...and how big an impact mining it will have on environment and water use...just saying
Additionally, it can be extracted from seawater at a price that isn't insane, most affordably through desalination discharge brine. So in that sense, it could actually improve water usage by helping offset the cost of desalination.
So a huge net positive compared to our current system and with a pathway to eliminate the negative impact entirely.
I was wondering about the recycling aspects of Lithium.
According to Wikipedia, it's not a thing (yet?), because mining lithium is 5x cheaper than recycling. But they're working on it...
And there's a simple solution, here: have companies (including foreign, via tariffs) pay for the fully burdened cost of the environmental damage they're inflicting. That'll end virtually all fossil fuel usage and enable recycling and/or exclusively low-impact mining techniques.
Border adjustments, not tariffs.
But also, the brine is simply pumped. It's liquid.
- whale oil made nighttime lighting possible
- the steam engine/tractor/etc and other labor saving devices eliminated slavery
- mining coal saved the world from deforestation
- drilling for oil reduced environmental damage and loss of life from coal mining
- natural gas has reduced oil consumption
- lithium batteries have replaced consumables as portable energyn
...are things getting better or not?
- whales - there are less whales now.
- coal mining - green house gasses
- oil drilling - oil spills and green house gasses
- natural gas - release of methane gas from LNG fracking
- lithium - who knows yet. but probably green house gasses and pollution from manufacture.
I have no clue how lithium mining + solar panels, etc vs fossil fuels compare environmentally though. But they are at least lowering fossil fuel usage.