California’s Salton Sea is beginning to look like a miracle. Just a few months ago, enough lithium was found there to meet America’s need for the mineral for decades, potentially resolving a trade-off that has so far stumped environmentalists and geopolitical strategists.
These newfound domestic supplies of lithium — which is essential to electric-vehicle batteries and solar- and wind-power storage — could solve a large portion of America’s green-innovation supply-chain issues practically overnight and relieve the U.S. from having to choose between clean-energy storage and a tough policy on China. However, a new lawsuit threatens to snuff out this potential, ironically enough on environmental grounds. If we are unable to take advantage of an environmental miracle gift wrapped for us, we need to admit that our green-energy problems never started — and won’t end — with China.
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