Tim Heffernan

A new book traces our dependence on rare elements—and the environmental costs of a revolution in global mining.

Inside the mining industry’s epic but surprisingly fragile push to keep pace with demand for the raw materials of modern life.

Worries about oil and gas hog the airwaves. But copper is also essential to keep the world running: It threads through your house, your computer, your eco-correct hybrid car. And it's getting just as difficult, expensive, and environmentally menacing as oil to extract. We have entered the era of tough ore.

Inside the dangerous, high-stakes world of sanitation