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NewSecurityBeat

The blog of the Wilson Center's Environmental Change and Security Program
  • Lithium: Are “Blood Batteries” Next?

    July 17, 2009 By Geoffrey D. Dabelko
    The strategic minerals debate is back—but starring some new rocks. One that has received much recent attention is lithium, which is used in cell phone batteries, as well as those under development for electric cars.

    Turns out lithium isn’t found in too many places. Around 50 percent of known reserves are in Bolivia, underneath some very dramatic and desolate salt flats. Worldfocus has a terrific news story that gives a glimpse of the place, the politics, and the battle over lithium extraction. Talk of an OPEC-like lithium cartel with China and Chile suggests that the politics at the international level will be just as contentious as the Bolivian domestic scene.

    Our good friends over at the Center for New American Security are taking a fresh and systematic look at the strategic minerals question in their new Natural Security initiative. And we are hearing more and more about it from the advocacy community. For example, ENOUGH has ramped up its Come Clean 4 Congo campaign, which stresses the links between our cell phones, mineral extraction, and continuing violence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is reminiscent of the “blood diamonds” campaigns that led to the Kimberly Process.

    The lithium story and the complex social, economic, and political disputes it could engender in Bolivia should flag for us an important consideration in the fight against climate change: trying to do right by climate change and energy security might trigger unforeseen conflicts. Greening our transportation sector with more powerful batteries is going to create a new set of winners and losers around the material inputs like lithium.

    We need to be much more cognizant of these impacts as we move forward in addressing climate change and the unsustainable use of fossil fuels. The Wilson Center’s Environmental Change and Security Program will be tackling this specific dimension of the climate and security debates—the potential for conflict induced by climate mitigation efforts—in the months ahead.
    Topics: climate change, conflict, environmental security, Latin America, natural resources, security
    • http://www.blogger.com/profile/10245348206011582663 Alex Dehgan

      Madagascar has a similar problem – Lithium has been found in some of its most fragile landscapes – under its unique and largely unresearched coral reefs, and wtihin the litoral forests of SE Madagascar.

    • http://www.usma.edu Brett Talkington

      If Africa has taught us anything, it is China will stop at nothing to secure itself the natural resources needed to fuel their exploding economy. Their willingness to trade with war lords, dictators, or any other group that seizes power poses a huge security risk for not only Bolivia but the world. Lithium will arguably replace oil as the most sought after nature resource on the planet. As we (the United States) move away from hydrocarbon producing fossil fuels to a cleaner, electric nation we require vast quantities of lithium to sustain our growth. If we can’t have it, will we take it? The social instability caused by poverty in Bolivia might force us to act in our own behalf. Only time will tell if Bolivia is able to grow and succeed under the stipulations emplaced by their government. Or will the government be too weak to defend itself from the daemons within who see this as an opportunity to take control?

    • Pritam Mondal

      Tell me more about it

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