ICFRC: Lithium and the Green Car

Published: March 13, 2014, 10 a.m.

As energy hungry nations search for fossil-fuel alternatives, some look to lithium as a source for electricity. Bolivia's salt desert, Salar de Uyuni, is 100 times the size of the famed Bonnevile Salt Flats of Utah and is estimated to hold as much as half of the world's supply of lithium. This has led some to refer to lithium as the 'New Oil,' and subsequently Bolivia, the 'New Saudi Arabia.' However, many environmental groups believe lithium extraction is an unsustainable process that will produce irreparable damage to the environment and the Bolivian landscape. As Barbuzza's years of research shows, this story of landscape and salt is layered in both history and power. For more information on the Foreign Relations Council visit their website.