In January 2021, activists set up a camp in the Nevada desert to protest a proposed lithium mine. I interviewed Kevin Emmerich of Basin & Range Watch to get the facts on the ecological effects of lithium extraction.
Basin & Range Watch is a desert defense group based in southern Nevada. They track industrial energy developments on public lands in the US southwest, and I consider them to be the premier online resource for learning about and keeping up-to-date with these projects, which include solar and wind.
Kevin & I spoke on January 30th, and we discussed the proposed lithium mine at Thacker Pass; other projects at Clayton Valley and Rhyolite Ridge; the massive use of water in mining operations; the unique ecology of these sites in the desert and the Great Basin; the Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan and how it was assaulted by the Trump administration; the prospects for exploitation and conservation of the desert under the Biden administration; the false choice of fossil fuels vs. “green” energy; and the importance of efficiency in reducing overall energy use and pollution.
Basin & Range Watch:
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Mentioned in interview: Rare Wildflower Threatened by Lithium Mine (blog post by Kollibri)