Opinion: Lithium and a healthy Salton Sea can coexist
On Jan. 26, there was an opening ceremony at the Salton Sea for the construction of a big new plant to produce lithium. Presiding at the ceremony was John Podesta, who is the senior adviser to President Biden in implementing the $375 billion Clean Energy and climate change bill that was part of the Inflation Reduction Act passed in August 2022. It was Podesta who worked with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to speed up the environmental review for the lithium plant. But at the same time, the Army Corps has recently announced that it is postponing a restoration plan for the Salton Sea until 2030 or 2032. Many are saying that the method of extracting lithium at the Salton Sea is less damaging to the environment than traditional open pit mining and evaporation ponds.
-Written by Chuck Parker, a Coachella Valley resident who has been active in the Salton Sea Coalition since 2018.Related article:
- New York Times: An Idyll on the Shores of a Toxic Lake