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Earth Science

Chile Rewrites Its Constitution, Confronting Climate Change Head On (nytimes.com) 100

Rarely does a country get a chance to lay out its ideals as a nation and write a new constitution for itself. Almost never does the climate and ecological crisis play a central role. That is, until now, in Chile, where a national reinvention is underway. The New York Times: After months of protests over social and environmental grievances, 155 Chileans have been elected to write a new constitution amid what they have declared a "climate and ecological emergency." Their work will not only shape how this country of 19 million is governed. It will also determine the future of a soft, lustrous metal, lithium, lurking in the salt waters beneath this vast ethereal desert beside the Andes Mountains. Lithium is an essential component of batteries. And as the global economy seeks alternatives to fossil fuels to slow down climate change, lithium demand -- and prices -- are soaring.

Mining companies in Chile, the world's second-largest lithium producer after Australia, are keen to increase production, as are politicians who see mining as crucial to national prosperity. They face mounting opposition, though, from Chileans who argue that the country's very economic model, based on extraction of natural resources, has exacted too high an environmental cost and failed to spread the benefits to all citizens, including its Indigenous people. And so, it falls to the Constitutional Convention to decide what kind of country Chile wants to be. Convention members will decide many things, including: How should mining be regulated, and what voice should local communities have over mining? Should Chile retain a presidential system? Should nature have rights? How about future generations?

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Chile Rewrites Its Constitution, Confronting Climate Change Head On

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  • I mean, that's where most of the CO2 emissions are coming from now. If you really want to make some real progress on lowering them worldwide, they would be the next big target.

    • by leonbev ( 111395 ) on Wednesday December 29, 2021 @10:17AM (#62125007) Journal

      Oh, and while we're at it, can we write a Slashdot Constitution that blocks posting of stories that are behind a paywall?

    • by jd ( 1658 )

      Just convert OPEC countries to nuclear power and abolish fossil fuel subsidies. Oil prices would skyrocket well beyond affordability, without impacting production anywhere.

      • by MrKaos ( 858439 )

        Just convert OPEC countries to nuclear power and abolish fossil fuel subsidies.

        Look what that did for North Korea under Bush II. Fun times.

        Nuclear advocates should have supported IFR whilst it was still a viable energy and disarmament option back in the 80s instead of blaming NIMBYs and Greenpeace for the Oil and Coal industry lobbying government to dismantle the technology.

        Nuclear's future ended back then.

    • But.. But.. we're an "emerging economy" we can't be constrained by your silly CO2 emission quotas.

      It's laughable what we've allowed the CCP to do to the planet. [opendemocracy.net]

      • Allowed? Ever seen where most products are listed as being made? The fact is, we pay for the Chinese to pollute the environment. We also don't allow the export of any technology that would allow the Chinese to switch to less polluting fuels (ITAR). Complain about the Chinese all you like -- AFTER you have switched to locally sourced products AND AFTER the export of sensitive technology is adjusted to allow BRICS nations to respond to the climate crisis without impacting their ability to produce.

        • Are you joking? The USA is already one of the most polluting nations per capita in the world. You expect us to do our own manufacturing and deal with our own waste now too? Do you know what that will do for our numbers? The world hates us enough as it is and you're trying to get rid of one of our tinly veiled excuses?

    • I mean, that's where most of the CO2 emissions are coming from now. If you really want to make some real progress on lowering them worldwide, they would be the next big target.

      Says the fat person who's demanding that nobody else should have the right to eat as much as he does.

      Try shedding a few pounds yourself and people might listen to you.

    • Climate change doesn't care about how countries are defined.

      We should focus on areas of the world with the highest per-capita emissions. That would include the USA.

  • The world(USA) wants their lithium worse than they want oil and won't be denied. This will probably end in another overthrow of the government by one of the 3-letter agencies...

    • Are they the pork-rind eating, climate crisis denying, coal-rolling-monster-diesel-pickup-driving wingers who are after Chilean lithium?

    • And three people will buy the rights to mine and become immensely wealthy, a few more executives and their families will become wealthy, the miners themselves will have a low but livable salary while also working in harsh and dangerous conditions and end up with long term health problems, some other jobs will increase in the private and government security sectors in order to protect the new wealthy class and discourage dissent, while the rest of the country will have to deal with the pollution but with no

  • by martiniturbide ( 1203660 ) on Wednesday December 29, 2021 @10:30AM (#62125047) Homepage Journal
    I don't know guys what do you know about 21st century socialism in Latin America, but that is the current political model of Venezuela.

    Constitution Change is the sales pitch in Latin America for a political change. A 21th century socialist sells the idea that a new constitution will magically change the nation, like it will take money from the rich and give it to the poor like Robin Hood.

    The recipe consists on the following.

    - A 21st century socialist president gets into power by offering that a new constitution will magically fix the country.
    - A referendum is sent for the people to vote for the "constitutionalists" that will create the new constitution. Since the 21st century socialist president still has a lot of popularity, the majority of the votes goes to the new president’s party.
    - A constitution is created giving more power to the president with the ability to rule over the legislative power if it is required, but people are distracted with the nice animal rights, climate change and other nice and treading things on it.
    - On the meanwhile the president acts like he is still on a presidential campaign for an extra two years offering things (using the country’s money). He says things like the new constitution is the tool to finally fix the country.
    - During those two years to get the new constitution, the president and his party, annihilates the political competition. (with the country's resource).
    - The new constitution gets voted and approved by the people. It resets all the executive, legislative and judicial powers, and new elections need to be set. Since the president was in a continuous electoral campaign while he was elected (with the money resources of the country), the president’s party easily wins all the election and gets all the majority of seats in the congress. The president is easily elected again (that it does not count like a reelection, it was a constitutional reset) and a single party gets all the power in the country.
    - After that, the party continues until all the country money is dry. That is the moment to start blaming the International Monetary Found and the US, and start asking for money to China and Russia.
    - Later the constitution is change, like orthographic errors, to allow eternal president reelection.

    That was the recipe for Venezuela, Ecuador, Bolivia and I hope they do not apply that in Chile.
    • to Slashdot.

    • In our own country, federal politicians need to stay well away from a constitutional convention.

      It is the states, and the people, in their capacities as such, creating the form of the federal government. It is dangerous to have those who would wield the power empower themselves. 1776 was a unique breakaway from tyranny, hence a design to prevent the arising of tyrants, with checks and balances and Congress shall pass no law and the Bill of Rights and a difficult amendment process to smooth over the hot blow

      • Letâ(TM)s not pretend that self serving interests were not all over the US Constitution.

        We still havenâ(TM)t removed all the parts that protected slave owner interests above all others, like the US Senate and Electoral College.

        US States with robust direct democracy options at least have a steam valve to bypass gerrymandered legislatures and corrupt Senators. A federal referendum process would be amazing.

        • by stikves ( 127823 )

          The current US is different, and also much larger.

          It is a great achievement to hold together 50 different states with their economic, cultural, and political diversity. Compare the current USA with the EU in size, economy and population, and you'll see this model is much more successful.

          It comes down to making sure no 50%+1 majority can impose their will on the rest of the country. It is a gentleman's understanding of not stepping on each others' toes that keeps the system alive.

      • Don't forget that the original constitutional convention was loaded with self-serving corrupt politicos. It took several amendments and a war to fix only the most glaring flaws.

        The 1787 convention was not really a breakaway from tyants. The British government was not particularly tyrannical, and was relatively modern in reducing the power of the monarch and placing it in parliament. Several of the colonies however were much more tyrannical, especially if you were not one of the favored races or classes.

    • by AmiMoJo ( 196126 )

      Textbook case of SDS (socialism derangement syndrome).

      • My post was not to say that "All socialism is evil". I just want to tell you what happened in Venezuela, Bolivia and Ecuador with the Latin America 21th Century Socialism movement. "Latin America 21th Century Socialism" is dangerous and generate dictators that don't want leave the power never. I know that "socialism" is different in Europe and the US, where they understand that democracy is also alternation of power.

        When Correa was president in Ecuador I was afraid to have political opinions in Twitter,
    • by skam240 ( 789197 )

      Heaven fucking forbid a free people chose their governments path for themselves. Never mind the fact that they're currently considering getting rid of their head of state rather than further empowering it which pretty much ruins your whole conspiracy.

    • The Chile model was a strong dictator with military backing, with secret prisons and torture for dissidents, and because they declared against communism they had the full support of the USA in their brutal regime. Yes, it is extremist, but it is gone. Your scenario also is extremist. There is indeed a middle ground between brutal socialist governments and brutal fascist governments; one can be opposed to socialism without resorting to dictatorships or suppressing the will of the people.

    • Yep. Chile has been pretty good, for example a private-ish social security system. But the lure of becoming a banana republic is strong, apparently.
    • This. Ohmigod this one should be required reading for every liberal democrat in the US. Ive read multiple articles authored by liberals who just cant figure out why tons of hispanics vote reliably republican. Its not cause they’ve been duped. They know exactly what the republican party is. They know exactly the kind of person Trump is. But they’ve seen how socialism actually plays out in real life, back in the old country. News flash: it kicks a country straight to the bottom of the rankings. Th
  • If Chile is serious about getting that lithium then what they need to do is build a fancy water filtration plant. If you are unaware, their lithium is locked up in an underground lake of brine with high concentrations of lithium. How they currently extract it is to pump it to the surface (which is an wasteland with perpetually clear skies) and allow the sun to evaporate the water. They do this with huge areas repeatedly for about three years before they pull up inch thick bricks of unrefined lithium (lot

  • by Freedom Bug ( 86180 ) on Wednesday December 29, 2021 @10:55AM (#62125099) Homepage

    It's not just lithium. Chile's Atacama desert has the most sunlight of any place in the world. It's the best place in the world to place solar panels. Chile plans to do this and then use the cheap solar to produce hydrogen or ammonia for export. They even plan on some massive electrical grids to export the energy.

  • From what little I've read, the lithium extraction occurs in a very arid region which receives almost no rain. The trucks that haul the lithium ore kick up so much dust the area becomes uninhabitable. The west will find a way to keep extracting and running over the locals. It is what we do.
  • to pass the new constitution? Single or 2/3 majority?

  • Chile saw that the millennial generation was going to rule in the future. It began as early as 2015 to find out what millennial’s valued and how they may steward after the BabyBoomers.

    Chile’s recent election of a millennial President and a now a constitutional change should be viewed generationally. Chilean’s I met in 2016 were actively getting ahead of this change, understanding the dynamics in anticipation that this day would come.

    Congrats Chile! While the U.S. is running old politicos C

  • But we don't want lithium mining. Or nuclear. Or hydroelectric. Or tidal. Or natural gas, even if it displaces coal. And we certainly don't want transmission lines either.

    https://globalnews.ca/news/610... [globalnews.ca]

    https://www.reuters.com/world/... [reuters.com]

    It is ostensibly a crisis, but we don't want solutions that don't conform to our agendas, and we certainly don't want solutions in our backyards. In fact, the people whining about the solutions are as bad as the people whining about the problem.

    This, in a n
  • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/... [wikipedia.org]
    That last section is going to need revision now that they've collectively shot themselves in their collective feet, tried to go to a nationalized healthcare facility, got gangrene, and just sawed their arms off.

  • This is like a pebble trying to hold back a glacier. Climate changes. It has always changed. It will keep changing until the day the sun strips away the atmosphere and scorches the planet. All the people who demand we give up everything do nothing themselvesâ¦that should be proof enough about how seriously they take this.
  • The USA could benefit from a revisit of our constitution also.

    It needs consolidation and clarification to simplify legislation and curb delays our legislators get mired in.

    It's likely, though, that we'll need a purge of a few stupid generations before there is enough mass intelligence to realize the benefits.

    Imagine if everyone realized that there is no true freedom; that freedoms end where they deter other freedoms.
    And, where ambiguous, let natures examples point the way, since this is the closest t

Repel them. Repel them. Induce them to relinquish the spheroid. - Indiana University fans' chant for their perennially bad football team

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