Don’t get too excited, this is mainly about EVs but it’s nice to know that battery technology is moving forward.
https://mailchi.mp/dacc363d057b/future-explored-nasa-balloons-2542667?e=9501f6a2c2
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On the surface it’s great, but what are the ramifications of lithium mining? I don’t claim to know a thing about it, but I’ve been here long enough to know that anything good has a price to pay. I remember reading an article about the environmental effects of lithiuim mining/processing in China and it was NOT good. Wish I remembered where I read it.
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Thought that I’d read somewhere(maybe from a post by Mooch?) that someone was experimenting with Na+ ion batteries. If that could be a possibility then I would imagine that the environmental impact would be greatly reduced from mining lithium. Guess imma go a googlin!
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The article explains a bit about lithium’s environmental impact. For one, it’s rare. It takes 500,000 gal of water to make a ton of it. Farmers compete with lithium miners for water. Quite a balancing act. Hmm, let me see, food or batteries? 
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This is an older article and not the one that I read recently but it pretty much says the same thing. The problem is, no matter how many safe guards you have in place, somebody somewhere is going to cut corners and f**** things up. The buck always wins and we’re at a tipping point that we can’t afford to lose. I’d propose going back to carts and oxen, but I guess bovine farts are now responsible for global warming as well. 
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Thanks for the original article @muth, I really didn’t know much about mining Lithium, or the “costs” in doing so.
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