The War Below: Lithium, Copper, and the Global Battle to Power Our Lives

入圍美國國家圖書獎非小說類長名單、2024《金融時報》及施羅德年度商業圖書獎
「任何對能源轉型的360度全方位影響感興趣的人必讀的書」——美國前能源部副部長丹尼爾·波尼曼(Daniel Poneman)

要建造電動車、太陽能板、手機及數百萬其他裝置，必須開採更多的礦藏來提取鋰、銅及其他關鍵原料。儘管這些礦藏在應對氣候變遷和推動關鍵技術方面扮演著重要角色，但採礦活動對當地環境與社會帶來的負面影響，卻讓許多人反感。這些矛盾激起了全球對如何獲取這些必要材料的深刻反思，而沒有人比作者厄尼斯特·謝德更能理解這些問題的複雜性。

《The War Below》揭露了產業巨頭、環保人士、社區團體以及政策制定者等各方激烈爭鬥——他們的爭論焦點是：是否應該開採珍稀植物棲地、敏感生態系統、原住民聖地和其他需要保護地區，只因該地礦藏資源豐富。

謝德是路透社資深記者，以通俗易懂且「發人深省」的筆觸呈現這場戰爭對人類的影響，並解釋為何回收和其他新技術未能廣泛普及。他還深入記錄了華盛頓在試圖減少對中國這個全球礦藏開採與加工領頭羊的依賴時所面臨的挑戰。《The War Below》描繪出一幅極度誠實、層次複雜的畫面，揭示了這場爭奪能源獨立的新戰爭所帶來的風險，並闡明了美國及世界其他地區對取代石油的新能源的追求如何直接影響到我們每一個人。

LONGLISTED FOR THE NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FOR NONFICTION AND THE 2024 FINANCIAL TIMES AND SCHRODERS BUSINESS BOOK OF THE YEAR AWARD

This unprecedented look inside the global battle to power our lives is “required reading for anyone interested in the 360-degree impacts of the energy transition” (Daniel Poneman, former US Deputy Secretary of Energy) from acclaimed Reuters reporter Ernest Scheyder.

To build electric vehicles, solar panels, cell phones, and millions of other devices means the world must dig more mines to extract lithium, copper, and other vital building blocks. But mines are deeply unpopular, even as they have a role to play in fighting climate change and powering crucial technologies. These tensions have sparked a worldwide reckoning over the sourcing of necessary materials, and no one understands the complexities of these issues better than Ernest Scheyder.

The War Below reveals the explosive brawl among industry titans, conservationists, community groups, policymakers, and many others over whether the habitats of rare plants, sensitive ecosystems, Indigenous holy sites, and other places should be dug up for their riches.

With accessible and “illuminating” (Chris Miller, author of Chip War) writing, Scheyder shows the human toll of this war and explains why recycling and other newer technologies have struggled to gain widespread use. He also expertly chronicles Washington’s attempts to wean itself off supplies from China, the global leader in mineral production and processing. The War Below paints a powerfully honest and nuanced picture of what is at stake in this new fight for energy independence, revealing how America and the rest of the world’s hunt for the “new oil” directly affects us all.