Environmental Impacts of Lithium Batteries
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| A photo of a small Lithium Battery. Source: Wikipedia |
miners drill a hole in the salt flats and begin pumping a salty, mineral-rich brine to the surface. This "brine" is then left for months where it will evaporate, which creates a mixture of manganese, potassium, borax and lithium salts which is filtered and placed into another evaporation pool. After 12- 18 months, the mixture has been filtered enough to become lithium carbonate, which can then me extracted.
This affects the local ecosystem by using over 60% of the regions water for mining, making it harder for local farmers to get water for their crops, and eventually having to get water driven in. Furthermore, it is possible for toxic chemicals, which develop in the evaporation process to get into the water supply. This has already been seen in Tibet. In Argentina, locals have reported that rivers designated for livestock, crops and human consumption have also been tainted with these harmful chemicals, making it very difficult to find consumable water. Closer to us, in Nevada a study showed that fish could be affected over 150 miles away from a Lithium processing plant.
Because these chemicals impact the water, and even the air, the affects on humans could be absolutely awful. By it being spread through the air, it can cause issues in our lungs and more, and if it begins to taint our water supply, it can cause very bad damage to our internal organs.
It is very surprising that something being used to help the environment is actually causing harm to it and the people who inhabit it.
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| A photo of plastic washed up along the ocean. Source: PXHere |
The Lithium Industry can be compared very much to the plastic industry, as both are considered advancements and improvements upon outdated services and products. According to an article from Science History, plastic was originally developed as a substitute for ivory, which is obtained by killing wild elephants. Improvements and inventions with plastic were made over time, with additions such as cellophane, a wrap made from plastic. I thought that our usage of both plastic and lithium were similar because both are used as replacements for other things, plastic being used instead of ivory and glass, and lithium being used as a replacement for gasoline and other energy sources.
What I also found interesting was that the environmental impacts of both plastic and lithium are quite similar. The biggest similarities that I found were the effects on marine life. According to the slides by Adela Fowler, fish consume more than 12,00 tons of plastic per year, which could lead to the fish dying. According to the article on Lithium, fish within 150 miles of a lithium processing plant were affected, meaning that both are sources of water contamination. There are some differences, though. Lithium production in the future could potentially be generated by seawater, whereas plastic currently in the ocean will take years and years to break down.
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| Photo of Main Street in Keene, NH. wikipedia |
The city of Keene, New Hampshire and even Keene State College itself is immersed in both the plastic industry and the lithium industry, with both having products popular amongst college students. Plastic is probably more common than lithium, as almost everything we use is plastic. From personal experience, most of the products in my room are made with, or completely of plastic, such as my utensils, plates, shower curtains, decorations, and more! Furthermore, lithium batteries are in a lot of Vape devices and cell phones, both of which are also very popular among college students. With these two simple examples, it really shows how involved Keene is with both of these industries, Plastic and Lithium.
The college does do a lot to reduce our footprint, with plastic being a big one. All over campus, throughout the grounds, and inside buildings we have recycling bins. By using these bins, our plastic will go and be reused, therefore reducing our footprint, and the harmfulness of used plastic. Regarding Lithium, I think a great solution could be more battery collection centers around campus. I know we have one inside the student center, but it is not promoted at all, and because of this, people are still putting batteries in the regular trash. With Lithium in particular, it is actually possible to "reuse" these batteries according to The World Economic Forum. Once the batteries have died enough to not be able to power the car, there is actually still enough life left in them to be able to power other products, such as simple household goods for ten or more years, which can significantly slow down on the waste of these lithium batteries. This is just one solution currently available, but by building upon these current solutions, we can help fight these issues a lot better than we currently are.
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What I liked most about this post is that right off the bat you were able to show how deceptive a good "eco-friendly" idea may not be as great as you think it is. Just like the lithium batteries. Something new I learned is that these batteries are made from mining the salt material in the bed rock. I think your battery collection idea is great I would also say maybe try to encourage student involvement by asking the college to create incentives for students being more environmentally aware.
ReplyDeleteWhat I liked best about this post was all of the new information I learned. You gave a picture of a lithium battery, and I liked that you connected to your audience by saying that you didn’t realize that electric cars had such a negative impact on the environment. I also didn’t know that lithium could be such a big threat to humans, as it can spread through the air and water to harm our lungs and other internal organs. I also liked your comment about the similar impacts of lithium and plastic on the environment; I think it helps the reader to understand just how big of an issue this resource really is.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading this post I found it to be very interesting and very on point with valid details and explanation. The post was put together very well and how every section is broken up was very clear and simple. It was crazy how the chemicals killed animals and there wasn't anything done to the chemical to keep it away from the community and they look at it as a optional decision.
ReplyDeleteGreat work on this post, you did a very nice job. The things i liked about your post are how you in your writing added shortcuts back to the article because it makes it very easy and helpful to others, i also liked the images you choose especially the old picture of Keene very cool looking. I learned a lot of new info from your blog because i did a different article so it was very cool to learn about. an additional solution is for on the college campus to get the school more involved with it.
ReplyDeleteYour statement on, over 60% of the region's water for mining, make it harder for local farmers to get water for their crops, and eventually having to get water driven in was something that I like because, many people do not know what lithium mining does to the environment, species and communities around them. One fact I learned from your blog post is that fish with in 150 miles of lithium mining are affected from contamination in the water. A solution for this could be, become more educated!
ReplyDelete