Transcript:
In the Imperial Valley region of Southern California, deep groundwater reservoirs contain vast amounts of lithium. This mineral is critical for making batteries, and demand for it is growing as the electric car industry expands.
Multiple companies are developing plans to extract that lithium, and one project has broken ground.
Pastor: “It’s quite possible that this area is on the precipice of a major boom that could bring significant economic activity. But whether or not it actually benefits the residents … is much more uncertain.”
Manuel Pastor of the University of Southern California is co-author of a new book about the emerging lithium industry in the Imperial Valley and how it could affect the largely low-income Latino communities nearby.
Local groups are pushing for companies to commit to strong environmental protections and to hiring and training residents for jobs the industry creates.
And they helped lobby for a tax on lithium extraction that will create significant revenue for communities.
Pastor says these are steps in the right direction.
Pastor: “The fact that these companies have begun to fully realize that in order to do well, everybody in that region needs to do well, gives me hope.”
Reporting credit: Sarah Kennedy / ChavoBart Digital Media
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