What happens when greentopian dogma meets discovery? We’re about to learn this with a finding that could send depressed environmentalists running for the lithium — and away from it.
That is, the discovery is that fracking wastewater contains massive amounts of lithium, an element necessary for the so-called “net-zero” technology of which greentopians are so fond. These ideologues find themselves facing a dilemma, however, because fracking is anathema to them.
Fox News reports on the story:
The discovery of the potential for thousands of tons of lithium to be extracted annually from wastewater generated by fracking in the Marcellus Shale leaves proponents of a green energy future at a crossroads, Republicans said Thursday.
A University of Pittsburgh study suggested processing byproducts from natural gas production in Pennsylvania’s Marcellus Shale basin could potentially meet nearly half of U.S. lithium needs. The typical electric vehicle (EV) requires nearly 18 pounds of lithium to power its battery. That figure grows exponentially for Teslas, according to reports.
Rep. Guy Reschenthaler, R-Pa., who represents much of the Marcellus territory, told Fox News he wants to see those on the left change their tune.
“Now nearly 40% of our nation’s domestic need for lithium can be found right here as a byproduct of fracking,” he said. “I fully expect every single Democrat to join Republicans in supporting domestic natural gas development.”
“[There are] 100,000 union jobs the industry supports in Pennsylvania alone,” Reschenthaler said, while criticizing progressives in the Democratic Party for opposing the same fossil fuel speculation that led to the reported lithium boom.
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