Why Congo's Cobalt Mines are a Global Tragedy
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- Опубліковано 17 лис 2023
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ah yes child slavery with a ad for cereal
Classy shilling products when reporting on tragedies... Could it be any more exploitative lmao?
Did you even ask where Magic Spoon sources their cobalt? This seems like a conflict of interest.
The comment I wrote here was a snarky comment that just do not work in writing on the internet. It might have worked in a face to face conversation among friends, but not as plain text to someone I do not know. I will try to do better from now on.
I can't reconcile this kind of thing as an American.
It's horrible and the system we have setup is reliant to live in what we consider a modern world.
I feel terrible to be part of it, and don't see any way out unless I want to live in a hut, walk everywhere, wear clothes made of grass, and forage.
Does anyone else feel the same way?
All I feel like is hell is coming for us all privileged and pillaging folks in the west.
The saddest part is that this is nothing more than a hindrance for these companies. They'll just publicly apologise, "sell" the mines to bogus companies, create dozens of middleman companies to distance themselves from those mines and continue as nothing happened.
Leads me to thibk we probably *should* try to increase cobalt mining in the US. Sure, the workers will still be exploited, but the worst abuses that happen in places like the DRC would *never* be permitted in the US. Right?
@@vic5015 "but the worst abuses that happen in places like the DRC would never be permitted in the US. Right?"
Sounds like a challenge.
@@vic5015lol no. Workers in the US work in easy mode compared to anything in Africa.
@@vic5015 the difference is that the mine in the US will be able to buy expensive machinery without worrying about attacks from militants. It's way easier to implement health and safety if the safety advisor doesn't get shot.
@@vic501575% of the world's known cobalt reserves are in the Congo
As a 24yr old Congolese man living in Australia for half my life now, this would have been my life if my mother had listened to her family and didn't work hard to get out. I'm now married to a beautiful Taiwanese wife, own 2 brand new homes and expecting our first child mid next year of 2024. Not all of us from DRC get as lucky. Eternally grateful.
How wonderful for you and your family. I, as an Aussie welcome you and wish you all the very best and a special hug for your mother. And be blessed with the new arrival of your baby. 💜
Is australia a nice place to live in ?
Yours is the Australian story we need to hear more of. I’m so happy you got to make a good life!
Bruh owns two homes in a housing crisis at 24!??!?! Maybe we should of kept you in the Congo
I am pleased you escaped that life. However, remember where you came from! Spread love, not oppression.
We have “artisanal” miners is South Africa but we call them Zama Zamas you should really do a video on it. It’s chaotic, scary and a huge problem here
Fellow South African here! 👋🇿🇦 Agree 💯! That would be a great topic for Simon to cover on this channel! 👌
Definitely going to look it up
@Into the Shadows
What can we do about it? I would love to help
In this case, "artisanal" meabs small scale with minimal oversight and regulations.
The bowl you eat from at the beginning uses cobalt blue as the pigment for it's color.
The summary sounds like 'damned if we do, damned if we don't', but I would think if you rush to get the latest gadgets (rather than keep hold of and use what already works) you are just fuelling the fire. Just my two cents.
Ah magic spoon, the cereal so magical it makes the video skip right to the end of the ad because it knows, magically, that I will never buy that bullshit
Other than that, excellent work as usual
You don't have to buy it. He gets paid just for talking about it.
@@7-ten If no one buys it, there won’t be money to pay him to talk about it.
@@lIII0IIIl that doesn't mean anybody has to buy it from here. They have other people advertising the stuff and they sell it to other people other than Simon's audience.
@@7-ten They most certainly do. But when you’re shilling a bullshit product, you’re left with bullshit.
@@7-tenLast time I checked, they do monitor when videos are skipped
Since I skip every single magic spoon advertisement I see, I hope one day it will kill the product off.
After all, I have premium, why do I still have to listen to sponsors?
You know what the worst part of this is? Someone could make an entire channel dedicated to the tragedy of The DRC, and if even half of them were monetized, the amount of ad revenue such a channel would get over the course of three months would most likely be more money than the average family in the DRC makes in a year.
I thought the rap of kids was the worst thing to be fair
@@michaelmccarthy9781 I both agree and disagree with you, for while I do agree that is worst individual action, what makes it even worse still in my personal opinion is that the reason for all these atrocities, is because so many of these people are doing this, for practically nothing. It would be like if people were "disappeared" by the thousands, just for a MCDonald's salary.
Drc...
@@grassmann028 Democratic Republic of the Congo
im 13 and this is deep
"Sometimes, it's better to embrace the brutality of this world, if only to avoid an even worse alternative" - I love this bleak-sounding quote.
Lesser of two evils. Still evil.
@@FT4Freedom what’s the alternative, if there’s no alternative?
@@DanSolohaof course there is. It's what regulations are for. This is also what capitalism ultimately leads to - everything has price on it.
@Stable_Genius and conversely, communism leads us to pyramids of skulls, roads of bones and fields of rotting corpses... neither stable or genius are you?
@@Stable_Geniusand communism........ where does that lead, not stood on the podium in front of the grateful masses but the next broken skeleton they find. Thanks for playing, zoomer
Correction. Lithium batterirs WILL NOT allow us to transfer to renewable energy. New solutions other than Lithium need to be developed. We use litium batteries for some large storage because of cost, but they don't scale up in size well. They're best for smaller uses like ele tronics
There's work being done to produce safe nuclear batteries produced by nuclear waste.
The cores are coated in lead and synthetic diamond and they're currently being designed to work on satellites, but imagine being able to use them for electronics and powering homes. They don't even need to be that big to produce power and the ones being designed to work on satellites will last 50,000 years or so
How about those salt batteries?
Would they be better if they are improved?
@@KremWorldbut that’s the thing, because they can’t be replaced and therefore charge people to change it any ceo with even half a brain will buy the patent and shelf it for the foreseeable future to prevent it from harming the income pockets of their companies.
@@KremWorldwell it's other storage does exist, you could use the generated energy to split hydrogen from oxygen, if then let the hydrogen react with carbon from CO2 you could create Methane CH4. Methane has way higher energy density then Lithium batteries.
Pumped hydro storage is the best and cheapest battery
I wish I had access to Simon’s content when I was in high school and college. I can pay attention and retain information when it comes out of factboi’s face.
Having seen Simon on Casual Criminalist, I know how hard this channel probably is on him sometimes, an episode like this especially. It is important to get this out there though, and I thank you and your team for your hard work, dedication and for tackling these difficult subjects even with the toll they can take on you.
Why is it hard on him?
@@johndc2998 He doesn't enjoy reading about people suffering, especially children, sometimes to the point of real mental distress.
Simon is genuinely an incredible person.
I don't remember what episode it was but you know the recent one which made him genuinely question whether he wanted to continue?
I'm so, so grateful he is. The world needs these stories and Simon is incredible at delivering them.
(I know there are other channels but with visual and auditory processing issues and very-probable ADD that we can't afford to diagnose, Simon's is one of the few channels that I can actually translate mentally. He genuinely is a blessing and I'm so, so thankful he's here.)
@@snowyowl2784 I believe it was the Watts family murders episode. As horrific as it was, I'm glad that Simon and his team are there to give it justice other true crime might not, and that I'm not the only one.
Sure, like he is not buying an EV or a mobile device with rare earth minerals in it 😅 Like we all do...oh no, my device is made with child labour/slave labour....anyway...he is a video for you about Russia in Ukraine😂
I actually wrote a paper about this in college, final project before graduation.
It was a very......hard read doing the research for it.
How about Brunei?? It was colonized by the British for 3 centuries. But, now Brunei is richer than Britain.
I'd like to read your paper? Where can I find it?
Cobalt is not just used for lithium ion batteries it's used in capacitors and has many other uses. Lithium ion batteries are trying to phase it out, but other uses are much harder.
Read “Heart of Darkness “ by Joseph Conrad. It’s about a trip up the Congo River and the horrors he saw in the 1800’s. Nothing new in the Congo unfortunately
Man, this one hit HEAVY the moment he presented the counter argument made by companies for how it's not TECHNICALLY a venture, and that was only 4 years ago.
So, I suppose a few things to do are: support Right To Repair movements, and learn to repair things before buying new; send feedback to manyfacturers; use phones, cars, et al till they absolutely die ( my phone I am pecking this from is a 2016 model, example); resist convenience, and 1-time use; curb impulsivity and manage immediate gratification, resist status for status' sake; spend more time doing IRL things, make things, make arts and crafts, read books; go to consignment and thrift stores; send letters and cards and notes instead of texts and emails, spend less time online; learn to live with ourselves and quiet... There is a lot, like grains of sand that eventually make a beach. Ha! Use real maps not Google. What else?? Best to all.
The "buy new each year" rush to replace what still works and the "nope, no repair, must replace" has driven me crazier each year as both have become stronger and stronger. Other than using my electronics until they truly, physically break and refusing to buy fancy new gadgets, what the hell can I do? Because I refuse to buy new each year, companies don't care what I think or want (not giving them enough $) but those who do give them $ every year are supporting these practices. I can't skip the computer or phone, not with the way the modern world works and my job in health care. So unless I live off-grid (and thus stop working at my current job, living in my current apt., etc.), I feel trapped in this system. I can sign petitions until my hand gives out but signatures wont change things when $ is involved.
Side note: my care door slots are stuffed with paper maps. :)
Whenever it is time for me to buy a new phone I’m going with Fairphone. I’m still looking for a similar product for my laptop I will need to replace soon. Or I’m buying used. It’s a small thing but if I’ve learned anything this year it’s that my money matters. And if enough people get behind a movement it messes with big company’s bottom line. Then they might start to listen.
The sad fact of the matter is that, at worst, the companies involved in the lawsuit are complicit by inaction. In the end, all they provide is an outlet for the cobalt, whereas all of the human rights abuses happening in the DRC are the local populace screwing each other over, with their government either unwilling or unable to force them to stop.
Let's consider the alternatives: one, the big tech could (and probably will, given the backlash) move on to another technology that does not require that amount of cobalt. The revenue dries up and people, who were desperately poor to begin with, become even poorer and begin to starve - I mean, since they're doing this horrible work willingly, the alternatives must be even worse. Two, the companies pay more for the cobalt, hoping that this will at least get the people doing the mining out of poverty so they don't need to do it anymore. That money would give even more of an incentive to the terror groups that use forced labor, allowing them to scale their operations up even more, hurting more people in the process. Three, the US or another 1st world country could step in and enforce its laws on the local populace, guaranteeing labour and safety regulations, child protections etc. - but that would require overthrowing the local government and installing one loyal to the invaders. We've seen in Afghanistan and Iraq how that song and dance goes.
The idea of guilt by lack of action is laughable and generally legally indefensible. A recent and terrible example could be this: Did you protest with BLM in 2020 against racism? Guess you must be racist if you didn’t.
It’s a terrible approach for an accusation.
@scottmeredith3359 I'm not so sure I agree with that. If it were true there wouldn't be mandated reporters. I can face consequences if I don't report when I think a patient is being abused, and rightly so, because failing to step in perpetuates the problem and I would bear partial guilt in that.
@@scottmeredith3359 How did you bring BLM into it? You really must be bitter about it. That is tangent even Simon would scoff at. There are a lot of laws in the U.S. to protect employees from safety violations (inaction) and human resources department if people are being neglected. The U.S. has tried to enforce policy in other countries but the countries don't want big America telling them what to do. The mining lobbyists pay the leaders of these countries to let them do whatever they want, and when the U.S. is saying it violates U.S. safety regulations, the country pulls nationality and points out its not illegal where the company operates. We can't do anything about it here in the U.S.
Ignorance as a comment. Takes no account of the history of the DRC as a colony of _the Belgians_ which was deliberately thrown into civil war shortly after _the Belgians_ abandoned the country - just after the mineral deposits were discovered.
@@dopplerthesexybeast I'm not actually sure we should have mandated reporters, especially in a case if the victim doesn't want it reported. Yes I understand that this could perpetuate negative cycles but there is a big difference between when someone should do something and compelling someone to do something. Obviously 99.9% of abuse should be reported but I'm uncomfortable with removing the reporters autonomy and judgement as to how the situation is best dealt with. It is conceivable that in some situations you might do more harm than good by reporting and although you should act ethically I'm not sure that it is actually ethical to force you to always act. It's not even like you're primary role is as a reporter you're a healthcare provider and it would be illogical to force you to be a reporter if that would undermine you're trust from you're patients and you're ability to care for them effectively. I want to be clear I'm not against reporting I believe in almost all circumstances you should report things when you're made aware of them I'm just uncomfortable forceing you to do so.
Videos like this make me glad that EVs are switching from Lithium Ion to Lithium Iron Phosphate batteries, which do not use Cobalt.
You know whats a nice cereal?
Spreaded Wheat with sliced banana, blueberries ,two heaped spoons of Greek style yogurt, squirt of honey then had about half of the milk you usually would without yogurt. 😋 Mad healthy and lovely.
I had no Idea. I will not ever look at my phone the same ever again. It seems these days everything has a degree of corruption. Thanks for the awesome work. Love the channel.
I'm not sure if advertising kids cereal before video about kids mining kobalt is more horrifying than brilliant but the message is strong...
*cobalt
Cobalt also makes super hard, durable machine tooling possible. Add a little cobalt to steel (among a small amount of some other mineral) and you've got an almost miraculous material, without which almost none of the modern world or manufacturing would be possible.
False. You don't need cobalt at all in M2 tool steel. M35 and M42 is optional if you need higher red hardness, but it's certainly not necessary. Also, tungsten carbide is used far more often in CNC machines and it contains _very_ little cobalt. Idiot.
@@acmhfmggru Didn't know this, thanks for letting me know!
I feel like I should add that good batteries can be made without cobalt. Recycling old electronics can also MASSIVELY reduce the amount of materials we need to make new things. Furthermore, we don’t even need traditional chemical batteries - energy can be stored by other means, such as compressed air, spinning flywheels, weights & gravity, and so on. This is an awful problem that is very much solvable without serious downsides.
Science 100
I believe it costs more to recycle than to mine.
What can be recycled from electronics is cobalt tantalum silver copper tin lead and trace amounts of phosphorus and germanium. Plus liquid dielectrics such as PCB oil used to make large format capacitors.
Globally, this stuff needs to be in a circular economy. The people recycling e Waste are poorly paid and poorly protected. This is a good time to mandate if a product can’t be infinitely recycled we probably don’t need it.
The only exceptions I can think of are medical PPE and sharps
Best battery is pumped hydro
Simon's voice: Wonderful. Can, and often do, listen to it all day.
Simon Eating Cereal: SKIP! FASTER!
IDK why that sound bothers me so much but it gets me every time
LFP batteries are taking over 75% of more of the world EV and grid storage market. They require no cobalt or other conflict materials. Hopefully one of the new battery chemistries will replace the cobalt high capacity cells. LFP is pretty close and after a year of daily use, often has more capacity remaining than the cobalt using cells.
We need to mandate and subsidize recycling of ALL ewastes.
Ya. But we won’t. We never recycle. Ever. Even when we try.
I don't usually bother to skip Simon's ad reads, but Magic Spoon is the exception. It's incredibly expensive, but I figured what the hell, I'll give it a shot. It'd be worth it if I there's a decent low-carb cereal that I could cheat with on occasion.
Friends, I'm here to tell you that it is *not* food. It looks like cereal. It smells like cereal. It even sounds like cereal when you pour it. But that's where the similarities end. It absolutely tastes nothing like cereal, nor dies it have a texture even remotely cereal-like. Folks, this stuff is foul. It's so bad that Gordon Ramsey wouldn't let it contaminate his trashcan; he'd sent it far, far away to be buried and forgotten.. But stay tuned, because it doesn't end with the taste or texture. Since it's basically compressed protein powder, once you crunch it, it gets into your teeth and fills all the tiny spaces that you never knew were there. Rinsing doesn't even disturb the foul stuff, and it's floss resistant. It similarily ignores all attempts at removing it via brushing. If you are brave enough to taste this shit disguised as cereal, get ye first to the store and buy the most expensive waterpik with the most aggressive pressure you can find. With my trusty waterpik turned up to max, I able to finally rid my mouth of the foul concoction.
Hyperbole, you ask? It is not. I go back to that terrible taste that I couldn't get rid of each and every time I hear Simon crunch it in an ad read. I cannot locate the skip forward button quickly enough. How he manages to look as though he's actually enjoying this unholy concoction I cannot understand. I hope Lucifer never finds it or he'll be serving it as breakfast in hell. Even the souls of the damned don't deserve that.
😂 I love the passion! You should be a writer for Simon. Get in the basement! 🔫
Sure you don't work for Kellogs? Just kidding I believe you. I'm sure the powdered green stuff is gross as well.
@@johntaranto29 I absolutely DO NOT eat anything that comes green and powdered. Nope, nope, nope. But if someone ever slips it in my glass while I'm not looking, I'll be sure to give it a review too.
Thanks for the good read and heads up
@@leighz1962 Thank you, I do what I can!
I really enjoy these videos, and Simon is an excellent presenter! As constructive feedback, please run the audio through a "De-Esser" filter to remove the sharp high pitched "sss" sounds. I don't notice it as much in the other channels that Simon presents, but for some reason the "s" sounds really pierce my ears on this channel. Thanks!
Everything is a tragedy. Landfills, Gypsum stacks, dumping in the ocean, corporations irresponsible actions.
Certainly makes a case for finding alternatives to Lithium Ion batteries. At least with carbon based battery tech, the main mineral needed is just coal, which is more likely to come out of a fairly safe mine in northeast Wyoming, which also helps keep that region alive as demand for coal for energy production falls.
This is exactly what I said
I fail to see how this is my fault specifically.
Well this is a corporate video, where corporations always put the blame on you... Just imagine how many devices this guy uses every day to make his videos... Probably way more than the average people out there... And all of them has cobalt in it... I don't think he cares to buy cobalt free devices, but he can put out a video that makes good money and starts a blame game.
He teaches good lessons. I think he's got his shit 0:56 straight. He's a good dad
TheCrone Simon constantly gets things wrong. I've lost count of the videos where he makes mistakes and spreads misinformation. I'm not saying his job is easy but tough sh*t, that's his job. It's not good enough and you'll see many have similar views.
@robertcook1611 No, I won't. Simon, who I've been following for years, appears to me, an old person, to be a person who thinks out his position and stands by, what I consider to be a high standard of thoughtful mortality.
We all pass misinformation on to others. I believe Simon would not do that on purpose. He admits errors. It's key to everything
Good to see this finally being brought to a wider audience.
Which is gonna accomplish what?
@@jakobkjr6887 Well, if everyone looks at it with Your additud, then nothing. I would work on that if I were you.
So, you have given up on all lithium products, havee you?
@@corb5654 so you've given up on the idea of humane working conditions, have you?
I’m glad I could watch this on my phone on UA-cam. I would comment more but UA-cam would censor me.
When people cannot rule themselves they will be ruled by others
you have no idea what you're talking about
@@bamlakbekele6494 History says that I do
@@Markwaltonn5860
Not when the "others" in this case actively overthrew the Congo's government.
@@bamlakbekele6494 it is what it is
I love how your stock mine footage is obviously not from anywhere near the DRC
Starting from smaller amounts in 2021, Indonesia began producing cobalt as a byproduct of nickel production. By 2022, the country had become the world's second-largest cobalt producer, with Benchmark Mineral Intelligence forecast Indonesian output to make up 20 percent of production by 2030.
Yeah. You got me there. It's all my fault. I planned, directed and perpetuated the DRC artisanal cobalt industry. But in my defence, I didn't do it for the money; I did it, so you could make a video of exposing me for it. Since I've been found out, I shall share all my magnificent profits with the poor Congolese who have suffered under my brutal oppression and replace all of the artisanal mining operations with real mines. Thank you, Simon. You made my day.
I’ve known about this for years and but second-hand products as much as I can. Same for clothes. I still have clothes that are still in good shape and are older than my 15yr old daughter. We can make changes ourselves without relying on companies to make the changes. We have morals, they most likely don’t.
Let’s just face it you’re a cheapskate and nothing else😂
The video started playing before clicking and I saw the title about the tragedy in the Congo whilst Simon is munching on a bowl of cereal
Found the mix of companies sued amusing as most started as software. And even more interesting is compare this to early computer days when the big money was hardware. While we know this instinctively who have seen this evolution it really drives it home when you think who would the list of companies sued be if they had stuck to hardware companies who actually control which lithium battery is in the device.
Jesus Simon I just opened UA-cam and saw that Congos cobalt mines are my fault… this should be a fun night 🎉😂
Here's a question worth asking: How much of the expansion in mining can be pointed at the "green" initiative, including electric vehicles and solar/wind power initiatives?
Frankly, if it was just things like cell phones, and solar panels for home use, I honestly think the mining of minerals like Cobalt would be a fraction of what it currently is.
I recently saw a video on social media about children working in Congo cobalt mines. But it was not aimed to inform about the situation. The goal of the video was to show that this child slave labor is the effect of EU attempt to move to cleaner sources of energy. Batteries for phones and cars need cobalt. A lot of devices need cobalt. This video was to show that Europes energy transformation is the root cause of the Congo problem.
Wow! Companies and corporations doing awful and shady shit? WHAT A SURPRISE!!!
This is how your get stuff cheep. And companies make loads of money
I know it's been covered on a lot of other channels but Simon and his team should do a video on the companies Blackrock, vanguard, state street inc, and fidelity. Any company that is getting caught with it's hands dirty, more than likely you can follow it back to one of these four. These companies have the most shares in pretty much any company you can think of which gives them the right to approve or decline any business decisions, policies, ect, the company makes. Apple, Amazon, Nestle. All controversial in their own acts that have been exposed over the years.
This is a very deep rabbit hole but this is the top heads of this corporate hydra. There is a lot of information to digest but I think Simon and his team could do a very well put together video shedding light on what could be the subject of shaddy business practices.
Any company that is getting caught with it's hands dirty, more than likely you can follow it back to one of these four. And it is also more than likely you can follow it back to any one of pension funds of developed countries.
And here we are with our Ebikes, EVcars, shouting we are GREEN
thank you for speaking about this!
Simon is the closest thing to a father I've ever had
For me, a brother.
For me, a lover
Somebody's gonna need a restraining order
that's kind of sad.
You poor bastard. 😅😅😅😊
You know, the Belgians made an incredible mess of Congo, but at some stage the people of Congo need to take responsibility for what happens in their country and stop blaming others. They have been governing themselves for 63 years already.
Shouldn't have to point out that the only government officials that can come to power are the ones that can be corrupted.
You don’t hear about all the assassinated African politicians as their names and causes are hidden under a rug or dragged through the dirt to paint them as corrupt
Awesome work
Thank you for this video.
Dude blaming us while he sat there talking about it 😂😂😂
He is more Electronics than we do. That means it's more his fault than it is ours.
everyone is "to blame" haha that was stated in the thumbnail most people see and would have known going into this
I knew that the cobalt supply chain was a very big problem but I had no idea it could be this bad. I will be asking where my device's cobalt comes from and make sure that I only buy legitimately mined cobalt. Perhaps they should do it like they do for conflict diamonds and put a mark on the legitimate stuff?
Just stop buying 1500$ phones, then replacing them every3-5 years.
Stop buying electric cars. No on ever died from climate change. Hundreds of thousands have died from EV manufacture.
Stop being a consumer. Buy once, use for the better part of your life, and stop treating tech like disposable toys.
@@Ranstone & your comment isn't visible unless on 'newest' comments mode
Nice introduced video about Congo 🇨🇩 Cobalt mining..its horrible consequences on Congo population...thank you for sharing
Congo-Kinshasa's plight is a sore wound on humanity and an eternal remainder or our shame. It's not a conspiracy people, it's complicity !
WAS headline news is key to your video. The world cares not about what the DRC finds legal.
without cobalt i couldn't have made this comment
It reminds me about your chocolate story. It is exactly the same theme.
Was the reason your studio was drenched in the colour 'Cobalt Blue' an ' 'omage' to the mineral or just an expedient? Terrible situation though and thanks for the insight.
Sooo Artisanal mining=Blood diamonds it seems
pretty much all mining has the same or similar issues, sadly
corporations will always find a way to extract resources, even in conflict zones… and as always, the people see none of the profits. the DRC’s been fcked for a long time, but international failure to restrain and regulate corporate human rights and economic violations makes this kind of exploitation possible.
Corporation giving g what you want at a price you will pay. The consumer is not without fault.
@@asherdieHow can anyone realistically boycott every company in the cobalt supply chain?
Congo has had decades to get its act together, all it has to do is not be mind boggling corrupt and violent
it would be better off inviting the dutch back in to administer everything for a 10% consulting fee
Even those that sell high end electronic products are not innocent of labour exploitation......I dont even know what to think of this situation
Compared to every other challenging situation I've seen on Simon's channels, the long term solution in this case seems pretty obvious, but I'll leave those ideas to the people that can actually do something. Best of luck to those making the decisions to solve this issue.
No one is making decisions to solve anything. What imaginary superhero lawyer or activist are you imagining? If legislation is changed in one country, they will simply bypass it and move operations elsewhere. These companies don’t value human life. We will continue to buy their products, while being fed lies that the minerals are mined safely and ethically. Waiting on someone else to change the world is as useful as praying for someone, hope won’t help anyone. Smart consumerism and education on a global level are the only semblance of change we can one day have, and I don’t see that ever coming to fruition.
I'm in my third year of a geology major, so I have something of use to add here.
Other countries have cobalt deposits but those deposits are often of lower grade or far smaller.
The Congo supplies cobalt almost by default. People are sort of willing to accept it because there's few good alternatives right now.
However, doing business in a country with such instabilities is a big risk. If an alternative becomes available, many companies will probably jump ship.
Either new deposits need to be found elsewhere, the ability to refine lower grade ore needs to improve or an alternative to cobalt needs to be found.
"Okay kids, who wants to play find the shiny!?"
Cobalt in large amounts is used in refining petrol. Unlike in batteries , cobalt used in refining petrol is lost forever while in the batteries can be easily recycled. So do not blame EVs for the use of cobalt.
Into the Shadows cannot be understated when described as an informative, impartial, and brilliant channel! 👏
I was subscribed ever since you were brand new!
Impartial lol
exactly@@AgxntOrange
@AgxntOrange
Yes
Also, this bot liked its own comment
I did not
wanted to start this off with how I love the channel and the content!
i do have a note for the editor, though. the quick flashy film blur effect transitions between cuts is very jarring and makes the eye transition between scenes uncomfortable. my eyes start naturally preparing for the intense flash and makes it very difficult to pay attention to whats actually going on in the video.
Lets everyone stop using phones and computers. Simon lead the charge!
Sounds like corruption is their biggest problem, not colonialism.
When foreign countries are murdering their politicians in the name of democracy, it’s a colonialism problem
Aye that
@@niedersacksen
aye you're an I D I O T
Ooorrr it could be BOTH. The legacy of colonialism still impacts countries till this day. Just look at Haïti. More things can be true at the same time. It's not a light switch🙄.
How come Botswana doing so much better? They too where a colony.
I guess it's like Leonard DiCaprio in the
Movie, Blood Diamond, This is Africa. 😮
Why doesn't talk about cobalt used for desulfurizing diesel fuel? It's not only used for batteries.
Also, some Li-ion batteries (like the LFP batteries, which become more common place now) don't use cobalt at all, nor nickel...
Ah yes let’s blame colonialism from hundreds of years ago and not the current dictatorship makes sense and also the fact that long before colonialism it was still wasn’t using its resources
Thanks for shedding light on this, these mines are rarely mentioned.
Somewhere here there is a really good Zoolander movie.
@@piotrswat169lmao, Mugato expands his child exploitation business into the DRC, and employs Derrick as a spy, due to his experience both as a male model, and in the coal mines with his family for about half a day🤣🤣🤣
Zoolander 3: A Miner Mishap
@@markzuckergecko621 already much better than the second one
@@piotrswat169 yea, 2 was pretty bad, it had some funny moments just because it was so absurd, and the actors are all really funny, but it didn't even come close to having the absurdity mixed with satire like the first one did. It was just absurd.
When I think about how humans can inflict pointless suffering on innocent people, it makes me grateful that one day I won't wake up. The world could have been a much better place without evil. Can you imagine being ignored by the entire population of the planet while you are tourtued on a daily basis, only so you might survive to be 20?
I wish I'd never come to this place.
very informative.
You are blaming us who have no control. By doing so you provide cover and excuse for the crooked. You aid and abett them and are one of them because by blaming us you shift blame from them. You help them so You Did This! Now tell me its my fault again. While you cover for criminals by blaming the victims.
Right dawg has the audacity to say it’s our fault as he literally makes money telling us about it and not doing anything about it every video I watch this Simon guy gets more and more pretentious
California will make this way worst once the new law kicks in requiring all new cars to be EV
CA is a weird place, they wanna do good but often makes things worse, its like they legislate without researchin the issue.
Having an ad on cereal then proceeding to do a story on african cobalt mining is the biggest troll I've seen yet...
*"And it's YOUR fault... not mine, of course, I'm better than everyone else!"*
I will watch the video now but before that I want to say that: These mines where children work and the environment gets trashed are often illegally run by families. The minerals from these mines is not used for western production. Of course the official mines are not really humane as well but far better than the inofficial ones. Basically weak goverment attracts people who want to take advantage of these ressources, westerners and congolese.
where do the illegal materials go? i’m curious, because they wouldn’t operate the mines without SOME buyer, right?
genuine question not trying to sound sarcastic
The material def end up in our phones, laptops and batteries, theres always someone willing to buy it and 'clean it' same as gold or good old money laundering.
If ppl can make a profit from it they will.
(Edit blood diamonds are another good example)
yea well its not like greta thunburg is gonna do anything about it, nor those enviromentalists pushing muh EVs .... so gimme a break .
As always a bloody great video! I enjoy all of your channels & quite frankly I'd be lost without the Simon Whistler experience! But... please please please Simon change your camera or work on the focus settings of the current one. I'm not sure if it's your diffuser/light setup or just your camera can't cope with the ISO? For the most, I only ever listen to your channels because watching buggers my eyes up. Always seems soft focused or just out of focus. Sorry for the rant, your content is amazing!!!! Would be better if you were in focus :P
Bloody? It's going to get demonetized...
When my daughter was little she thought the country was called Doctor Congo 😂
Hardly my fault that it's impossible to function today in a western democracy without a cell phone or laptop.
fun fact, there are only 2 countries that contain both "democratic" and "republic" in their names and neither of them are actually either of those things
"Bleak" is the one word I can think of in response to this video. Thanks Simon you lowered my faith in humanity today.
For a moment I thought the miniature was reffering to my country's flag, so I am glad we are not the main bad guy
Blaming "colonialism" for the problem is basically infantilizing the locals. I don't like this, as it reeks of incredible racism of low expectations. The Congolese themselves are responsible for the state of their country. It is up to them to improve the situation there. They don't need a "white savior". They need to figure shit out themselves. Is it easy? No. Is it simple? No. But it's their responsibility to do so.
stupidest comment i've read today. Victim blaming on an atrocius level
And the people who look for racism under every rock would accuse you of racism, simply for saying non white people should be held to the same standard as everyone else.
Colonaism is the excuse of the lazy to blame others for thier missmangmant
Soth korea was colonised and look where it is now
Japan wa tourn to rubble in wwii and look where thier are now,
Colonisaim was over daceds ago, time for them to take care of thier cuntry and goven themselves
How dare you imply that none whites have some kind of agency.
Guilt can make u irrational or illogical
I would say it a bit rich to blame the end user of electronics as the cause for the poor treatment of our fellow humans instead pointing the finger at those companies doing the mining and constant western involvement in others people's business.
Something tells me he might be payed to have certain perspectives. It's the fault of the industries for not using safer methods and materials, instead they tend to use whatever methods and materials make more money.
@@Andy-413Indeed!
Since when is China or Russia in the West? China controls like 60 percent of Africa
There’s no dirtier, more environmentally destructive mining than that required for “clean” energy power.
Let me check my guilt meter....... nope, not even twitching.
Hossak Yep, I'm sick of self righteous pricks trying to make me feel guilty for things that aren't of my doing. As if Whistler can talk, constantly advertising useless sh*t we can easily live without.!!
wow you're so cool 🤣
No colonialism is over, the reason they are still poor is to corruption and tribalism things in the past arent our fault and I will never let anyone tell me it is
Correct
You're inept. Europeans don't control the mines by accident.
Genuine question, How long is colonialism the cause before bad governance becomes the continued reason
Another commenter called it infantilaision (prob spelled wrong)
I agree with that, its the same as saying a 10 y cant be held fully responsible for a crime (compared to an adult)
Personal responsibility isnt something ppl wanna talk about.
Literally forever, especially when you consider that the place was completely undeveloped before it was conquered as well
When they tried to nationalize the natural resources after having a democratic election the US and belgium toppled the government and propped up a dictator. Try not being a moron.
Most people in Canada are making less than 60k a year… the demand for endless electronics is a rich people thing…
Low rise houses with corrugated iron roofs....... You just described nearly every house in Australia 🤔
It's not reasonable to ask these companies to no longer source their cobalt from these regions since doing so would do more than hurt profit margins. It would hurt the people of these depressed regions even more. All they would need to do if they cared even an iota, is form a coalition among all companies utilizing the fruits of these mines. If there was a united front among all such companies that if regulations aren't followed then none of them will buy. Put incentives in place for those following best practices.
Ultimately, when it comes down to it, these are lawless regions clearly. Ya know what I miss occurring that was promised in 80's-90's cyberpunk fiction? Megacorps with their own paramilitary force. If the miners aren't interested in playing by the rules then boots on the ground with Apple badges on their fatigues can enforce matters.