Very true. Our ancestors fought wars over salt.
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Nah, Chinese messed up spending so much to corner the lithium market, because we have now figured out how to cheaply extract it from seawater.
The researchers estimate that the cell would need only $5 of electricity to extract 1 kilogram of lithium from seawater, and the value of hydrogen and chlorine produced by the cell would more than offset the cost. Further, residual seawater could be used in desalination plants to provide freshwater.
Win, win, win Oops
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Rare earth magnets are going to be a bigger concern as they replace older electrical generating tech like alternators.
And they’ll need semiconductors to make it all communicate.
Wouldn’t surprise if the same method could be used for other rare earths with some tweaks and of course silicon is widely available.
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Those metals are waaaay bigger than electrolytes, and most other elements as well. That one’s gonna be a blood spiller in poor lands.
Name one, they probably already figured out how to do it. We can engineer at nanoscale now.
I’m not arguing that it can’t be done. Blood will spill over these resources regardless. Always has, always will.
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I don’t see any reason for it to do so if they can easily be extracted from the sea.
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I don’t see anyone doing it yet.
I also still haven’t seen the XM-25 fielded yet. I was promised by the news and military commanders alike that every Infantry squad would have at least one by the time I had been in Afghanistan for three months.
Never got my XM-25. 
And you probably won’t see a lot of it until we have a lot of desalination plants which we will need going forward. My guess it’s not profitable on its own but is in conjunction with those plants.
I probably won’t see a lot of it before a lot of people are exploited and/or killed over it.
Small children continue to mine cobalt in the meantime.
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Some suppliers and businesses are now moving to certify they don’t get it from those sources, it should be mandatory, like we don’t allow importing ivory.
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not defend, but aid yes, its the law.
Ah. Yes, I could have been more clear wit that.
But did you make the same declaration to your brethren about it, the way you did here?
Seems you scrolled on by and let it continue. Try the same for this one. It didn’t hurt before, it won’t this time either.
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Remember Putin took Crimea because he knew what was basically this same admin would do nothing…
Biden has no brain…
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That’s not happening anytime soon. Nestle and others have positioned themselves for years now to ending child labour in their supply lines. Yet child slaves are still used in the farming of chocolate.
I actually did, but you know how it was.
Not true…unless you think we should have gone to war?
The Obama admin would not even arm Ukraine. Remember the dems were all chanting the ukraine was full of Nazis…
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