Non-renewable Lithium...Fact.

This entire thread should be deleted as it is based on the right wing talking point of "EVs bad!". The statement "can't be recycled" is totally false. Many companies have started successful recycling programs and here in Nevada where I live, lithium mining by evaporating salts is big business utilizing the old "poison waterholes" from old Western movies to get some use out of lifeless, desolate wasteland area. Myself, I have been driving electric over 7 years now, the last two getting fueled for free from our rooftop solar. The carbon industry is scared to death of electric vehicles wiping away their livelyhood and so are car dealers as, like I can assure you from my personal use, maintainance and repair of electric vehicles is a tiny fraction of that of petroleum cars. Most electric cars never get their brakes replaced unless parts rust off from age.


https://www.instituteforenergyresearch.org/renewable/the-afterlife-of-electric-vehicles-battery-recycling-and-repurposing/

rk911 wrote:
according to Wikipedia this is a list of the top 9-lithium producing countries. several are not exactly friendly to the USA.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_lithium_production

And some are very friendly. The same is true for petroleum.

FWIW, Canada, the US, and South America also have Lithium deposits but they're not being mined much currently. (It's a very abundant material.)

If you want to be concerned: The batteries also contain small amounts of Cobalt and Magnesium. Those are far more concerning, especially Cobalt, in terms of their rarity. There's a lot of work to reduce/remove those. (Actually Cobalt has been reduced a lot, in favor of Magnesium, but is still needed.)

There's also active research on recycling but the technology is still under development.

2oldman wrote:

MDKMDK wrote:

Sunshine has a time of day limit. It doesn't work after sunset and before sunrise.

Darn

X2 :B

MDKMDK wrote:

Sunshine has a time of day limit. It doesn't work after sunset and before sunrise.

Darn

2oldman our sun may last another 5 billion years. After that--it's curtains.

rk911 wrote:
according to Wikipedia this is a list of the top 9-lithium producing countries. several are not exactly friendly to the USA.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_lithium_production

Invade, conquer, own it. The resources, I mean.
Let's face it, you get bad press every day somewhere around the globe for being imperialist invaders. Time to earn that hatred. :B

2oldman wrote:
Li is one of the most abundant resources, but everything has its limits...except sunshine.

Sunshine has a time of day limit. It don't work after sunset and before sunrise.

In 1970, I read a paper that 'proved' that we would run out of lead by 1982. I cut out the article to remind me to fact check it when the time rolled around. And dang if we STILL haven't run out of lead. or peak oil. or a hundred other things that went full chicken little.

Commodities are subject to Capitalism (til gov gets involved in stealing from all parties, of course) and thus will never run out. Youll only have to pay more and more as the supply declines. Eventually some bright bulb will figure out a way to recycle it or find a cheaper substitute. Or an entire new tech will come along and obsolete the entire thing anyway.

Don't sweat it.

according to Wikipedia this is a list of the top 9-lithium producing countries. several are not exactly friendly to the USA.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_lithium_production

Electric cars were built in the 1800's. I wonder where we would be today if the technology of electric cars developed at the same rate as ICE powered cars?