Thea Riofrancos

Counterrevolution w/ Melinda Cooper

Please stop what you are doing and go listen to Melinda Cooper on @thedigradio.bsky.social you will thank me later open.spotify.com/episode/3gAL...

Slaughter for Hire | Joshua Hammer From Africa to Ukraine, the rise and fall of the Wagner Group and its leader, Yevgeny Prigozhin, was marked by theatrical violence, the seizure of resources, and an utter lack of accountability.

Thea Riofrancos on lithium mining and the contradictions of “green capitalism”

There Is No Green Transition Without Consequences A new book argues that simply replacing fossil-fuel extraction with critical-mineral mining is no way out of the climate crisis.

Simply replacing fossil-fuel extraction with critical-mineral mining is no way out of the climate crisis, Thea Riofrancos argues in her new book. Scott W. Stern on “Extraction”:

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What Mining for Water in the Andean Desert Reveals About “Green” Capitalism A high-­altitude desert plateau traverses Argentina, Bolivia, and Chile. I am on the Chilean side, in the passenger seat of a Jeep, along with two other researchers. The afternoon air is thin and b…

@triofrancos.bsky.social on the astonishing biodiversity in the Atacama Salt Flat and the environmental cost of green capitalism.

Thanks!

391 / Extraction / Thea Riofrancos

Enlightening incl continuities under Trump to Biden and inconsistencies under Trump

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So excited to read extraction!! Been following the authors of A Planet To Win since a fun reading group that went over it and think it remains some of the best writing about why a green new deal, or broadly just climate policy that works for people and workers, is the way out of our current crises.

ICE agents raid South Shore apartments; Trump says Chicago could become military training ground ICE agents raided a South Shore apartment building overnight as the city braces for a possible military deployment.

“They had a big, 15-inch chainsaw with round blade on it, cutting this fence down. We're under siege. We're being invaded by our own military."

The worst of what we feared when Trump’s spending bill gave ICE a blank check is happening.

Thank you!

Thrilled to see this review of EXTRACTION by @scottwstern.bsky.social in @theatlantic.com. A very thorough essay that situates the book in broader debates about mining, the energy transition, the history of global capitalism, and the possible green futures ahead www.theatlantic.com/books/2025/1...

new from scott, on @triofrancos.bsky.social's EXTRACTION!

Scott, beyond being glad to hear you liked the book, I am honored with the care you have taken in this review, which I see you deeply situated in broader debates around extraction and the energy transition. I can't wait to read it and share further thoughts.

The Costs of the Green Transition A new book argues that simply replacing fossil-fuel extraction with critical-mineral mining is no way out of the climate crisis.

Check out my latest in @theatlantic.com, wherein I review EXTRACTION (@wwnorton.com), a dazzling new book by @triofrancos.bsky.social.

I argue that it is "by far the most clear-eyed of mining’s many recent chronicles." www.theatlantic.com/books/2025/1...

Schrodinger’s Element | Ajay Singh Chaudhary In her new book, Thea Riofrancos homes in on the extraction of lithium—and the thorny problem of an ecologically sound energy transition

Writing about the climate crisis can tend toward abstraction or comforting techno-optimism. “Extraction: The Frontiers of Green Capitalism” does anything but. @materialistjew.bsky.social talks with @triofrancos.bsky.social about the knotty problem of the energy transition.

War, Climate Crisis and the Economy: Transition Security Project Launch A collaboration between Common Wealth and Climate & Community Institute to investigate the US and UK military industrial complexes.

🚨 In just 2 weeks, we'll be hosting a free online panel with @cplusc.bsky.social to launch a new collaboration: @transitionsec.bsky.social

🎙️ @stephensemler.bsky.social @iliasalami.bsky.social @triofrancos.bsky.social 
🪑 @lalehkhalili.bsky.social

Reserve your spot now! 🔗👇

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An important book

Thank you!!

425. The Oxymorons of Green Capitalism (ft. Thea Riofrancos) Podcast Episode · This Machine Kills · 29/09/2025 · 1h 36m

One of my favorite podcasts (This Machine Kills) has an episode with the amazing @triofrancos.bsky.social on Green Capitalism.

Find it where you listen your podcasts at.

Kudos to you too @jathansadowski.com & @edwardongwesojr.com for the thoughtful discussion!

Schrodinger’s Element | Ajay Singh Chaudhary In her new book, Thea Riofrancos homes in on the extraction of lithium—and the thorny problem of an ecologically sound energy transition

In “Extraction,” @triofrancos.bsky.social examines the politics of lithium mining in South America—and the complexities of the energy transition. @materialistjew.bsky.social spoke with her about imperfect trade-offs and the nature of democracy.

"We need a serious left project with all of its material underpinnings about what type of energy system we would like to build or what type of green ecological society we would like to build."

What’s Underground | Thea Riofrancos Lithium is the third element in the periodic table. It is the lightest, least dense metal—although it is never encountered as such in nature, since it’s

“Extraction is the material foundation of a zero-carbon world. ‘Green capitalism’ can therefore sound like an oxymoron.” —Thea Riofrancos

The size of the divide between the average American liberal and the average American liberal pundit on one of the defining questions of foreign policy today really can't be overstated.

What’s Underground | Thea Riofrancos Lithium is the third element in the periodic table. It is the lightest, least dense metal—although it is never encountered as such in nature, since it’s

'Lithium, an essential ingredient in rechargeable batteries, epitomizes the contradictions of “green capitalism”. '

What’s Underground
- by Thea Riofrancos

#environment #batteries
www.nybooks.com/online/2025/...

Trump’s resource nationalism is the worst of all worlds Demand for rare earths is greatest in the clean energy sector that the US president is intent on dismantling

Writing in FT, Thea Riofrancos looks at Trump's natural resources obsessions and notes how it is remarkably like that of Presidents Xi and Putin. www.ft.com/content/6ff9...

What’s Underground | Thea Riofrancos Lithium is the third element in the periodic table. It is the lightest, least dense metal—although it is never encountered as such in nature, since it’s

Thea Riofrancos on lithium mining and the contradictions of “green capitalism”

What’s Underground | Thea Riofrancos Lithium is the third element in the periodic table. It is the lightest, least dense metal—although it is never encountered as such in nature, since it’s

“Both the optimists and the pessimists [of the energy transition] have valuable insights. But they both miss the fundamentals of the political economy of extraction, because ‘Is there enough?’ is the wrong question to ask in the first place.” —Thea Riofrancos

The Problem of Green Capitalism A conversation with Thea Riofrancos about her new book Extraction and the hidden cost and obscured history of the capitalist push to monetize the energy transition.

It was a pleasure to interview Thea Riofrancos for The Nation about her important and very well written new book: “Extraction: The Frontiers of Green Capitalism”: www.thenation.com/article/cult...