How Drilling for Lithium in the Salton Sea Is Making For a More Sustainable Future

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GreenMatters

"The geothermal brine at the Salton Sea is unique in the world," Berkshire Hathaway Energy's VP for Legislative and Regulatory Affairs Jonathan Weisgall told KESQ wistfully, in hopes that Berkshire will be one of the early companies to open a state-funded lithium demonstration facility. "If this is a baseball game, we're still in the first inning, but we're pretty confident we're gonna win this game."

Over the last year, one of California's largest lakes, the Salton Sea, has made headlines for a disheartening reason: due to climate change it's almost entirely dried up, and it's now releasing toxic dust and decayed matter into the air. But now, the famous body of water is making headlines for something positive: energy companies are currently pursuing a long-winded project that involves drilling for something called white gold, according to The Los Angeles Times. But white gold isn't what you think it is.

Drilling for lithium and geothermal energy in the Salton Sea is a big environmental win. Although lithium mining notoriously uses quite a bit of water, and there have been many humanitarian issues involving mining for cobalt (which is needed for lithium batteries) it's far less damaging than fracking. It also promotes the use of electric vehicles, which will hopefully be the only type of car sold in the state by 2035.

Small but important progress.