The Lithium Paradox: Mining Earth to Save It?
Lithium, an element born minutes after the Big Bang and still forged in stars, remains shrouded in mystery on Earth. Its unstable nature, always bound to other elements, makes its accumulation here poorly understood. Yet, for nearly a century, this mineral has been mined as a cornerstone of the promise to reduce fossil fuel consumption. For 70 years, lithium has been intertwined with two futuristic technologies—nuclear fusion and batteries—shaping laws and policies with visions of endless, cheap, and clean energy.
From Critical Minerals to Rights of Nature
In Living Minerals: Nature, Trade, And Power In The Race for Lithium, author Javiera Barandiarán uses lithium's story of exhaustive mining to advocate for a paradigm shift. She pushes to move away from the zero-sum "critical minerals" framework toward a Rights of Nature approach, arguing this is essential for achieving true sustainability. The book highlights how market-driven resource nationalism now targets extraction everywhere: beneath tropical forests and glaciers, in the deep sea, the Arctic, Antarctic, and even on the Moon.
The EV Dilemma: Bigger Cars, Heavier Footprints
Electric vehicles (EVs) could be far better for the climate if designed small and light. However, reality tells a different story. EVs are predominantly designed large and heavy, requiring significantly more minerals, metals, and plastics than necessary for a functional car. In the United States, 80% of EV models are SUVs and large cars; in Europe and China, this figure is 60%. Each oversized vehicle carries minerals and metals that could have remained in the ground, avoiding the production of mining waste, water usage, and landscape destruction.
Lithium is pivotal to this resource nationalism for two key reasons. First, it is notoriously difficult to count, map, and isolate. Second, its physical pliancy and promise of possibilities grant it an 'ontological' fluidity—the narrative constantly shifts, but always centers on the idea that "if we have lithium, we can..." This makes lithium resonate deeply with aspirations for growth and wellbeing, mining memories that are "ideas of the past mobilised for action today in search of better futures."
Profit Over Planet: The Scarcity of Imagination
Through this dynamic, investors profit from electrification's promise of endless consumption and perpetual growth—a formula that the book argues is incompatible with a livable planet. What is most scarce in the "halls of power," Barandiarán contends, is not any mineral but imagination. While EVs represent an improvement over diesel cars, they remain too mineral-hungry, and the sheer number required for the energy transition disqualifies it from being truly sustainable. Smaller, lighter batteries could reduce lithium demand by over a third. Coupled with enhanced public transit and robust recycling systems, lithium demand could plummet to 92% below predicted levels.
Science, Mining, and the Mechanistic View of Nature
Mining and extraction have effectively divorced minerals from their ecosystems, with the toxic harms of industrial mining well-documented. Despite this, there are persistent calls for "more science" to better understand mining's impacts. Science, as a privileged source of information and thus authority, is deeply ingrained in governance. However, the book argues that science itself is ruled by a "mechanistic view of the natural world where each element is treated as distinct and amenable to control and isolation." Much research is conducted by industry-sponsored scientists, facilitating business as usual.
Moreover, the writings of Francis Bacon and Robert Boyle in the 16th and 17th centuries created a "new image of nature as a female to be controlled and dissected." As a result, nature has been stripped of its complexity, rendered "productive and ready for parceling." This historical perspective underpins today's extractive practices.
Conclusion: Changing the Logic, Not Just the Fuel
Barandiarán concludes that depleting a mineral is as grave as causing the extinction of a species. If the underlying logic remains "infinite growth on a finite planet," then merely changing the mineral—from carbon to lithium—only shifts "sacrifice zones" from oil fields to salt flats. A true transition isn't just about swapping fuels; it's about fundamentally changing the growth logic that demands we consume the earth to save it. The path forward requires reimagining sustainability beyond mineral extraction, embracing lighter technologies, and prioritizing ecological rights over relentless consumption.
