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Date Permissions Signed

5-16-2014

Date of Award

2014

Document Type

Masters Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Department

Environmental Studies

First Advisor

Wang, Grace A.

Second Advisor

Rossiter, David A.

Third Advisor

Johnson, Vernon Damani

Abstract

The U.S. Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010 includes two sections impacting the nonfuel minerals industries: the first targets 'conflict minerals,' and the second is centered on extractive industry transparency. Seeking to explain the importance of extractive industries in the creation of the modern context, my thesis begins with the commodity story of digital technology. In an era characterized by an increased curiosity into the origin of things, my work focuses on the resource geographies of minerals under neoliberalism to explain the reasons bringing extractive industry transparency onto the global agenda. After situating the issue within the global historical context and exploring the environmental and social injustices associated with mineral extraction, the importance of transparency initiatives is clear. The conflict minerals law is designed to sever the link between armed conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo and the trade of minerals necessary in digital technology. In doing so, measures included in the law will help inform consumers whether or not producers of digital technology are sourcing minerals from belligerents in central Africa. The very process this U.S. legislation seeks to disentangle is the global commodity chain created by the expansion of neoliberal capitalism. My research illuminates the challenges in the first attempt to systematically certify metallic minerals as well as the political mechanisms currently underway to increase transparency in nonfuel mineral extraction and production.

Type

Text

DOI

https://doi.org/10.25710/hg2q-vr32

Publisher

Western Washington University

OCLC Number

880676876

Subject – LCSH

United States. Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act; Consumer goods--Labeling--Government policy--United States; Mineral industries--Social aspects--Congo (Democratic Republic)

Geographic Coverage

United States; Congo (Democratic Republic)

Format

application/pdf

Genre/Form

masters theses

Language

English

Rights

Copying of this document in whole or in part is allowable only for scholarly purposes. It is understood, however, that any copying or publication of this thesis for commercial purposes, or for financial gain, shall not be allowed without the author's written permission.

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