The global shift to electric automobiles and renewable energy is being sold as a "green" transformation, but below the surface area of the world's most vital lithium mines, a catastrophic ecological disaster is unfolding. In this documentary, we expose the financialized location of the Lithium Triangle, where 63 billion liters of brine are pumped every year, causing the ground to decrease by 2 centimeters every year and leaving native neighborhoods without water. Is your EV battery worth the sacrifice of an entire community?
TL; DR: The world's $80 trillion bet on electrification depends on "mining" water in the high deserts of Chile, Argentina, and Bolivia. While companies claim lithium brine isn't "water," its extraction produces a huge drawdown cone that pulls freshwater away from local villages. We reveal the "Shadow Contracts" and NDAs keeping this water crisis concealed from the public and describe why the "Direct Lithium Extraction" (DLE) fix might in fact make things worse.
IN THIS VIDEO: 00:00 - The $80 Trillion Cold Open 05:12 - Act 1: The Triangle That Powers the World 12:45 - Act 2: The Evaporation Gambit-- Killing Water to Print Lithium 21:30 - Act 3: The Water Journal-- Who Owns an Aquifer? 30:15 - Act 4: The $80 Trillion Number-- Where It Comes From 38:50 - Act 5: The Pivot They Do Not Want-- Hard Rock vs. Brine vs. DLE 47:20 - Act 6: The Andean Water Clock-- Hydrology on a Knife Edge 56:10 - Act 7: The Supply Chain Labyrinth-- From Salt Water to Battery Gatekeepers 01:05:45 - Act 8: The Political Mirage-- Green Laws, Brown Outcomes 01:14:30 - Act 9: The Chemistry Escape Hatch-- Do We Even Required This Much Lithium? 01:23:15 - Act 10: The Shadow Agreements-- Offtake Truths and Quiet Clauses 01:32:00 - Act 11: The Fragility Test-- One Dry Spell, Then What? 01:40:45 - Act 12: The Inversion-- Safeguard Water, Then Source Lithium 01:49:30 - Act 13: The New Chokepoints-- Winners and Losers 01:58:00 - Conclusion: The Meaning CTA
SIGN UP WITH THE DISCUSSION: Do you think the environmental expense of lithium mining is being disregarded? Let us understand your ideas in the remarks below.
