Sustainability and Future

Infographics about the green colonialism.

The global shift toward a post-carbon economy is functionally a new phase of imperialism, where the ecological costs of renewable energy are externalized onto the Global South. This analysis examines the historical parallels between fossil fuel extraction and the emerging mineral economy, revealing how the 'green transition' reproduces colonial dependencies while exacerbating environmental destruction. We explore the devastating material demands of technologies like electric vehicles and batteries, the weaponization of lithium and rare earth minerals in geopolitical conflicts, and the systematic silencing of indigenous and marginalized communities whose lands are sacrificed for the sake of planetary salvation.

Viable solutions for environmental challenges — biomimicry, circular economies, energy transitions, and the systems thinking needed to build a durable future.

IKEA's strategic investment in renewable energy has insulated it from global energy shocks, turning a potential crisis into a competitive advantage. This case study explores the timeline, economics, and strategic implications of IKEA's energy transition.

Moving beyond technical fixes to imagine regenerative futures grounded in degrowth, slow science, and resistance to systemic inertia.

Examining the spatial inequalities of the green transition and how the Global North's 'sustainability' depends on the Global South's vulnerability.

Examining how the promise of closed-loop recycling masks the reality of entropic loss and the rebound effect in battery production.

A critical exploration of the green energy transition's hidden costs, examining how lithium mining perpetuates colonial extraction while claiming sustainability.

Exploring how the promise of sustainable mining depends on rendering ecological and social costs invisible through 'entropic omissions.'

The geography of the periodic table is the new geography of power. In the 20th century, geopolitics was governed by the distribution of hydrocarbons; in the 21st, it is governed by the concentration of critical elements.