Lithium-ion batteries are found everywhere, from watches to power tools to e-bikes and electric cars. But perhaps you've heard a thing or two about these batteries that make you unsure. This week, Casey and Sara discuss some of the environmental, social justice, and safety issues associated with lithium-ion batteries and how we can look to improve moving forward.
Resources for this episode:
How Lithium-ion Batteries Work | Department of Energy
A Comprehensive Comparative Analysis: Lithium vs Alkaline Batteries - The Earth Awards
Safety Risks to Emergency Responders from Lithium-Ion Battery Fires in Electric Vehicles
EVs are being set on fire in Ottawa for NRC battery abuse research
Electric Car Fires: What You Should Know | Edmunds
Deadly fires from phone, scooter batteries leave lawmakers playing catch-up on safety
Environmental impact of direct lithium extraction from brines | Nature Reviews Earth & Environment
The Environmental Impacts of Lithium and Cobalt Mining
How is lithium mined? | MIT Climate Portal
Maine Has the Lithium America Needs, But Won't Allow Mining | TIME
Society Watch: Across the globe, indigenous rights are being trampled in lithium goldrush | Reuters
What Is Thermal Runaway? | UL Research Institutes
Their batteries hurt the environment, but EVs still beat gas cars. Here's why
This electric car battery takes less than 5 minutes to charge | CNN Business
Tribes face an uphill battle to defend their sacred land against lithium mining
A fire at a lithium battery factory in South Korea kills 22 mostly Chinese migrant workers