Lorena De la Puente Burlando

How Trump-Vetted Scientists Are Trying to Shred the Climate Consensus A new report commissioned by the Energy Department downplays global warming as the administration seeks to unwind environmental rules.

One of the questions I wondered is to what end? Obviously it was used to support the EPA's rollback of the endangerment finding, but a prominent legal scholar told us the ultimate target might be getting the landmark climate case Mass vs. EPA overturned by the Supreme Court

The U.S. Clean Energy Manufacturing Boom Is Sputtering More than $30 billion of clean energy investments are now on ice since Trump took office, according to new data from Wellesley College’s Big Green Machine.

Electric vehicle manufacturing projects are now being delayed or canceled at six times the rate that they were during the same period last year, @jayturner.bsky.social tells @robinsonmeyer.bsky.social.

The U.S. EV factory building boom is stalling out, says new data from @wellesley.edu.

All three geothermal projects in review and expected to be approved soon in Imperial County are going to be suspended because of lack of offtaker/buyer and Imperial Irrigation District’s tariff process. Including a direct lithium extraction pilot project. #Geothermal #SaltonSea #CriticalMinerals.

It is true that 4 countries will concentrate Li production (AUS-CHL-CHN-ARG), but we need to also trace the geographical expansion of Li projects as this process has global implications: today, Li mining exists in 9 countries, but in the future, it could expand to an additional 26 across continents.

It is fundamental to ensure mining is sustainable anywhere. Hence, it is just as important to pay attention to the GS as to cases like the US (1-4-54), Canada (2-4-61), and Australia (7-2-53). Dispossession and local impacts against vulnerable communities also occur in industrialized nations.

Argentina is the GS country concentrating efforts with 3 active projects, 6 mines being developed, and 37 under exploration. African countries (particularly Zimbabwe) are also affected: 2-4-18. Caveat: 50% of exploration projects worldwide are "initial" efforts, and several will fail.

Considering projects under feasibility studies (total of 61), 36 would exist in the Global North in the short-mid term. This does not mean the Global South will not be affected by lithium expansion...

Today, 27 mines exist across 9 countries, split between the GN (10), GS (10), and China (07). In the near future, the distribution between GN/GS will hold with six new producers: out of 26 mines currently being developed, 12 are from the GN, 13 from GS (Africa and Argentina), and 1 in China.

This paper mainly discusses how to better understand Li projects timeline under current circumstances. Awesome work! Source: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0301420724007906

#Lithium is usually depicted as too
concentrated in a handful of countries and affecting the Global South. However, the picture is more complicated considering the upcoming geographical expansion of projects: 162/213 exploration efforts (76%) exist in the Global North (Buarque Andrade et al 2024).

I had the pleasure of being a CCI Fellow back in 2023, and the experience had such a positive impact on my dissertation work on lithium mining in the US and Peru. CCI is packed with knowledgeable and kind people doing groundbreaking work. It is truly a fantastic opportunity for young scholars!

Mirages or miracles? Lithium extraction and the just energy transition Achieving a 1.5 °C global temperature limit by 2050 has heightened the need for lithium extraction for energy storage. This is touted by governments a…

This is a great review of ongoing debates surrounding #lithium mining. It also shares potential solutions to mitigate the environmental and social impacts of expanding extraction to mitigate the climate crisis. Dowling & Otero (2025). Free access: www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

...Hence, context-specific hydrology studies are necessary to evaluate the entire cycle of production (Vera et al., 2023).

...However, the DLE footprint highly depends on where the energy to power this technology comes from, and studies evaluating indirect impacts related to chemical and water use are still insufficient (Mousavinezhad et al., 2024).

...On one hand, DLE could be more efficient in selecting lithium (either by absorption, membrane-based, or ion-exchanged methods), potentially reducing the amount of chemicals, energy, and water required to obtain lithium (Krishnan & Gopan 2024: 6-7)...

Judge clears way for massive lithium project near Salton Sea over environmental concerns Judge says county officials adequately studied water and air quality issues for the Hells Kitchen project near the edge of the Salton Sea.

One of three companies attempting to extract lithium from geothermal brine in Imperial County (California) has received the green light from a judge despite environmental concerns brought up by local organizations. Direct Lithium Extraction (DLE) is still an experimental technology (see below).

English: Green energy markets are enabling uranium mining expansion, even in countries like Peru, where no legislation exists to mine the radioactive resource (but it does allow for its exploration). This area in Puno also contains potentially huge lithium resources.

Más allá del litio: Macusani y el plan de US$10 mlls para explorar uranio en Puno - Revista Minería & Energía Macusani Uranium, vinculada con la minera de litio Macusani Yellowcake, presentó ante una propuesta para realizar perforaciones en el proyecto de exploración Isibilla, cuyo objetivo es identificar cue...

Los mercados de energía verde están permitiendo la expansión de la minería de uranio, incluso en países como Perú, donde sólo existe legislación para explorar más no extraer este recurso radioactivo. Esta zona Puneña también contiene grandes cantidades de litio.

mineriaenergia.com/mas-alla-del...

"Today there are more than 100 proposed lithium-mining projects around the country (USA). Even under the Trump administration (...), lithium mining and the momentum of the green-energy transition are not likely to slow much."

I can't wait to talk to @olufemiotaiwo.bsky.social @batul.bsky.social @jbozuwa.bsky.social @williamlawrence.bsky.social on the thorniest questions confronting the climate left as we necessarily embark on new strategic directions under the incoming Trump admin

12/9, 4-5pm EST: bit.ly/cci2024elect...

ACLU of San Diego & Imperial Counties
www.aclu-sdic.org
Earthworks
earthworks.org

Imperial Valley Equity & Justice www.instagram.com/ivequityjust...
Comité Civico del Valle
ccvhealth.org
The Becoming Project
www.facebook.com/p/The-Becomi...
UAW Region 6
region6.uaw.org
Jobs to Move America
jobstomoveamerica.org

Imperial Valley advocates seek environmental and labor commitments from region's lithium industry The announcement follows months of fierce disagreement between advocates and the County of Imperial over the developing industry.

As lithium mining is promoted in the Salton Sea (California) to produce more electric vehicles and drastically reduce emissions, community organizations from Imperial Valley seek to secure benefits for thousands of residents eager for real opportunities

#ValleUnido #Lithium #ImperialValley

Hydrosocial imaginaries of green extractivism: Water-energy transitions and geothermal lithium development at the Salton Sea in Imperial Valley, California Lithium is considered an “energy transition mineral” for mitigating climate change because it is a key component of batteries for electric vehicles an…

Our latest peer-reviewed article is now published open access in The Extractive Industries and Society!

Hydrosocial imaginaries of green extractivism: Water-energy transitions and geothermal lithium development at the Salton Sea in Imperial Valley, California

www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Wildfire near Hell’s Kitchen.. #LithiumValley #Geothermal #SaltonSea
calexicochronicle.com/2024/11/24/f...

🚨Global Carbon Project 2024 assessment is out! Here are my fav 10 charts (from the 2nd half report😅):

1) Energy use by source. Fossil energy just keep growing; hydro and nuclear declining 😬; but renewables growing exponentially (at this rate they'll triple in a decade)!

In numbers: Critical mineral production, ownership, and social unrest | Global Witness Most mining for critical minerals used for the energy transition is controlled by countries with advanced economies and major consumer countries. But it is mostly less-wealthy countries that are exper...

This research was done in collaboration with AFREWATCH and JATAM, using data from multiple partners including OCMAL and EJAtlas. Checkout their data and maps here:

Critical mineral mines tied to 111 violent incidents and protests on average a year | Global Witness Critical mineral mines tied to 111 violent incidents and protests on average a year

This remarkable publication by GlobalWitness illustrates how mining for critical minerals is spreading conflicts worldwide, including lithium. Since 2021, they have mapped 34 events surrounding lithium mining, and Argentina, the US, and Portugal concentrated most of the violence and protest events