Beneath California’s Salton Sea, there is so much metal essential to rechargeable batteries that Gov. Gavin Newsom calls the vast lake “the Saudi Arabia of lithium.” An estimated $500 billion worth of lithium here could help power our smartphones, electric cars and electricity grids. … But not everyone is eagerly welcoming the lithium industry. The Salton Sea is already an environmental disaster zone. It’s shrinking, and as it does, it spews plumes of pesticide-laden dust throughout Imperial County, home to 182,000 people. Extracting lithium requires a steady supply of fresh water, and locals worry the process will deplete the region’s scarce water resources. 

Other salt lake news:

• The San Francisco Chronicle: This California lake [Mono Lake] revolutionized American environmental law