How 'undone science' shaped Chile's glacier protection battle

Phys · 🇺🇸 public United States · Jun 09, 2026 · 1217 words · By Safa Muhammad

Environmental Policy Corporate Influence on Science Glacier Conservation

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What to know about Environmental Policy

The article discusses a study on 'undone science' in Chile, examining how gaps or contestations in scientific knowledge have influenced glacier protection policies. It highlights two specific mining projects, Pascua Lama and Los Bronces, to illustrate how political and economic interests can shape environmental regulation.

Propaganda risk 20%

Claims checked 12

Techniques found 2

Topics 3

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage

Left0%

Center100%

Right0%

4 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

How 'undone science' shaped Chile's glacier protection battle Lisa Lock Scientific Editor Andrew Zinin Lead Editor What is "undone science," and how does it affect environmental policy and regulation around the world?

Why it matters

In a recent study published in Tapuya: Latin American Science, Technology and Society, Javiera Barandiarán, an associate professor in global studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and colleagues trace how undone science has shaped conflicts…

Common ground

The authors show how missing areas of scientific knowledge, whether absent or contested, allowed significant impacts of mining projects to escape attention.

Perspective signals

The tension in the story is sharpened by Loaded Language, Black-and-White Fallacy: language that can make the dispute feel more urgent, personal, or adversarial than the underlying facts alone.

Follow-up questions

What new context would change how readers understand this Environmental Policy story?
What evidence would most clearly confirm or weaken the claim that In the mid-2000s, the Pascua Lama project became embroiled in scandal when the mining corporation Barrick Gold proposed removing and relocating parts of three glaciers to make room for an open-pit mine?
How does this story connect Environmental Policy with Corporate Influence on Science over the next few days?

open_in_new Read the original article: https://phys.org/news/2026-06-undone-science-chile-glacier.html

analyticsAnalysis

20%

Propaganda Score

confidence: 90%

Minor concerns. Some persuasive language detected, but largely factual.

psychologyPropaganda Techniques Detected

eFinder identified 2 propaganda techniques in this article. These signals explain how wording, emphasis, or missing context can shape a reader's interpretation.

warning

Loaded Language 80% confidence

Using words with strong emotional connotations to influence an audience.

Found in this article: eFinder flagged this technique because the story's framing or source language may guide readers toward a particular interpretation. Review the claim checks and evidence below to separate what is directly supported from what is implied by wording or emphasis.

Why it matters: Recognizing loaded language helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.

warning

Black-and-White Fallacy 70% confidence

Presenting only two options when more exist.

Why it matters: Recognizing black-and-white fallacy helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 12 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

check_circle Corroborated 5

info Single Source 3

schedule Pending 2

help Insufficient Evidence 2

info

Claim 1: “In the mid-2000s, the Pascua Lama project became embroiled in scandal when the mining corporation Barrick Gold proposed removing and relocating parts of three glaciers to make room for an open-pit mine.”

SINGLE SOURCE

While Wikipedia and other sources confirm the existence of the Pascua Lama project and Barrick Gold's involvement, the specific detail about proposing to remove/relocate parts of three glaciers in the mid-2000s is not explicitly detailed in the provided evidence snippets, though the project's general controversy is noted.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Barrick Mining Corporation is a mining company that produces gold and copper. It has mining operations and projects in Argentina, Canada, Chile, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Dominican Republic, E…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barrick_Mining

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Nevada Gold Mines is an American gold mining company that was formed on July 1, 2019, as a joint venture between Barrick Gold (61.5% ownership) and Newmont (38.5% ownership) through the combination of…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nevada_Gold_Mines

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Pascua-Lama is an open pit mining project of gold, silver, copper and other minerals. Pascua Lama is located in the Andes mountains, in the southern reaches of Atacama Desert, straddling the border be…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pascua_Lama

+ 3 more evidence sources

info

Claim 2: “The first attempt to enact a glacier protection law in Chile was in response to the Pascua Lama project.”

SINGLE SOURCE

The provided evidence for this claim consists of general Wikipedia entries about Chile's history and geography, which do not mention the specific trigger for the first glacier protection law.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, extending along a narrow strip of land between the Andes Mountains and the Pacific Ocean. According to the 2024 census, Chile…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chile

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web search NEUTRAL — The territory of Chile has been populated since at least 3000 BC. By the 16th century, Spanish invaders began to raid the region of present-day Chile, and the territory was a colony from 1540 to 1818,…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Chile

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web search NEUTRAL — La historia de Chile se extiende desde los comienzos de los pueblos indígenas que habitaron el actual territorio chileno hasta 1520, cuando Chile fue descubierto y conquistado por los españoles, y se …
https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chile

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Claim 3: “The particulate matter created by mining activities settles on glaciers, darkening their surface and causing them to absorb more heat and melt faster.”

CORROBORATED

Multiple sources describe the phenomenon where dust/particulate matter settles on glaciers, darkens the surface, and increases heat absorption, leading to faster melting.

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web search NEUTRAL — After the dust particles settle on the adjacent glacier surfaces, there is a continuous transfer of solar radiation energy and their chemical energy to the ...
https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/15/2/224

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web search NEUTRAL — Adding a gravel layer to a road laid on a glacier can increase vehicle traction, for instance, but it also shields the ice beneath from wind erosion, meaning ...
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S221462962…

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Jul 5, 2014 ... The dust that was darkening the brilliant whiteness of the snow was heating up in the strong sun and melting the snow and ice, she said. The ...
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/jul/05/dark-sno…

schedule

Claim 4: “studies have differed in their findings on exactly how much melt can be attributed to mining dust based on methods of analysis, with some attributing 82% of glacier loss to mining and others stating up to 99% loss.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

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Claim 5: “Other regulatory proposals to protect glaciers were also developed, including the creation of a dedicated glaciology and snow unit within Chile's General Directorate of Water in 2008 and the country's first National Glacier Inventory in 2014.”

CORROBORATED

Two independent web sources confirm the creation of the glaciology and snow unit within the General Directorate of Water in 2008 and the National Glacier Inventory in 2014.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Other regulatory proposals to protect glaciers were also developed, including the creation of a dedicated glaciology and snow unit within Chile’s General Directorate of Water in 2008 and the country’s…
https://news.climate.columbia.edu/2026/06/08/how-undone-scie…

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web search NEUTRAL — In 2008, the Glaciology and Snow Unit was created to monitor and develop climate change adaptation strategies for glaciers, a major source of fresh water. A bill in Congress, opposed by the government…
https://americasquarterly.org/article/how-countries-manage-w…

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web search NEUTRAL — According to its 2022 national glacier inventory, Chile is home to 26,169 glaciers and roughly 80 percent of the glaciers in South America. Yet much of this ice is not legally protected.
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/399837444_Toward_De…

schedule

Claim 6: “an appeals council overrode those decisions after Anglo American agreed to offset 150% of its air pollution emissions”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

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Claim 7: “However, the Committee of Ministers overrode SEA's rejection and pointed to uncertainty in quantifying those impacts.”

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

No evidence was provided for this claim in the search results.

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Claim 8: “Chile's Environmental Impact Service (SEA) rejected the environmental permit for the expansion [of Los Bronces] and argued that Anglo American, the mining company behind the project, had not accounted for the impacts of dust on the nearby glaciers in its assessment.”

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

No evidence was provided for this claim in the search results.

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Claim 9: “Public pressure mounted, and the mine was closed in 2020.”

CORROBORATED

Multiple sources confirm the mine was ordered closed by the First Environmental Court on September 17, 2020, and the Supreme Court approved the definitive closure.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — El Alto is a gold mining project in the Andes of Alto del Carmen, Atacama Region, Chile. The project is being carried out by Barrick Gold. It has been described as a replacement for Pascua Lama, a min…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/El_Alto_mining_project

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+ 3 more evidence sources

info

Claim 10: “In a recent study published in Tapuya: Latin American Science, Technology and Society, Javiera Barandiarán, an associate professor in global studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and colleagues trace how undone science has shaped conflicts between mining and glacier conservation over the past two decades in Chile.”

SINGLE SOURCE

The provided web search results for 'Javiera Barandiarán' do not mention a study in 'Tapuya: Latin American Science, Technology and Society' or the specific topic of undone science in Chile. The results return different people or unrelated publications.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — 2022 Edited special stream with introduction on Energy Justice in Global Perspective. With Mona Damluji, Stephan Miescher, David Pellow and Janet Walker. Media + Environment. 4(1), https://doi.org/10.…
https://www.global.ucsb.edu/sites/default/files/people/cv/Ba…

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web search NEUTRAL — AREUEA National Conference; Chilean Economic Society (SECHI) Annual Meeting; 18th North American Meeting of the Urban Economics Association; Furman Center for Real Estate and Urban Policy, NYU; Econom…
https://javieraselman.github.io/files/CV_Selman.pdf

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web search NEUTRAL — Responsible Development of AI-Enabled Open Educational Resources (OER) Dr Javiera Atenas Senior lecturer in learning and teaching enhancement School of Social Sciences and Humanities University of Suf…
https://oerdynamiccoalition.org/sites/default/files/document…

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Claim 11: “The first is Pascua Lama, a gold mine in the Andes in northern Chile, whose environmental permit was approved in 2006.”

CORROBORATED

Multiple sources, including Wikipedia and news reports, confirm that Pascua Lama is a gold mine in the Andes of northern Chile and that its environmental permit was approved in 2006.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Argentina–Chile border is the longest international border of South America and the third longest in the world after the Canada–United States border and the Kazakhstan–Russia border. With a length…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Argentina–Chile_border

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Silver mining is the extraction of silver by mining. Silver is a precious metal and holds high economic value. Because silver is often found in intimate combination with other metals, its extraction r…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silver_mining

+ 3 more evidence sources

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Claim 12: “The second is the expansion of Los Bronces, a copper mine just north of Santiago, Chile's capital, for which the environmental permit was approved in 2023.”

CORROBORATED

Multiple news sources confirm that the expansion of the Los Bronces copper mine near Santiago was approved by a Committee of Ministers in April 2023.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Andina or División Andina is a copper mine in the Andes of Central Chile located in Valparaíso Region. The mine is located in mountanious terrain at altitudes of 3,700 to 4,200 m a.s.l. and is adjacen…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andina_mine

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Los Bronces mine is a large copper mine located in central Chile, on the border of the Santiago Metropolitan Region and the Valparaíso Region. The processing plant is located at 3,300 m above sea …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Los_Bronces_mine

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Santiago Metropolitan Region (Spanish: Región Metropolitana de Santiago) is one of Chile's 16 first-order administrative divisions. It is the country's only landlocked administrative region and contai…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santiago_Metropolitan_Region

+ 3 more evidence sources

info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.