The issue rarely gets attention because devices that use batteries, we are told, are “cleaner” than those that use gasoline or diesel because they do not emit visible pollution during use. What the greenies never seem to talk about, though, is what it takes to produce “emission-free” batteries in the first place.
It turns out that the mining and processing of just one ton of lithium consumes an astounding eight million liters, or 500,000 gallons, of water. Ironically enough, the process is similar to hydraulic fracking, a process used to extract natural gas, which the greenies hate because it involves a fossil fuel.
In order to extract lithium, miners have to drill holes in salt flats, oftentimes in otherwise pristine areas of the world that are rich in minerals. This includes mountainous regions of the Andes in South America, and in the wild regions of Western Australia.
The holes dug by miners pump out salty, mineral-rich brine that then undergoes all sorts of processing. Again, lots and lots of water is necessary to do this, and in some areas of the world, for example Chile’s Salar de Atacama, a majority of the region’s water supplies are consumed...<<<Read More>>>....