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lithium ion

How to Think About the Extractive Problem of Lithium Mining

Electrification of transportation and the power grid all but require lithium to make batteries—but mining it takes a toll on delicate ecosystems. Still, there are reasons for hope.

Interview by Paloma Beltran, Living on Earth

Mining trucks load lithium sulfate in Chile’s Atacama Salt Flat on July 29, 2024. Credit: Lucas Aguayo Araos/Anadolu via Getty Images
A pipe discharges liquid waste from Tesla’s lithium refinery plant into a ditch on Feb. 13 in Robstown, Texas. Credit: Steve Ray/Nueces County Drainage District No. 2

South Texas Officials Didn’t Know Tesla Was Discharging Lithium Refinery Wastewater Into Local Ditch

By Arcelia Martin

Flames and smoke rise from the Moss Landing Energy Storage Facility after a fire erupted on Jan. 16 in Monterey Bay, Calif. Credit: Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu via Getty Images

Moss Landing Battery Fire Leads to Health Fears, Evidence of Contamination and Concerns About Overreaction

By Dan Gearino, Kiley Price

A fracking drilling pad operates in the Marcellus Shale formation near Robinson Township, Pa. Credit: Robert Nickelsberg/Getty Images

Pennsylvania’s Fracking Wastewater Contains a ‘Shocking’ Amount of the Critical Clean Energy Mineral Lithium

By Kiley Bense

Vistra's lithium-ion battery system is co-located on the site of its existing Moss Landing Power Plant in Monterey County. Photo Courtesy of Vistra Corp.

Inside Clean Energy: In California, the World’s Largest Battery Storage System Gets Even Larger

By Dan Gearino

Mark Reuss, General Motors president speaks at their Detroit- Hamtramck assembly plant on Jan. 27, 2020 in Detroit, Michigan. Credit: Jeff Kowalsky/AFP via Getty Images

The Solid-State Race: Legacy Automakers Reach for Battery Breakthrough

By Dan Gearino

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