♪ >> hello and welcome to global 3000, your weekly check on the global issues that affect us all. today's program -- white gold -- how bolivia plans to build a better future on its lithium deposits. much more than mustard -- how farming waste becomes green energy. and manioc -- the african root with great potential in ghana. storing energy is by far the biggest stumbling block in weaning the world off fossil fuels like oil.

electro mobility is so far failing to go mainstream. when your batteries call for an hours-long recharge every 150 kilometers or so, driving long distance loses its appeal. that's why electric vehicles aren't expect to make up more than around 3% of cars worldwide over the next decade or so. here lithium is promising to become a pioneering element for energy technology of the future. already a well-established ingredient for industrial ceramics, it is fast establishing itself as a vital component of the latest generation of batteries. together with its other industrial and medicinal qualities, this makes lithium a rising star among the world's precious metals. bolivia has vast reserves of this soft, white metal. the government here hopes lithium will help lift the country out of poverty. the deposits are part of one of the most unusual landscapes in the world.

>> the salar de uyuni is visible from outer space. this salt flat -- the world's largest -- sits 3700 meters above sea level. people have harvested salt here for hundreds of years. just like his ancestors, elias leaves his house early in the morning and makes his way to the white desert. >> working in the salt fields is hard. i've been doing this since i was 5 or 6 years old. >> and it's back-breaking work -- nearly entirely done by hand. you have to break through the hard upper crust with a pike until you can see water. then you stack the salt into mounds in order to dry it. to fill a truck, you have to move 10- to 12-thousand shovels full of salt. >> but this era could soon be

coming to a close. the real treasure under elias' feet isn't salt but rather lithium. the light metal is the most important raw material that goes into making heavy duty batteries. this element could make bolivia rich. salar de uyuni contains the world's largest lithium reserves. the price for this silvery- white metal -- already up 400% over the past few years -- could keep rising. bolivia has already begun extracting pure lithium carbonate from the salt flat using simple techniques. engineer marcello castro is monitoring the first evaporating basins used in this process. if we remove 10 or 15 centimeters from the top, we'd find the base elements under the entire surface.

>> salt. and this is lithium. >> nearly 5.5 million tons. >> all of this belongs to us. this time we are not going to work for others. for the first time, we're going to profit for ourselves from what belongs to us. and we'll do it with passion because we're working for our land. >> bolivian president evo morales sparked this passion. he wants to end an exploitation of the indigenous people that he says has lasted hundreds of years. bolivia's natural treasures have always been in demand. but most profits from copper, gold, or silver have gone to foreigners.

>> these riches will come back to the bolivians and their state, as per a presidential decree. we will make this region a development center for new forms of energy. >> morales wants all phrases of the production process to occur in bolivia. some 650 million euros are to be invested in the project. but it remains unclear whether bolivia can develop this resource bounty without foreign capital and know-how. former president carlos mesa has his doubts. >> i don't think it will work. this country has taken the wrong path. >> mesa worries bolivia will miss this historic chance if it can't develop the right infrastructure.

>> to develop natural resources, you need certain technology. we don't have enough modern mining experience. we need to combine both state and private investment. >> but bolivians are waiting for the day that they can profit from their country's riches. >> i think we will improve our standard of living -- for our children and for their future. >> bolivia wants to sell lithium on world markets -- and large industrial countries are ready to buy. >> from here we head to south africa. the region around johannesburg has already seen its own gold rush come and go -- leaving a toxic legacy. millions of liters of contaminated water seep out of abandoned mines every day. the profits from more than a century of mining gold and uranium are long gone -- along with those who could be held responsible.

so, who will clean up the radioactive mess that is contaminating the environment? a local organization is trying to get some answers from the authorities. in the meantime cancer rates are on the rise and the people who live here have no alternative to their toxic surroundings. the tudor shaft settlement is a poor quarter in western johannesburg. it is also david ncale's home. he plants vegetables here. but his produce is tainted by heavy metals and radioactive substances. this is because david's dwelling sits atop a heap of mining waste. >> i grow my own vegetables because i have no choice. i can't afford to buy food. i want to move as soon as possible. >> this entire area is polluted with waste from the gold mining boom -- uranium, toxic metals, and corrosive acids. environmental activist mariette

liefferink has been visiting the area for years to inform its residents of the dangers of mining waste. today, geologist frank winde joins her. he is going to measure radioactivity with a geiger counter. levels of radioactivity around david ncale's home have risen, increasing his risk of cancer. >> the problem is that people live here permanently and so are exposed over a long period. but besides being exposed to radiation, there are others dangers. >> risks come from breathing in pollutants or ingesting them after they have polluted the ground. this is a major health threat -- one that mariette liefferink has been warning of for years. she is calling for someone to take responsibility. >> for 120 years of gold mining, we do feel that the mines should put something back into the communities. as you can see, they're busy. to remediate the land, and to

put something back into communities. >> but that's easier said than done. many of the area's mining firms have moved away. mine owners want nothing to do with their predecessors' pollution. >> it is something that happened due to the previous mining activities. at this point in time, this companies that mine at the time are nowhere to be found. hence, the responsibility has reverted back to the state. >> time is running out. toxic water is collecting in the minds, uranium and other toxins from the rock. johannesburg itself is threatened. researchers say drinking water in the metropolitan area could be contaminated in two or three years' time.

>> we don't want to underestimate this problem. to act on it and to work on it. since the democratic government, we have since moved to act on it and to work for it. >> mariette liefferink has known for a long time how dangerous things have gotten. mining waste was pumped into this lake for years. test samples show the lake is full of acid. >> what is of concern is that this dam is the main tributary which forms part of the major river system.

as a short-term solution, the government has begun neutralizing mining water. such as here in this uranium mine. the processed water is then returned directly to rivers and streams. but the process doesn't remove all the contaminants. the water is still polluted. >> it has leaked massive large amounts of radioactive, toxic sludge comes about from the treatment. neutralizing the acids alone doesn't solve the problem still, it's a start. many mines continue to pour unfiltered water into the ecosystem. the government can't say for sure whether current measures will be enough to protect johannesburg from an approaching environmental catastrophe. people like david already bear the burdens of poverty, hunger, and hiv. and yet, they also struggle with the consequences of decades of environmental devastation: the toxic legacy of south africa's mines.

you, our viewers. on the island of gomera we explore the global living room of the bermejo-sanchez family. they live in a small house with a big history. >> hi there. welcome. how's it going? come into the living room. this house is quite old -- over 100 years old. my father -- my entire family -- lived here.

that's how she was, my little one. >> she was popular in our town. the house was always full of people. she sat here in the summer, looking pretty and dapper. and everyone came to see her. friends came. even priests gave her holy communion. she sat there like a queen. that's what she was -- a queen. with a pillow like this, you can sit on the windowsill and see what's happening outside. look. the atmosphere. the air. and then someone says, "hi, how goes? well?"

my father caught this turtle many years ago. he was with a friend, traveling in a boat. the turtle swam into the bay in the night, and my father caught him with a net. times were hard back then. he ended up making a good soup from the meat. he prepared it out there in the dining room. this is a very special liquor,

made with much patience. it's typical for a location of this sort. salut! 'til you come back. and stay longer! delicious. see you soon. thank you. be well. >> well, thanks for having us. india's economy is expected to grow by some eight per cent annually over the next three years. such impressive growth needs vast amounts of energy. but most emerging markets remain so focused on growth that switching from oil, gas, and coal to renewable sources seems less important. but in northern india a regional energy provider has decided to invest in pioneering technology. a bio-mass power plant is getting a second lease of life out of plant residues. here's how the region of rajastan manages to take green energy production into its own hands.

>> it takes more than one try to unload this truck. it's packed full with chaff from surrounding farms. but the truck isn't dropping its load at the dump. it's dumping it at a power plant where farm waste becomes valuable biomass. it's harvest time in the southeastern part of india's rajasthan state. farmers are cutting mustard plants -- one of the few crops that grow on such dry lands. for mohan chaudhary and his family, mustard plants mean financial security.

>> we're now harvesting mustard that we sowed some four months ago. we sell the kernels and bring what's left to the power plant. >> the mustard needs to dry for a week before it can be threshed. harvest waste -- mostly husks and stalks -- are loaded onto trucks. not too long ago, famers used to burn the waste in their fields. today, they sell it to anand chopra, the manager of an indian power company. six years ago, he helped build a biomass plant. the seeds of the mustard plant are processed into cooking oil. but the rest is used here. chopra will need a lot of farm waste to cover anticipated demand over the coming months.

we are buying agrowaste, so that we can generate power. the quality of power should be good, there should be good quantity of power available. and it should generate employment here in this area. >> this could mean more work for mohan chaudhary. like most farmers in the area, the 44-year-old delivers the waste to the plant himself. but others use an aggregator, which saves time and gas. all told, there are around 5000 farmers within a 50 kilometer radius. chaudhary receives his compensation as soon as the delivery is weighed. i now earn 40% more a year selling the chaff to the power plant. using biomass instead of coal means cleaner enery. but the work itself is dirty.

masks do little to protect the lungs from dust. the collection group transports some 250 tons of biomass to the plant every day. now there's a slight crisis: a conveyor belt has gotten stuck. but with good salaries, plant manager chopra has attracted talented engineers from around india. they keep the plant running smoothly. burning farm waste releases the same amount of carbon dioxide that the mustard plants took in while growing. since the power plant no longer burns coal, it won't release an estimated 36,000 tons of co2 annually. >> in comparison to coal the biomass generates less carbon dioxide, the content of gases,

which are not environment friendly are, even if emitted through the atmosphere, are of a very very low level. >> turbines make electricity possible. using water pressure, they create 8 megawatts of electricity -- enough to power 40,000 households. like the chaudhary's home. with the extra income, they were able to plant a second field and expand their house -- vital improvements for them and similar farming families. they also invest in their spirituality, and in their god shiva, the hindu god of destruction and rebirth. by selling farm waste, their modest situation improved enough for them to build a temple for shiva.

others want to join them. this mountain of farm waste doesn't belong to the plant but rather to a middle man. what was once worthless now has a market value. increasingly, people are moving away from coal and employing farm waste as fuel. >> it is good for the farmers. more competition means better prices. when someone makes me an offer in rupees, someone else might come along and offer double. as a farmer, i sell to the buyer offering the best price. >> i was purchasing the material about 600 rupees per ton. now i am pay 2100, 2200 per ton. so the prices have increased more then 3 folds and that is

because of the competition even though competitors might offer higher prices, farmers will still supply the plant. plant owners want to generate power using biomass, and the farmers want to offer them a reliable supply. this will be a long term revenue source for them. and this has increased their quality of life. so everybody is happy that this plant has come (06:35) >> everyone benefits from the biomass plant. it supplies clean energy to the community, and improves the lives of the mustard growers of rajasthan. >> cassava or maniok is a staple food in tropical regions around the world. in ghana the starchy root is a major earner for many small businesses. here we visit a company that has

managed to thrive on processing maniok thanks to some help from the un's international fund for agricultural development. >> this is one of ghana's great hopes -- josma, a small company in the center of the country. this factory converts cassava root, or manioc, into flour. the bulbs are soaked to wash out acid, and then sent to the mill. the process is a rapid one. once the cassava is plucked from the ground, it quickly spoils. janet kessie's warehouse is full. new machines have made it all possible. >> we used to make a lot less -- about one sack per week. >> barely enough for her own family. janet kessie's new machines are made possible with funds from the united nations. the project's aim is to make

local food production less dependent on expensive exports. >> today, we're filling 35 sacks per week. you can imagine what an improvement this has been. and many farmers -- once struggling like i was -- have found relief and now bring their manioc to me. >> elvis opoku is a farmer who can now educate his son thanks to josma's manioc program. he built his wife a small sales stand in the village. >> it used to be impossible to sell my manioc anywhere. now there's hope for my farm. >> elvis opoku even wants to expand production. >> i will do this in three years, god willing.

then i can build my wife her own shop to help her family. my goal is to be able to hire a few people who can help me on the farm. >> here in ghana, one factory with just a few machines has changed lives in an entire region. >> and that was this week's edition of global 3000. thanks for watching and we hope you'll tune in again the same time next week. until then from me and the entire global team here in berlin -- bye bye! captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org--