As world leaders meet for another climate summit in Egypt, the U.S. is pushing to mine more lithium for electric vehicle batteries at home. EVs will help cut pollution from transportation, the nation’s largest source of greenhouse gas emissions that cause global warming. But there’s a tradeoff, as residents have learned near Charlotte, where a big open-pit mine is proposed.
A company called Piedmont Lithium wants to build a mine and processing operation on 1,500 acres in northern Gaston County, about 30 miles west of Charlotte.
Piedmont’s plans call for four open-pit mines 500 feet deep. That means demolishing houses, digging up farm fields and woods, and disrupting streams. Some neighbors have sold their land to the company. But others whose property borders the site aren’t happy.
Read more at NPR.org
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