Do Energy Resource Mining Impacts Differ?

Written By Teacher: Elizabeth Ward

My name is Elizabeth Ward. I am a former Early Childhood, Elementary, and English as a Foreign Language educator. I have taught third grade Science and Social Studies as well as Kindergarten in both urban and rural Oklahoma public schools. I taught online EFL to students of all ages in China for four years. I also have experience in curriculum development and content design for teachers in the physical and digital classroom. As a former teacher I have a passion for supporting teachers and making their jobs easier. I currently live in the greater Houston area with my husband and four dogs. 

Comparing the environmental impact of mining for clean energy metals versus fossil fuels is complex and depends on several factors, including extraction methods, scale, and long-term effects. While mining for clean energy materials supports the transition to renewable technologies, it still poses environmental challenges that need to be carefully managed. Exploring this comparison helps students consider the trade-offs involved in transitioning to sustainable energy sources and the importance of responsible resource management. Further explore sources of energy in this article from CFR Education or this video about batteries. 

Written By: MIT Environmental Solutions Initiative

The MIT Climate Change Engagement Program, a part of MIT Climate HQ, provides the public with nonpartisan, easy-to-understand, and scientifically-grounded information on climate change and its solutions.

Building clean energy technologies, like wind turbines and electric vehicles (EV), is generally more mineral intensive than using fossil fuels. An EV requires six times more minerals than a conventional car (not counting steel and aluminum), while building a wind plant uses nine times more minerals than a gas-fired plant.

Certain materials are particularly critical for the clean energy transition. These include lithium used in the batteries that run EVs, rare earth minerals in the magnets that allow wind turbines to make electricity, and copper, which is used for electricity transmission.

“The argument could be made that, with the clean energy transition, we’re exchanging a fossil fuel-based energy system with a metals-based energy system,” says Scott Odell, a visiting assistant professor of geography at George Washington University and visiting scientist at the MIT Environmental Solutions Initiative specializing in clean energy and mining.