Redigerer Atacamaørkenen (avsnitt)

== Miljøtrusler ==

=== Litiumgruver ===
I 1980 startet de to foretakene SQM og Albemarle å utvinne litium i Salar de Atacama.<ref name=":0" /> Dette førte etter hvert til kontroverser, påstander om rovdrift på naturen og rettsprosesser.<ref name=":0" />

=== Søppelberget i ørkenen ===
Chilenske miljøorganisasjoner gikk i mars 2022 til sivilt søksmål mot myndighetene i Chile på grunn av at myndighetene ikke har grepet inn mot foretakene som dumper klær, sko, vesker og tilbehør i ørkenen.<ref>{{Kilde www|url=https://www.refinery29.com/en-us/2023/04/11360411/chile-fast-fashion-dumping-atacama-desert-now|tittel=Remember Chile's Infamous Clothing Dump? This Is What It Looks Like Now|besøksdato=2025-01-11|dato=2023-04-20|fornavn=Bianca Padró|etternavn=Ocasio|språk=en|verk=www.refinery29.com|sitat=“Alto Hospicio is the fastest-growing city in the country,” says Oroz, who worked with the Alto Hospicio government until 2022. “That growth is of people who are highly vulnerable, people with very low economic resources, and a large number of migrants.” {{!}} For Poo, the political scientist with Fundación Ecosur, that reality is by design. In March 2022, her organization joined Paulin Silva Heredia, an environmental lawyer, and other organizations in a high-profile lawsuit against the Chile government, Alto Hospicio, and Iquique over the textile waste. [---] The lawsuit, filed in Chile’s environmental court system, has not yet been resolved.}}</ref> Senere i 2022 ble det oppdaget at det var begynt å brenne i den enorme søppelhaugen.<ref name=":1" />

I 2023 ble det kjent at søppelberget av klær som har blitt dumpet i Atacamaørkenen er så stort at det kan sees fra verdensrommet.<ref>{{Kilde www|url=https://www.space.com/mountain-discarded-clothes-chile-satellite-photo|tittel=High fashion! Mountain of discarded clothes in Chilean desert is visible from space (satellite photo)|besøksdato=2025-01-11|dato=2023-06-22|fornavn=Robert|etternavn=Lea|språk=en|verk=Space.com|sitat=A mountain of discarded clothes in the Atacama Desert of northern Chile has reached such huge proportions that it can be seen from space. {{!}} Last month, the satellite imagery app SkyFi revealed views from orbit of the pile of clothes that is created as a result of the fast fashion industry, which produces an estimated 92 million tons of waste a year. Included in the clothing mountain are some unusual items, such as ski boots and unwanted Christmas sweaters.}}</ref><ref name=":2" />