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A hidden deposit of lithium in a US lake could power 375 million EVs
(interestingengineering.com)
I’m sure this won’t have a major ecological impact, right? Right…?
this post was submitted on 04 Dec 2023
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The lake was a runoff for the colorado river back when farmers over used water and the leftover was dumped ino that "lake". The lake in its current state is too saline and dried up to ecologically be stable. The buildup of farm chems over the year cause dust in problems in socal when winds picked it up.
Well, when you put it that way using a part of the country we already ruined to try and help us not ruin any more of it, it sounds like a damn good idea
Consider the lake isn't supposed be there in the first place...
The lake is the major ecological impact, if you bother to read up on the background of that area.
Fun fact, the beach is made entirely out of barnacles and it smells like someone ate 10 pounds of salmon and then ripped ass straight up your nose. Don't go in the water, you'll die!
I was there about twenty years ago, the banks were made up of rotting marine life (mostly fish) 12 - 18 inches deep.
The barnacles must be a more recent phenomenon, I was there a couple years ago. There were still fish skeletons lying around, but mostly this:
The entire thing is a lesson in the hubris of man. It was created as a major ecological impact of a failed engineering project. It's being destroyed by irrigation.
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I used to fly out here when practicing low-level desert flight (helicopters, I was an aircremwan).
We would land right next to the lake but not overfly it. At night, it was like a perfect mirror.
But man did it smell, it was eerie af, and the dust sometimes made all your gear stink for days.
I seem to recall an orange? grove that grew next to where we would land. I always wondered if it's proximity to the Salton Sea affected their taste.
It continually got worse and worse, and this was back in 2003-2012, while I was out there.
Edit: One of my favorite photos, of a sign, where we would land.
Yes, those are bullet holes, no not from us.
Looks like we have our next Discovery channel reality TV show. Which cast member finds a bomb in today's episode? Tune in to Lithium Blast at 9 o'clock central to find out!
It really doesn't seem feasible, I mean how are they going to get the third world children there to mine it?
Step 1: Loosen current child labor laws (We're here now) ...
Step 1: Status quo immigration
Step 2: loosening child labor laws and the regulatory state
Step 3:????
Step 4: capitalism has now captured a new second class to extract this resource! Profit!
Same way the meat packing industry does?
Lake is a stretch, Salton Sea for anyone that was curious.
Are you saying it's too big to be called a lake?
It's a shallow salt water puddle, created by accident. It's a lake, it's an inland sea, it's toxic.
It also look like a big penis from space.
You call that big? Pffft
Size aside I'm not wrong.
It's so funny seeing the people trying to fearmonger about not having enough lithium and other minerals for electric vehicles.
NIMBYS will make it like pulling teeth to actually get our hands on it.
There's a cool old documentary about the place called Plagues and Pleasures on the Salton Sea, narrated by John Waters. It goes into the history of the place and shows a little of how dilapidated and decayed it now is (well, now was, when it came out in 2006).
It tries to livin up the modern day stuff by showing some of the "colorful" characters who lived there. I have to imagine there was a lot not being said, and I'm sure 20 years of further decay have not made it the friendliest and funnest place to be.
Edit to add: Apparently some enterprising soul has uploaded it to YouTube: https://youtu.be/8TjGAWxL23c
In the last year or so I heard about how the water level is dropping due to drought which is concentrating all the pollutants in the lake. It's also becoming l so saline that the few species living in the lake are dying and washing up on shore. Then the high winds are blowing around extra salty sand combined with dead carcass particles so it's actually a breathing hazard to be around. This is also combined with the runoff of pesticides from the farms to the north that also polite the water. So it sounds like a great place to hang out!
In the last year or so
It's been like that for decades. I was there about twenty years ago, the stench was gag inducing, and there's no getting used to it. The banks in every spot I visited were made up of rotting marine life 12 - 18 inches deep.
Sounds like so much. Than you stop for a second and realize how many cars there are in the USA and go "huh".
(It is 289million cars. My guess, this would probably last 15-20 years.)
15 to 20 years
As if, with the rate we’re going into electrification, I doubt that.
Stay away from my lithium carbonate!
I'm now convinced this lake tastes like old school 7Up
Lmao. Of course, they named a section of it the Sonny Bono Salton Sea National Wildlife Preserve.
Yeah, fuck that lake!
Environmentalists: “We really need to address climate change”
Me, an environmentalist: “let’s mine like crazy for the materials we’re sure to need”
Environmentalists: “no, not like that!”
Honestly, yes. Look that lake up and you'll see how worthless it is for anything lake-y.
Also though, let's not pretend we wouldn't strip mine Lake Tahoe if there was unobtainium under it.
It's a manmade lake, for what it's worth.
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