Bolivia (EKO) : Bolivia and LITHIUM.

 

Lithium is a soft, light metal that’s essential for the  rechargeable batteries needed to power our electric cars and  computers…and as demand skyrockets, mega-corporations  are racing to profit. Nowhere will be affected more than Bolivia, a developing  country with more untapped lithium than anywhere else.  Local communities are sounding the alarm, terrified  at what this lithium craze will mean for their homes… and have asked for our help. Activists have demanded the government do its due diligence  first before opening the floodgates to massive lithium mines.  But no one is listening. So one local community is taking  matters into their own hands. They want to quickly hire a scientist to study how  existing lithium plants are affecting their water and  ecosystem BEFORE the government gives the green light to  expand. It’s a race against the clock, and the community is  scrambling to find the funds. But if just a few hundred of us chip in €5, we can get  them the funds almost overnight : DONATE €4Donate another amount Since 2020, the price of lithium has increased tenfold.  Demand is expected to continue to skyrocket over the next  decade, so Bolivia is racing to process its massive,  untapped reserves in order to benefit from record- breaking prices. But extracting lithium is a complicated process that requires  massive amounts of water and complex chemical treatment.  And while the local community is supportive of the industry as  a way of providing jobs, they want to be sure it’s not  harming their local water supply. And no one knows  for sure what impact it’s having ! In one plant in a massive salt flat with an estimated 21 million  tons of lithium, officials are not even sure how much  water, electricity, and chemicals are being used – but  are pushing to scale up as fast as possible anyway. Unless the local community steps up to commission the study,  expansion is likely to plow ahead with no understanding of the  likely consequences – and the local population will pay the  price. They’ve urgently asked for our help to expose the  truth behind lithium processing before it’s too late –  can you chip in ?  DONATE €4Donate another amount Thanks for all that you do, Allison and the Ekō team. More information : Rapid growth of Bolivia’s lithium industry creating new  problems for local communities Mongabay 15 April 2024. Bolivia’s dream of a lithium future plays out on high-altitude  salt flats The Guardian 25 January 2023. Bolivia picks Chinese firms for $1 billion lithium project  Chemical & Engineering News 24 January 2023.

Ekō is a worldwide movement of people like you, working together to hold corporations accountable for their actions and forge a new, sustainable path for our global economy.