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

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A clarion call for justice and democracy in the quest for clean energy

Californias 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 rushthe 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

A work of stunning analysis and reporting, Charging Forward shows that the questions raised by Lithium Valley lie at the heart of the green transition. Threading movement politics, federal policy, and autoworker struggles, noted experts Chris Benner and Manuel Pastor stress 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 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; understanding Lithium Valley today is the key to grasping the future of our economy and our planet.

Author Bio

Chris Benner is the director of the Institute for Social Transformation and the Everett Program for Technology and Social Change at UC Santa Cruz, where he is also the Dorothy E. Everett Chair in Global Information and Social Entrepreneurship, and a professor of environmental studies and sociology. He has co-authored five books with Manuel Pastor, including Equity, Growth and Community: What the Nation Can Learn From Americas Metro Areas, andSolidarity Economics: Why Mutuality and Movements Matter. He lives in Santa Cruz, California.

Manuel Pastor is the director of the Equity Research Institute at the University of Southern California where he is also a Distinguished Professor of Sociology and American Studies and Ethnicity and the inaugural holder of the Turpanjian Chair in Civil Society and Social Change. He has co-authored five books with Chris Benner, including Equity, Growth and Community: What the Nation Can Learn From Americas Metro Areas, andSolidarity Economics: Why Mutuality and Movements Matter. Pastor is also the author of State of Resistance: What Californias Dizzying Descent and Remarkable Resurgence Mean for Americas Future (The New Press). He lives in Los Angeles.