April Fools Day Calfornia Battery Prices

MEXICOWANDERER wrote:
Batteries. Battery prices. Lead Cleanup. Alternatives to Lead. Why must lithium batteries come from China...

Lead is dangerous especially to children. Lead toxicity causes profoundly lower intelligence.

California just added a two dollar per battery surcharge on lead acid batteries they say "to clean up toxic battery plant sites".

I know of no battery material that is non-toxic but most materials are far less toxic than lead. Cadmium is the exception.

Did this explanation help?

Not really. I would assume toxic battery plant sites would have lead contamination. If so, what's the problem with a surcharge on lead batteries to clean up those sites? As for lithium, who cares that it comes from China? It is my understanding that lithium production is not a clean process, bet it hard rock mining or evaporative salts. China is the worlds largest consumer of lithium, it is logical that they should also be the largest processor or lithium ores into pure lithium. If it was profitable to mine or refine lithium in the US, someone would fill that void. If it takes a third world labor force and third world environmental rules to make lithium production profitable, let the Chinese have it, along with all the problems attached. Win/Win as far as I can tell.