The unsustainable lifestyles of the wealthy West
The numbers in Peter Sainsbury’s report of the finding of a colossal new copper deposit a mile underground in Zambia are mind-boggling. But the most stunning statistic is the statement that although this mine is expected to produce at least 300,000 tons of copper per annum – enough for 50 million EV batteries – the world will need up to six new copper mines of similar size to open every year out to 2050!
In other words, if, miraculously, we transition to a low carbon economy quickly enough to avoid climate catastrophe, we will still destroy the planet in our quest to maintain our current lifestyle – most importantly with our “need” for personal mobility machines. As Ted Trainer points out regularly in P&I, it is we, the wealthy of the West, who must radically change our lifestyles if we are to leave a liveable planet to posterity.
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