The essential element could help us eliminate fossil fuels. But we need to find better ways to mine it.

by Stephen Leahy Dec 17, 2019

The world’s electrical power and transportation systems need to become fossil-fuel-free to keep climate change to less than two degrees. Mark Jacobson, a professor of civil and environmental engineering at Stanford University, says that transitioning to 100 per cent clean, renewable energy is entirely doable by 2050, with much in place by 2030. “Sixty-one countries have already committed to 100 per cent renewable energy,” Jacobson told participants at an international conference that addressed the question “Can we mine our way out of the climate crisis?” this past November in Ottawa.

But the transition will demand a significant amount of metals and minerals to build the solar panels and wind turbines that will be needed to generate electricity, and make batteries for storing energy and powering vehicles…

Read the full article at: https://www.macleans.ca/economy/lithium-could-help-us-ditch-fossil-fuels-but-mining-is-messy/