Charging Forward: Lithium Valley, Electric Vehicles and a Just Future

California’s Salton Sea region is home to some of the worst environmental health conditions in the country. Recently, however, it has also become ground zero in the new “lithium gold rush”??"the race to power the rapidly expanding electric vehicle and renewable energy storage market. The immense quantities of lithium lurking beneath the surface have led to predictions that the region could provide a third of global demand. But who will benefit from the development of this precious resource?

Join us as Chris Benner and Manuel Pastor, authors of the new book Charging Forward, show that the questions raised by Lithium Valley lie at the heart of the “green transition.” They weave together movement politics, federal policy, and autoworker struggles, stressing that getting the lithium out from under the earth is just a first step: the real question is whether the region and the nation will get out from under what they say has been the environmental degradation, labor exploitation, and racial injustice that have been as much a part of the landscape as the Salton Sea itself.

What happens in Lithium Valley, the authors argue, will not stay there. This tiny patch of California is a microcosm of the broad climate challenges we face; Benner and Pastor argue that understanding Lithium Valley today is the key to grasping the future of our economy and our planet.

Speakers: Chris Benner, UC Santa Cruz; Manuel Pastor, University of Southern California; Andrew Dudley, Earth Live, Moderator