• scarabic@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    2
    ·
    edit-2
    1 year ago

    Demand is so high that the mining will happen.

    So let the US absorb the environmental cost rather than exporting it to developing nations run by warlords who have ZERO environmental regulations or accountability for the health of their citizens.

    The US isn’t some environmental paragon but it is one degree removed from 3rd world hell holes that can’t wait to exploit their environment to the maximum.

    Also be glad this was found in an arid rocky nowhere desert instead of in the heart of the Amazon or on top of an aquifer that millions depend on.

    It’s all relative, but if you accept that litihium is already established as an essential element for the modern world (and how can anyone deny this) then everything about this discovery is relatively good news.

    And that’s not even to mention the environmental benefits of making batteries cheaper so that renewable energy storage and electric cars and other beneficial technologies can scale up more.