the real costs of renewable energy and digital…
US Arms Makers Are Elbowing Aside Europeans in the Scramble for Rare Earths
Plus: Why I wrote Power Metal; and more about the real costs of renewable energy and digital technology—and how we can do better.
The Real Cost of Black Friday Electronics
Plus: Power Metal Wins a Big Prize!
Even Saudi Arabia Is Betting Big on Renewables (Unlike the US)
Plus: America Stops Making Cents, how car battery recycling is killing people, and more about the real costs of renewable energy and digital…
One Indigenous Community's Mining Windfall Is Another’s Worry
Plus: Another American Company Wants to Mine the Sea Floor; Accidental Metal Art; and more about the real costs of renewable energy and digital…
Vapes Are Even Worse Than You Think
Plus: Rare Earth Trade War Ceasefire, and more about the real costs of renewable energy and digital technology—and how we can do better.
The Unexpected Upside of E-Waste ‘Dumping’
Plus: Lithium Boom Towns Go Bust; Magnificent Metal Masks; and more about the real costs of renewable energy and digital technology—and how we can do…
Electric Vehicles Are Key to Modern Warfare
Plus Kashmir's rivers are running dry, Dragon of Spoons and more about the real costs of renewable energy and digital technology—and how we can do…
China Clamps Down on Rare Earths
Plus: Battery Recycling is Poisoning Millions of Kids; Power Metal updates; and more about the real costs of renewable energy and digital technology—and…
 • Vince Beiser
America Goes Socialist With Critical Metals
Plus: Beijing Ratchets Up Rare Earth Restrictions, News About This Newsletter, and more about the real costs of renewable energy and digital…
Rare Earth Mining is Imperiling One of Asia’s Most Important Rivers
Plus, 'Frontiers of Green Capitalism,' big award announcement, and more about the real costs of renewable energy and digital technology—and how we can…
 • Vince Beiser
Power Metal
Power Metal
How the energy transition and digital technology are spawning environmental havoc, political upheaval, and murder—and how we can do better.
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Critical Minerals Journal
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Magnetic North: One Journalist's Quest to Make Sense of the Universe
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Scott Carney
About My Work
Vince Beiser
The journalist/author behind this newsletter
Power Metal, the book!
Articles on Critical Metals
My work in Wired, Sierra, etc...
The World in a Grain
My book on the global sand crisis. Yes, sand.
© 2026 Vince Beiser · Privacy ∙ Terms ∙ Collection notice
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