Overview
I need a 2,500-word essay on the topic of social change in the context of environmental justice and the Anthropocene.
The essay must focus on a country or region that has not been covered in depth in class. I am currently leaning toward writing about “the hidden costs of the green transition,” specifically cobalt extraction in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), but I need help confirming whether this direction is appropriate and whether it offers sufficient analytical depth.
My core argument is:
While the global green transition (particularly the electric vehicle battery and renewable energy industries) helps reduce carbon emissions, it may also shift environmental and social costs to vulnerable regions like the DRC.
The essay aims to focus on:
- Environmental issues related to cobalt mining in the DRC
- The connection between environmental injustice and social justice issues (e.g., labor exploitation, child labor, poverty, health risks, inequality, community impacts, global inequality)
- The application of theoretical concepts (environmental justice, extraction, colonialism/green colonialism, capitalism, inequality, the Anthropocene, etc.)
- A clear keystone issue (core problem)
- I do not want a descriptive essay; I want it to be analytical and critical.
- Do not make the topic too broad.
- Please provide me with 2–3 research questions/essay titles and a general direction for the essay before you begin writing.
- My previous creative task was titled “The Cost of Green.” I would like this essay to follow a similar line of thinking but be more academic and evidence-based.