Canada’s northern peatlands & forest soils store approximately 150 billion tonnes of carbon, about 5 times the amount per sq. metre of the Amazon rainforest. Known as the breathing lands by the Indigenous people of northern Ontario, the muskeg is also a source of critical minerals especially in the Ring of Fire in the Hudson Bay lowlands in Ontario. Permafrost thaw & drying out of the peatlands due to rising temperatures & mining disturbances will contribute to huge carbon & methane emissions. This area is rich in the minerals needed for electric vehicles. But we can’t just obsess  about switching to EVs without taking a serious look at the cradle to grave consequences. And the consequences will be grave – reducing the ability to store carbon; drastically accelerating climate change; trampling Indigenous rights;  destroying biodiversity & other unforeseen outcomes. Friends of the Attawapiskat River believe that Indigenous communities’ rights to basic infrastructure like clean water, housing & health services must be completely independent from their decisions regarding mineral exploration or potential developments. Shouldn't those rights take precedence? Instead of irreversible damage leading to regrets, we need to explore less intrusive alternatives to developing EVs such as battery & vehicle recycling.The circular economy must also include solar panel & wind turbine recycling so we are not responsible for the unnecessary destruction of our essential ecosystems. Not hard to imagine how this land might change.

 Ring of Fire image: ©Garth Lenz