Under no projections for global temperature rise can the United States supply the amount of water demanded by lithium mines proposed across the nation, a new study has found. … The researchers, who analyzed public mine proposals and available data, say declining water availability is a problem in rapidly warming and water-starved states like Nevada, the driest in the nation with the country’s two fastest-warming cities. … The study, published at the end of last month in the peer-reviewed journal Communications Earth & Environment, contends that water is the ultimate limiting factor to lithium mining, said Dunn, director of the university’s Center for Engineering Sustainability and Resilience. … Nevada has been at the heart of the boom for the better part of a decade. … Dunn said the study should be a warning to mining companies that still have the chance to explore how to reduce their water use.