Escaping Imperialism: Where Does Darth Vader Get His Lithium?

Send us a text

Perhaps no community has undergone more versions of imperialism than the tiny island nation of Nauru, which has morphed from being "Pleasant Island" to the mined-out home of offshore banks, discarded refugees, and deep sea mining interests. Jason, Rob, and Asher take a bad trip to wrap their heads around Nauru, the topic of "psychedelic imperialism," and imperialism's new frontier - the clean energy transition.

Warning: This podcast occasionally uses spicy language.

Sources/Links/Notes:

• "A Dark History of the World's Smallest Island Nation" tells the tale of Nauru.
• S.J. Gale, "Lies and misdemeanours: Nauru, phosphate and global geopolitics," The Extractive Industries and Society, vol 6, July 2019.
• FAQs of the Metals Company
• Eric Lipton's New York Times article about imperialistic mining of the Pacific Ocean floor.
• Mining Watch Canada questions the claims of the Metals Company.
• Elham Shabahat's article in Hakai Magazine, "Why Nauru Is Pushing the World Toward Deep-Sea Mining" 
• Definition of imperialism from the Cornell Law School
• J.A. Hobson's book Imperialism: A Study
• Jason Hickel et al., "Imperialist appropriation in the world economy: Drain from the global South through unequal exchange, 1990-2015," Global Environmental Change, vol 73, March 2022.
• Critique of lithium extraction in the Atacama Desert
• Indigenous people's response to lithium mining in Nevada
• How the Sami people are protesting Sweden's "green transformation"
• Episode 3 of the Holding the Fire podcast, featuring Sami leader Aslak Holmberg
• Cobus van Staden on "Green Energy's Dirty Secret: Its Hunger for African Resources"
• Jim Robbins in Yale Environment 360 on "How Returning Lands to Native Tribes Is Helping Protect Nature"
• "Indigenous Land Return Announcement by Sogorea Te’ Land Trust and Movement Generation!" -- article by Ines Ixierda
• "

Support the show