<
https://grist.org/article/a-zero-emissions-future-without-the-mining-boom/>
"The effort to shift the U.S. economy off fossil fuels and avoid the most
disastrous impacts of climate change hinges on the third element of the
periodic table. Lithium, the soft, silvery-white metal used in electric car
batteries, was endowed by nature with miraculous properties. At around half a
gram per cubic centimeter, it’s the lightest metal on Earth and is extremely
energy-dense, making it ideal for manufacturing batteries with a long life.
The problem is, lithium comes with its own set of troubles: Mining the metal is
often devastating for the environment and the people who live nearby, since
it’s water intensive and risks permanently damaging the land. The industry also
has an outsized impact on Native Americans, with three-quarters of all known
U.S. deposits located near tribal land.
Demand for lithium is expected to skyrocket in the coming decades (up to 4,000
percent according to one estimate), which will require many new mines to meet
it (more than 70 by 2025). These estimates assume the number of cars on the
road will remain constant, so lithium demand will rise as gas guzzlers get
replaced by electric vehicles. But what if the United States could design a
policy that eliminates carbon emissions from the transportation sector without
as much mining?
A new report from the Climate and Community Project, a progressive climate
policy think tank, offers a fix. In a paper out on Tuesday, the researchers
estimated that the U.S. could decrease lithium demand up to 90 percent by 2050
by expanding public transportation infrastructure, shrinking the size of
electric vehicle batteries and maximizing lithium recycling. They claim that
this report is the first to consider multiple pathways for getting the
country’s cars and buses running on electricity and suppressing U.S. lithium
demand at the same time."
Via
Reasons to be Cheerful.
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
