With our current energy transition comes new challenges.
Some of the epicenters of these challenges are in the communities where lithium mining takes place. Lithium is essential to many projects, including electric vehicles. One of those communities is Gaston County, where Piedmont Lithium has sought to begin a mining project that impacts the local population.
Residents worry about the impact on their land, their livelihood, and they say they don’t feel informed about what is going on in their own backyard.
Piedmont Lithium has disagreed with some of those claims.
The podcast “Mining for the Climate” shines a light on this project in Gaston County. Created by a group at Princeton University, the podcast tells the story of this mine from an environmental justice point of view using the voices of residents, mining officials and others.
We also compare this project to others across the Carolinas and elsewhere to explore the challenges our energy transition is presenting — and what solutions there might be.
GUESTS:
David Boraks, independent reporter and producer and former WFAE climate reporter
Zachary Turner, WFAE climate reporter
Nate Otjen, post-doctoral researcher in the High Meadows Environmental Institute at Princeton University and co-creator of the “Mining for the Climate” podcast
