"The division of labor among nations is that some specialize in winning and others in losing." — Eduardo Galeano, Open Veins of Latin America•"He never set foot in the Congo. There is something very modern about that." — Adam Hochschild, King Leopold's Ghost•"Europe is literally the creation of the Third World. The wealth which smothers her is that which was stolen from the underdeveloped peoples." — Frantz Fanon•"We would not send the children of Cupertino to scrounge for cobalt in toxic pits." — Siddharth Kara, Cobalt Red•"Colonialism hardly ever exploits the whole of a country. It contents itself with bringing to light the natural resources." — Frantz Fanon•"Poverty is not written in the stars; underdevelopment is not one of God's mysterious designs." — Eduardo Galeano• "The division of labor among nations is that some specialize in winning and others in losing." — Eduardo Galeano, Open Veins of Latin America•"He never set foot in the Congo. There is something very modern about that." — Adam Hochschild, King Leopold's Ghost•"Europe is literally the creation of the Third World. The wealth which smothers her is that which was stolen from the underdeveloped peoples." — Frantz Fanon•"We would not send the children of Cupertino to scrounge for cobalt in toxic pits." — Siddharth Kara, Cobalt Red•"Colonialism hardly ever exploits the whole of a country. It contents itself with bringing to light the natural resources." — Frantz Fanon•"Poverty is not written in the stars; underdevelopment is not one of God's mysterious designs." — Eduardo Galeano•
Issue 02 · January 2026 Biweekly · Environmental Intelligence
The Switch Stack
Where the numbers flip the narrative
Child Labor & Clean Energy Special 4 Articles · Cobalt, Lithium & Supply Chains
#01 #02 #03 #04 #05 #06 #07
The Investigation

The Green Transition’s Invisible Workforce

12 min read

The marketing says “zero emissions.” The supply chain says an estimated 40,000 children in artisanal cobalt mines in the DRC, working 12-hour shifts for $1–2 a day. When an EV manufacturer publishes its ESG report, the children in the mine are not in the spreadsheet.

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Also in this issue
The Briefing

Zero Emissions, Full Morgue

8 min read

78% of global cobalt from one country. An estimated 40,000 children in artisanal mines. 82% of miners with skin problems. The ESG report says “sustainable.” The river says “hyper-acidic.” The lawsuit was dismissed. The children are still digging.
The Data

Per Battery, Per Child, Per Litre

4 min read

4.8 kg cobalt per battery. An estimated 40,000 children mining. 78% from DRC. 500,000 litres water per tonne lithium. <10% of batteries recycled. The clean energy ledger, with the entries nobody audits.
The Editorial

The Kids Who Power the Future

9 min read

Somewhere in Kolwezi, a child is digging with bare hands so that a software engineer in Palo Alto can feel good about driving electric. The child has never heard of the Paris Agreement. He will not live to see its targets met.

About This Issue

All articles share the same fact-checked dataset. Key figures: 78% of global cobalt from DRC (Cobalt Institute, 2024). An estimated 40,000 children in artisanal mining (UNICEF est. ~2012 via Amnesty 2016) [PARTIALLY VERIFIED]. 82% of miners report skin problems (RAID/University of Bath, 2024). Tesla leads supply chain transparency at 49% (Lead the Charge, 2026). EVs produce 40–52% fewer lifecycle emissions than ICE vehicles (IEA/DOE, 2024). The green transition is real and necessary. “Zero emissions” is a marketing label that erases the supply chain.

Data Sources

Amnesty International (2016) — Siddharth Kara, Cobalt Red (2023) — RAID UK (2024) — African Arguments / University of Bath (Feb 2024) — Mongabay (Mar, Nov, Dec 2024) — Cobalt Institute Market Report 2024 — Adamas Intelligence (2023) — Lead the Charge Automaker Scorecard (2026) — IEA Global EV Outlook (2024) — US DOE (Aug 2024) — US DOL (Sept 2024) — ScienceDirect (2024) — CNN / JURIST (Mar 2024)