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    lithium mining

    Aerial view of brine ponds and processing areas of the lithium mine

    Lithium Bonanza on a Hot, Hot Planet

    To pay for the promised green energy transition, digging out all that smoldering “white gold” will come at a cost—not just economically but environmentally.

    Joshua Frank
    Mar 30, 2024

    With his perfect tan and slicked-back hair, California Governor Gavin Newsom stood at a podium at Sacramento’s Cal Expo in late September 2020 and announced an executive order requiring all new passenger vehicles sold in the state to be zero-emissions by 2035. With the global Covid pandemic then at its height, Newsom was struggling to inject a bit of hope into the future, emphasizing that his order would prove a crucial step in the fight against climate change while serving as a major boon to the state’s economy. Later approved by the California Air Resources Board, his order is now being reviewed by the Environmental Protection Agency. For his part, President Biden has moved to tighten regulations on tailpipe exhaust, a not-so-subtle way of pushing car manufacturers to go electric.

    As Newsom said shortly before signing his order on the hood of a bright red electric Ford Mustang Mach-E:

    Keep ReadingShow Less
    Opinion
    lithium mining
    Huge pools of brine containing lithium carbonate and mounds of salt byproducts stretch across a lithium mine in the Atacama Desert in Salar de Atacama, Chili on October 25, 2022. ​

    Chilean President Unveils Plan to Slowly Nationalize Lithium Industry

    While striving for "a sustainable and developed economy," the leftist leader must contend with legislative divisions, potential industry opposition, and Indigenous and environmental resistance to large-scale mining.

    Jessica Corbett
    Apr 21, 2023

    Leftist Chilean President Gabriel Boric on Thursday announced plans to slowly nationalize the country's lithium industry, aiming to take advantage of massive reserves of the metal, key to electric vehicle batteries and other technology, while protecting the environment.

    "Today we present a national lithium strategy that's technically solid and ambitious," Boric declared during a televised address, outlining his plan—which needs congressional approval—to create "a Chile that distributes wealth we all generate in a more just way."

    Keep ReadingShow Less
    News
    chile
    Electric Vehicles Are No Silver Bullet—Transportation Fixes Must Go Further

    Electric Vehicles Are No Silver Bullet—Transportation Fixes Must Go Further

    "Expanding mass transit, walking, and cycling in addition to electrifying a reduced, right-sized U.S. EV fleet can improve people’s health and mobility, avoid bottlenecks and broaden political support for the global green transition."

    Thea N. Riofrancos
    Feb 22, 2023

    The U.S. faces a critical juncture for the decarbonization of its transportation system.Will zero emissions transportation be an electrified status quo, with ever more massive electric SUVs stuck in traffic on highways connecting sprawling metropolitan regions? Or will it diverge from car dependency to take the form of e-bikes and e-buses zipping around denser, more walkable cities and suburbs?

    The urgency of eliminating emissions from the transportation sector, the number one source of U.S. carbon emissions, intensifies with every day of inaction. But too often, electric vehicles (EVs) are presented as a silver bullet solution—stymieing more creative frameworks for getting people where they need to go and protecting communities and ecosystems from potentially avoidable mining, all while rapidly achieving zero emissions goals.

    Keep ReadingShow Less
    Opinion
    electric vehicles

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