The Human Cost of Going Green | Bloomberg Investigates
Summary
TLDRThis video script delves into the environmental impact of aluminum production, highlighting the destruction of the Amazon rainforest for bauxite mining and the subsequent pollution from refineries. It raises awareness of the unintended consequences of 'green' choices, such as the Ford F-150's use of aluminum, and the health and environmental issues faced by local communities in Brazil. The script also discusses the legal battles against the Norwegian-owned Norsk Hydro, the push for sustainable supply chains, and the importance of consumer and corporate responsibility in addressing these environmental injustices.
Takeaways
- 🌳 The script discusses the environmental impact of the aluminum supply chain, starting from the Amazon rainforest to the production of vehicles like the Ford F-150.
- 🚜 Mining for bauxite, the primary source of aluminum, involves deforestation and significant waste production, affecting local communities and ecosystems in the Amazon.
- 🏭 The Alunorte Refinery in the Amazon, owned by Norsk Hydro, is implicated in causing environmental damage and health issues for nearby communities through waste disposal and alleged contamination.
- 📊 The demand for aluminum is increasing, especially with the shift towards electric vehicles, which require more aluminum for their construction compared to traditional vehicles.
- 🌐 There is a lack of transparency in the aluminum supply chain, making it difficult to trace the full journey from raw material to finished product.
- 📉 Norsk Hydro, a Norwegian company heavily criticized for its operations in the Amazon, is ironically owned by the Norwegian government, which is known for its strong environmental policies.
- 📚 The script highlights a lawsuit brought by local communities against Norsk Hydro for the environmental and health damages caused by the refinery's operations.
- 🏥 Health issues in the affected communities are severe, with residents showing high levels of heavy metals in their bodies, linked to the pollution from the refinery.
- 🛑 Legal battles for the communities have been challenging, with cases often stuck in the judicial system for years without resolution.
- 🌐 The lawsuit was eventually taken to the Netherlands, where the court ruled it had jurisdiction due to Norsk Hydro's operations there.
- 🔄 The script emphasizes the need for greater consumer awareness and corporate responsibility in ensuring that 'green' choices do not come at the expense of other communities' well-being.
Q & A
What is the connection between environmentally friendly choices and the destruction in the Amazon mentioned in the script?
-The script discusses how the push for more environmentally friendly choices, such as using aluminum in vehicles for its lighter weight, indirectly contributes to the destruction of the Amazon rainforest due to the mining of bauxite, which is the primary source of aluminum.
What is the process of extracting bauxite from the Amazon rainforest as described in the script?
-The process involves tearing down large swaths of natural rainforest to access the mines, scraping out long strips of soil to reach the bauxite, and then shipping the ore to a refinery along the Amazon River where it is further processed, resulting in massive amounts of waste.
What is the significance of the Alunorte Refinery in the Amazon rainforest?
-The Alunorte Refinery is a massive industrial complex located within the Amazon rainforest that processes bauxite into alumina, a key component in aluminum production. It is significant due to its size, its location, and the environmental impact it has on the surrounding communities.
What are the allegations against the Alunorte Refinery regarding its impact on local communities?
-There are allegations that the Alunorte Refinery has been slowly poisoning local communities over the past decade. In 2018, it is alleged that waste depositories overflowed during heavy rains, flooding communities with toxic sludge.
What health issues have the local communities around the Alunorte Refinery been facing?
-The local communities have been facing considerable health problems, including high levels of heavy metals in their blood and hair, which are linked to the pollution from the refinery. They suffer from various illnesses and cannot drink the local water due to pollution.
What is the significance of the lawsuit involving the Alunorte Refinery and the local communities?
-The lawsuit is significant as it represents the efforts of the local communities to seek justice and compensation for the health and environmental damage they have suffered due to the operations of the Alunorte Refinery.
Who is Norsk Hydro and what is their connection to the Alunorte Refinery?
-Norsk Hydro is a company that owns the Alunorte Refinery in Barcarena. The Norwegian government is the largest shareholder of Norsk Hydro, which adds an ironic twist given Norway's strict environmental standards and its criticism of Brazil's environmental track record.
What is the difficulty in linking the pollution in local communities to the Alunorte Refinery as mentioned in the script?
-The difficulty lies in establishing a clear cause-and-effect relationship between the refinery's operations and the pollution. Activists and researchers have shown pollution in the communities, but they have not been able to definitively link the toxic metals in the water to those in the refinery's waste deposits.
What is the role of the Ford F-150 in the aluminum supply chain discussed in the script?
-The Ford F-150, as a best-selling vehicle in the United States, is transitioning from steel to aluminum to make the vehicle lighter and more fuel-efficient. This shift is part of the push towards electric vehicles, which use more aluminum than traditional vehicles, contributing to the demand for aluminum and thus impacting the supply chain.
What is the significance of the lawsuit being brought in the Netherlands as mentioned in the script?
-The significance is that the lawsuit is being taken to an international court due to the lack of progress in Brazilian courts. The Dutch court has jurisdiction because Norsk Hydro also operates in the Netherlands, and this move is an attempt to bypass the judicial limbo in Brazil.
What is the script's message regarding the concept of sustainable supply chains?
-The script suggests that while companies are eager to claim their supply chains as sustainable, this claim often does not reflect the true environmental impact, especially in developing nations where legal standards may not equate to sustainable or green practices.
Outlines
🌳 Environmental Impact of Aluminum Production
This paragraph discusses the unintended environmental consequences of 'green' choices, particularly the aluminum supply chain's connection to Amazon destruction. It explains how the production of aluminum, starting from mining bauxite in the Amazon, involves deforestation and generates significant waste. The Allende orche Refinery, situated within the rainforest, is highlighted for its massive scale and the waste it produces, which has allegedly led to the degradation of local land and the health of indigenous and black communities living nearby.
📋 Legal Battles Over Pollution in the Amazon
The second paragraph delves into the legal struggle of local communities against the aluminum refinery in Barcarena, which they claim has been polluting their environment. The residents, represented by an organization and individuals, have filed a lawsuit alleging health issues due to heavy metal contamination. Medical tests have revealed alarming levels of metals in their bodies. Despite the refinery's denial of any wrongdoing, the community faces severe health and environmental challenges.
🏭 The Paradox of Norwegian Investment in Amazon Pollution
This section highlights the irony of Norsk Hydro, a company owned largely by the Norwegian government, being accused of polluting the Amazon while Norway is known for its strict environmental standards. The narrative contrasts Norway's domestic push for hydroelectricity with its involvement in the Amazon's environmental issues. It also discusses the legal efforts in Brazil to seek redress for affected communities and the challenges faced in linking the pollution directly to the refinery.
🚛 Tracing the Aluminum Supply Chain to Ford
The fourth paragraph examines the complexity of the aluminum supply chain, from bauxite mining to the production of aluminum used in vehicles, particularly the Ford F-150. It details the increased demand for aluminum due to the shift towards electric vehicles and the implications for U.S. environmental goals. The narrative reveals Ford's initial unawareness of the direct links between their supply chain and the Amazon's destruction, leading to a commitment to investigate these connections.
🌐 International Legal Action and Supply Chain Scrutiny
The final paragraph reports on the outcome of the story's publication, which spurred further investigation into the U.S. aluminum supply chain's ties to Amazon destruction and pollution. It discusses the international legal action taken by Brazilian lawyers in the Netherlands and the need for end-users and companies, like Ford, to demand higher environmental standards throughout the supply chain to ensure true sustainability.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Aluminum Supply Chain
💡Environmental Awareness
💡Deforestation
💡Bauxite
💡Alumina
💡Refinery
💡Pollution
💡Indigenous Communities
💡Sustainable Supply Chains
💡Legal vs. Sustainable
💡Transparency
Highlights
The connection between environmentally friendly choices and the destruction in the Amazon due to the aluminum supply chain.
The Ford F-150's production in Dearborn and its link to the Amazon rainforest.
The impact of mining on the Amazon region, including deforestation and bauxite extraction.
The environmental and health effects of the Alunorte refinery within the Amazon rainforest.
The transformation of the landscape around the Alunorte refinery from fertile to barren due to pollution.
Allegations of the refinery slowly poisoning local communities over the past decade.
The lawsuit brought by residents against the aluminum refinery and the health issues faced by the community.
The Norwegian government's role as the largest shareholder of Norsk Hydro, which is accused of polluting the Amazon.
The irony of Norway, a strong environmental advocate, being implicated in Amazon pollution through Norsk Hydro.
The challenges faced by Brazilian lawyer Ismail Morris in seeking justice for affected communities.
The difficulty in proving the direct link between the refinery and the pollution affecting communities.
The lack of transparency in the aluminum supply chain and the effort to trace it from Brazil to the U.S.
Ford's initial unawareness of the direct links between their supply chain and the Amazon, leading to an investigation.
The importance of sustainable supply chains and the discrepancy between legality and sustainability in developing nations.
The shift from steel to aluminum in vehicles for efficiency and the impact on the aluminum supply chain.
The lawsuit's move from Brazilian courts to the Netherlands due to judicial stagnation.
The push for higher environmental standards in the aluminum supply chain after the story's publication.
The need for end-users and companies to demand better environmental practices to effect change at the source.
Transcripts
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let's go
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El centimeters
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nobody had looked into the aluminum
supply chain and made that direct
connection from turning green and going
more environmentally aware to in fact
actual destruction in the Amazon added
source
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part of that supply chain starts deep in
the Amazon and then it ends up in
Dearborn where the Ford F-150 is made
consumers in the United States they're
not necessarily understanding that those
green choices
come with an impact
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mining
sort of by definition is always a dirty
business
when you're talking about mines in the
Amazon region you have to first tear
down large swaths of natural rainforest
just to get to the mines
they scrape out long strips of soil they
get to the bauxite then they claw that
box side out then they ship that ore to
a Refinery along the Amazon River and
that ore is separated and It produced
massive amounts of waste on both of
those steps
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the Allen orche Refinery is located
within the Amazon rainforest
it is unattributary of the Amazon River
itself and it is an absolutely enormous
complex
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completely surrounded by Green in
communities that have lived around there
for decades it came in it built this
entire huge industrial complex the
entire thing is a gigantic area of smoke
stocks and slurry containers and waste
ponds
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in order to separate the red mud that
turns into the white powder alumina
that's used to make aluminum you have to
add caustic soda
heat it to very high temperatures and
then add lime the waste from that
process goes into these waste area
essentially ponds but they're giant
they're like Lakes
the landscape around that area has just
changed from night and day it used to be
the case where it was very fertile land
they were able to grow acai there they
were they had mango trees and they were
able to survive on this land now they
say that nothing grows
these are very poor communities they're
largely indigenous communities or black
communities
they're extremely vulnerable
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there are allegations that over the past
more than 10 years the refinery has been
slowly poisoning the communities
it's not all by
there's a number of plants but Norse is
the largest plant that's there
there are allegations that in 2018
these big waste depositories that they
maintain
overflowed during heavy rains and
flooded the communities with this toxic
sludge of of water is
foreign
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completely denies that anything happened
at that time
but the people say that it did
a consequences
foreign
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foreign
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last year I heard about this lawsuit
that the residents were bringing against
a aluminum refinery
when I traveled to bark Arena I asked to
meet the claimants in this lawsuit and
there are uh nine people who are part of
the lawsuit and then they're it's a 10th
organization that is part of the lawsuit
that is an organization that represents
indigenous people in the area those
there are 11 000 people who are part of
that suit
the government sponsored a medical test
for people in the communities to test
the levels of heavy metals in their
blood and in their hair and people only
have that one medical exam to actually
verify the fact that they've been
feeling sick for years
people were literally chasing me down
the street with their health reports
wanting to show me how sick they are
from the pollution one lady had a 175
times the allowable amount of aluminum
in her hair
multiple times the amount of of lead in
her bloodstream these people suffer
considerable health problems they can't
drink the water the water is completely
polluted and the entire area in
baccarena it's a terrible situation for
a lot of the people in this community
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you know
Deli
kids
another five
I sat down with Maria dusokoho who is
the lead of the kilimbola association in
the area and her Association is the lead
plaintiff in this case
she's she's lost she lost a grandson a
couple years back
he was born with skin that was so thin
she says that the his intestines
actually burst out of his body when he
was born
foreign
boom boom
water National today
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thank you
Alo norche is the refinery in bakarena
which is owned by a company named
norskihidro the largest shareholders of
norskidro is the Norwegian government
which has been one of the biggest
critics of Brazil's track record when it
comes to protecting the Amazon
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in Norway there's an enormous push
towards environmental use of
hydroelectricity it's all very green
they're very strict environmental
standards that companies have to adhere
to in Norway and the irony here and
something that a lot of people in the
Amazon are upset about is the fact that
a government of Norway has come to
Brazil criticized the government for in
fact its destruction of the Amazon and
at the same time is the largest owner of
a company that is accused of polluting
in the Amazon
oh
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boy
foreign
the lawyer in Brazil Ismail Morris he
has tried and tried in Brazilian courts
to bring this case to get redressed for
these people they don't have access to
basic health care basic medical exams
and so what he's been fighting for in
Brazilian courts is to get the company
to at least pay some contribution or
provide medical care or do something for
the surrounding Community for people who
say our health is affected our drinking
water is affected we need help
foreign
funny
status is
foreign
activists and researchers they've
they've been studying this and they've
proven over and over and over that these
communities are are polluted what they
haven't been able to do is make that
final leap from all this pollution to
the uh Refinery so they haven't been
able to make that final jump from cause
and effect what they need is they need
the government to say okay
you need to open your doors you need to
let them get this material so that they
can compare the composition
from the toxic Metals in the water to
the toxic Metals in these uh the waste
deposits
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it's extremely difficult to chase an
aluminum supply chain there's very
little transparency
I tracked ships with a vessel finder
online you could see where the ships
were leaving which port and going to
another Port carrying what kind of cargo
it took me a considerable amount of time
in fact a few months to be able to
finally trace the entire supply chain
from bauxite to Illumina to aluminum
then into the United States to part
suppliers and then ultimately to Ford
time for electric
turn into lightning
an electric truck that can match the
Ambitions of this nation even before
Ford announced that it was going to make
an electric version of its best-selling
pickup it had already started switching
from steel to aluminum because aluminum
is a lot lighter and so it reduces gas
consumption in these vehicles and makes
it generally more efficient of a vehicle
the switch into electric vehicles
accelerated that drive even more to use
more and more aluminum the typical
vehicle in the United States uses about
500 pounds of aluminum
and an EV will use 150 pounds more than
that
this shift from gasoline fueled Vehicles
into electric vehicles is hugely
important for the U.S government's goal
of reducing carbon emissions
but in order to complete that shift car
makers need to reach Middle America and
so the Ford F-150 is
targets that audience perfectly
remember where you were when you heard
about it
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so when I approached Ford they were
initially unaware of the lynx direct
links between their supply chain and
Brazil so it took my researching the
whole supply chain finding those links
via Canada into the US that actually
caused Ford to then say we are now going
to investigate our supply chain
consumers need to understand that
there's a cost of going green and until
we can put enough awareness and enough
attention and enough pressure on places
that are also providing those natural
resources that are allowing us to make
green choices the rest of the world is
going to suffer the consequences
sustainable Supply chains have become
sort of all the rage recently
companies are are rushing to be able to
say that their supply chains are
sustainable
in a lot of cases they haven't actually
done the work to connect all these dots
to the ground so they say everything is
legal it's a sustainable supply chain
and what you find in these developing
nations is that what's legal can't be
the bar of what's sustainable and what's
green
foreign
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sequence
aluminum it makes our lives lighter and
easier
after five attempts to sue Norse kydro
in Brazilian courts the Brazilian lawyer
teamed up with a global law firm and
decided to bring the suit in the
Netherlands and there's a court there
that ruled that it has jurisdiction over
the case because North Hydro also
operates in the Netherlands and the
parent company is the same as the one
that is operating the elenorche refinery
in the Amazon they took the case abroad
because at home they'd had several cases
that had been stuck in the judicial
system for years it is very easy to get
cases and leave them into like sort of
this judicial limbo in which they will
just never be resolved
processors
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skills
massage
limitations
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spirited
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so after we publish the story uh there
have been a number of inquiries closer
looks at the aluminum supply chain in
the U.S it really does appear that
a very large portion of the aluminum in
the U.S supply chain is linked to this
destruction in the Amazon and the
pollution that is alleged to be from
this refinery in Brazil
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sure from the end users and that means
companies like Ford going back through
their supply chain and saying hey where
do you get this Illumina from where do
you get this bauxite from and pressing
for more higher environmental standards
because the environmental standards in
Brazil are pretty lacks and it's only
when companies at the end of the chain
and consumers who buy those products and
put the pressure on the companies demand
higher standards that those standards
get fixed at the source
foreign
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even sexy and his prefer cases
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