Help keep Salon independent

Laura Mast

In this Sunday, Jan. 18, 2015, photo, a general view of Mes Aynak valley, some 40 kilometers (25 miles) southwest of Kabul, Afghanistan. The Afghan government is trying to grab President Donald Trump’s attention by dangling its massive, untouched wealth of minerals, including lithium, the silvery metal used in mobile phone and computer batteries considered essential to modern life. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul) (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul)

Shortages of rare earth elements could limit clean energy development

Laura Mast
In this Thursday, Jan. 14, 2016, photo, a worker walks across an area where coal ash removal is underway at the Dan River Steam Station in Eden, N.C. Duke Energy Corp. is digging up and hauling away the toxic coal residues two years after one of the worst coal-ash spills in U.S. history. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome) (AP)

Coal ash contains lead, arsenic and mercury — and it’s mostly unregulated

Laura Mast