Green Energy or Green Destruction? The Environmental Cost of Lithium Mining
Naturally, it is important to work towards a transition to green energy. However, considering the social, ecological, and economic dimensions of this transition must not be ignored. Learn about how lithium mining reminds us of this important knowledge.
Green Energy or Green Destruction? The Environmental Cost of Lithium Mining
The climate crisis is much closer than most realize, though we talk about it as if it’s a problem for the future. The climate crisis is at our doorstep. Electric vehicles (EVs) and renewable energy technologies, which are expected to replace fossil fuels, offer hope in reducing carbon emissions. However, there is one element at the heart of these technologies: lithium. This element is also referred to as white gold. Is the extraction and use of lithium sustainable? Or are we opening the door to another environmental disaster in the name of producing sustainable energy?
Where Does Lithium Come From? How Is It Extracted?
Lithium is generally extracted from countries like Australia, Chile, Argentina, and China, or from saltwater basins. The “Lithium Triangle” in South America (Bolivia, Chile, Argentina) contains the richest sources of this element. However, it has become a topic of debate whether lithium mining is as innocent as it seems. Lithium, extracted for energy production, consumes underground water. It degrades the soil and ecosystems. It harms the vital resources of local people. In Chile’s Atacama Desert, it takes the consumption of 500,000 liters of water to produce 1 ton of lithium. This seriously endangers agriculture and drinking water resources.
Electric Vehicles: How Much Do They Harm Nature While Reducing
Carbon? Even though electric vehicles create fewer carbon emissions compared to traditional vehicles, they consume large amounts of energy. Additionally, industries required to produce these electric vehicles damage the environment in their own right.
Particularly, the industries below contribute to the negative impact of electric vehicle production:
● Mineral Mining in lithium, nickel, and cobalt requires large amounts of water and energy.
● Battery Production generates harmful emissions production process.
● The recycling infrastructure for electric vehicle parts are still insufficient.
The lithium demand of giant companies like Tesla causes thousands of hectares of land to be ecologically destroyed. Moreover, such vehicle manufacturers have recently been subject to frequent protests by activists.
Who Pays the Price? The Issue of Environmental Justice
So, who is most affected by lithium mining? Of course, indigenous peoples. During resource extraction activities, indigenous people face the danger of extinction. They are often ignored and excluded from decision-making processes, allowing for factors that cause long-term health problems for their communities to persist. They are the ones paying the price.
This situation turns into an issue of environmental justice: “Clean energy for whom, at whose expense?”