so.....is the Prime made from slave labor?

possibly. i used to look in the mirror, but could never see anything.

 

Americans don't have any qualms about buying goods and services from companies that hire Indian subcontractors who get paid 10% of what the American employers were paid. (A fair portion of those subcontractors are overpaid.) Why should a car be any different?

 

Also: How the iPhone Helps Perpetuate Modern-Day Slavery | HuffPost

Don't forget: Illegal immigrants compared to 'slaves'

Also: Most ‘sex workers’ are modern-day slaves | The Spectator

Then too: Tax Slavery | Mises Institute

Some terms can be too easily abused and when I see some product linked with the term "slavery," I become skeptical.

For me it is a question of "can you quit?" If someone can walk away, 'fire their employer', they are not a slave.

Bob Wilson

 

Cobalt is in the electrodes of most Li-ion batteries, from phones to cars. Some comes from areas using child labor(Ghanna?). Bad, but I don't think the kids would be going to school if they weren't working in an open pit mine. It's a mess, but I think companies try not the source their materials from abusive source. Part of the mess is the paper trail for such though.

 

sometimes i read these articles and think, 'are the koch bros. behind this?'

 

Source: Verisk Maplecroft | Home | About us | Corporate responsibility

Modern Slavery Statement
Verisk Maplecroft has supported the team at our parent company, Verisk, in producing their first Modern Slavery Statement under the UK Modern Slavery Act 2015. The statement outlines Verisk’s commitment to ensuring its supply chains are free of modern slavery, as well as the actions the company is taking to strengthen policies, and raise awareness of the issue internally.​

I noticed they found a lot of 'slavery' going around which suggests this might be a Russian front. They simply issue an inflammatory press release having little or no connection with reality but targeted to those who are easily 'persuaded' by such words.

Bob Wilson

 

on their homepage, they analyze themselves for the risk of modern slavery, and find themselves guiltless.
maybe we need a private poll of their 6,400 employees.

 

If I am not mistaken a lot of it is also mined in the Atacama Desert in South America. It runs down out of the (Amos and*) Andes mountains and just lays there on the surface. Last I heard Columbia wasn't taking advantage of this, while other countries in the region are. *This part is intended as a joke for anyone old enough to "get it".

 

Which is increasing the rate of deforestation in the Amazon.

 

I think that area is also a source for Osmium and Harriet.

 

if we would just walk everywhere, our sandals might be made by slave labour.

 

It's certainly a serious subject, but I think the reason for the levity is a reaction to the seemingly ludicrous, apparently headline grabbing British risk analysis company's singling out of electric vehicles as being at risk for perpetuating slave labor, especially since they fail to provide any context of what percentage of "at risk" materials goes into electric vehicles as compared to other industries. The materials by the way which they list as a concern are not just cobalt, but also aluminum, lithium, copper, manganese, nickel, graphite, mica and bauxite. Really, electric vehicles are the main consumers of these materials?

Verisk Maplecroft | Electric vehicles: ESG risks set to rise as demand for raw materials ramps up

Not to mention that in the company's previous report in August about slave labor, they list a slew of other at-risk industries such as construction, brick kilns, garment production, manufacturing and farming, and state "the worst abuses still frequently occur in sectors such as manufacturing, agriculture, fishing and rubber production."

Verisk Maplecroft | 20 EU countries see rise in modern slavery risks - Study

In their more recent electric vehicle warning (the subject of the OP's linked article) the company singles out cobalt as especially troubling because of the situation in the DR Congo with the estimated 40,000 children. Yes that is very serious, but again where is the data showing that electric vehicles need to be singled out for using cobalt compared to other industries?

Looking at Wikipedia articles, to the extent that they are accurate, it seems that the primary use of cobalt is in superalloys, the primary application of which is turbine engines in airplanes and marine vehicles.

Yes cobalt is used in lithium ion batteries, but it's also used in NiCd batteries. And it is used as a catalyst in a large variety of processes, for example it's used in one method of producing carboxylic acid, a widely used organic compound which occurs in nature but is also produced industrially on a large scale. Carboxylic acids are used in paints, varnishes, and inks as drying agents, also used to improve the adhesion between steel and rubber in steel-belted radial tires. Cobalt-based catalysts are also used in reactions involving carbon monoxide. Steam reforming, useful in hydrogen production.

The list goes on and on. It's time to stop the EV bashing and find a more effective way to combat the global scourge of slave labor.

 

I agree with goal, identification of 'slave labor'. But it occurs to me they are ignoring the massive pool of 'Internet posting readers' who support computers, power plants, and grids using rare minerals mined by economic slaves in third world countries. Excuse me, I must now go off and flog myself:


Bob Wilson

 

That's a good question for Panasonic, who makes the batteries Toyota uses.

Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.

 

The article is pure speculation, no factual information, and points out no information that's different for electric cars or any other products. I am currently contracting in supply chain and I would say that slave labor could have been used for the raw materials for almost anything you buy today. Is it likely, no, but certainly it's possible for shady companies to buy raw materials without care of where they come from and sell them on to be used by parts manufacturers. The same is true for your computer, for your cellphone, for almost any product you buy today.

 

So is my phone, shoes, clothes, and store bought chicken.