S1: It's time for Midday Edition on KPBS. I'm Andrew Bracken in for Jade Heinemann. Changes could be coming for electric vehicles in the new year. On the show today , we take a look into the state of EVs and more. It's Midday Edition with conversations that keep you informed , inspired and make you think.
S2: The directly to $7,500 credit will definitely hurt consumers , and it will hurt the automakers in terms of their EV sales.
S1: Plus , an Imperial Valley people are grappling with the potential benefits and risks from a rising lithium industry. That's ahead on Midday Edition. And. If you're thinking of getting an electric vehicle , you may want to act fast. President elect Donald Trump could remove the federal tax credit on new and used electric vehicles. So what could that mean for those still in the market for an EV and California's climate goals ? Here to break all that down for us and give us a big picture overview of the EV industry is Jay Kim. He's an associate professor and chair of industrial and systems engineering at the University of San Diego. And Professor Kim , welcome back to midday. Thank you for having me. So for those who don't know , breakdown the tax credit for us , it was implemented in 2022 under Biden's Inflation Reduction Act. How does it work.
S2: So there was a big change in 2022. Prior to 2022 , there was already a federal program to incentivize the purchase of EVs. Um , after the Inflation Reduction Act was passed , there was a big change. Um , you know , a lot of cars that were not eligible because they've been basically maxed out. For example , Tesla , uh , they now became eligible again , and the subsidy was up to $7,500 as a tax credit. And , you know , there were new rules attached to it. One of the main rule was the assembly of the car has to be North America. There was also an MSRP cap so it can be a super expensive vehicle income cap , um , on the buyer. And at the time also there was a the whole idea about of this act was to incentivize manufacturers to build battery and EV production capacity in the US. So there was a critical mineral percentage requirement , uh , of the battery and also the critical minerals , um , the battery component percentage of value. So there were other constraints in there. So those percentages have been increasing each year. Um , and at some point it's going to be at 80 to 100%. And only if you qualify those only if the vehicle qualifies those conditions are they eligible for the credit. And it's been in effect for the last two years basically.
S1: And I mean , has it been considered successful ? Has it boosted EV sales.
S2: Consumer adoption and consumer basically , you know , sales of EVs have been going up. The growth has been slowing down , but overall adoption has been going up. And I think the biggest gain from all of this is it really has forced the manufacturers to really start looking at different ways to , you know , strategically align their supply chain so that they can actually do final assembly in North America instead of battery production in the US with basically domestic capacity and domestic materials , and also kind of go away from the supply chain that we're relying on before , which is basically it had to go through China. Um , so companies like , for example , Hyundai and Kia , um , they set up shop in North America. They have , you know , new plants in the South where they are now rolling out their EV products. So in those create jobs and , you know , those are going to be very well-paying jobs. And , you know , long term wise , those communities are going to benefit. So , um , I think aside from the actual benefit to individual consumers , it's been an overwhelming success for , you know , as an industry , because whether people , you know , like EVs or not , now we have this , kind of this , um , you know , we're at , I think , at the beginnings of this kind of massive , you know , battery manufacturing wave that's coming ahead. And this is really only possible because a lot of these subsidies have been made through the overall Inflation Reduction Act.
S1:
S2: Um , and it's really not just an EV problem as a whole. Sales of vehicles have been very slow. Um , you know , the pandemic definitely played a role , but pre-pandemic , uh , the US was averaging , you know , above 70 million vehicles a year. Just now , I think we've kind of gone to 15 million. I think at the end of last year , we're about to hit it this year as well. So overall it's been down. And you know , because of inflation and a lot of other , you know , high interest rates etc. , consumers have been very price sensitive um , which is basically been stung by , you know , these rising prices. So they're more price sensitive. So anything that really makes the case that , you know , EVs are somewhat more if they're if there's any , you know , room for higher prices or if they can save money anywhere , they'll do it. So , you know , the fact that EVs are already more expensive and really , the $7,500 is a way to make them become on par with regular gasoline cars. Uh , with the CFC going away , I think it will hurt them in the long run. Overall , though , my personal opinion is in the long run , those manufacturers should not be relying on this credit to , you know , make the case to a consumer that this is worth buying , right. So in a way , you know , maybe five , ten years from now don't we shouldn't really need this credit anyways. I think the bigger risk right now that I see is , um , you know , is if Donald Trump comes in and tries to unravel some of these more transformative investments , such as the subsidies for battery production and EV related manufacturing , that will do much more harm in the long run. But I don't think that's going to happen , because a lot of these production plants and a lot of these , uh , you know , groundbreaking , you know , investments are happening and a lot of red states , um , you know , his constituents and a lot of these , uh , you know , governors and local officials are probably not going to be very happy if some of these things are reversed. Um , and really , another thing I think I worry about is more immediate as well , is what are the impacts of tariffs. So if Donald Trump comes in and you know there are new tariffs or , you know , some of these existing groups that are changed , then what does that mean for a lot of the automobiles that are being built in Mexico. And some of the suppliers from Canada that have been , you know , been part of this , uh , what's formerly called NAFTA , um , what is what kind of impact does that have ? Right. So and that'll definitely have an impact on the supply chain as well.
S1: So obviously a lot of questions there as the Trump administration sees sees what they implement or not when he takes office early next year. When we last spoke earlier this year , you talked about this idea of range anxiety and the role it has had on , you know , people deciding whether or not to go with an EV. Do you get a sense that concern is abating at all ? And if not , you know what needs to happen for that to not be such a concern for folks.
S2: I think range anxiety is still presenting a major issue. It's a major barrier still , and it's it's one issue that persists regardless of , you know , a lot of the efforts made by different organizations , automakers themselves directly. Unless we see ubiquitous charging everywhere , I don't think this problem is going to go away. And then I think I alluded before , some of the fear is somewhat irrational , because it's very rare for someone to drive that many miles where you're going to , you know , run out of charge in a single charge. But us consumers demand a certain level of security. And I guess basically they want on demand service , right ? So as a result , it's very hard to make the case to the US consumer. We're so used to seeing a gasoline station at every corner and where no , we know how much we're going to pay for it. Uh , it's always there , right , for an EV. So you're trying to kind of change that mental model completely , and it's proven to be a lot more difficult than people realize. I think the for a lot of even makers and a lot of , you know , advocates for EVs have kind of assumed that once EVs reach cost parity with internal combustion engine vehicles , you know , all of this will be kind of going away , and there'll be mass adoption and everybody will be jumping to EVs and , you know , everything will be okay. But it turns out this range anxiety and some of these other issues are really becoming a major , major barrier for a lot of people. And I think it's going to continue unless we really have a more of a comprehensive , coordinated effort to roll out , you know , wide network chargers throughout the country. And I think , you know , range anxiety is part of it is also this it's this the lack of visibility on really they have to see it for themselves. Like , oh , there are a lot of chargers out there. They always work. The charging process is seamless and it's easy. Um , I think all of those things play a role. And , you know , right now they're just not working out very well. And as a result , a lot of consumers are very hesitant.
S1: And it seems like the point you're making here is it's not even just just a question of the access , but also the sort of perception of the access to the chargers in a lot of ways , too. Right.
S2: People with single family homes have access to a garage , um , the private garage , and they could set up a level two charger. That was the target segment. And they were very quick to adopt because economically it made sense for them to do it. It's a lot cheaper to charge a car than , you know , fill it with gasoline. Um , but as soon as you go away from that market , you know , for everybody else who may , you know , who may own a home , but they may be living in a condo or a townhouse where they don't have easy access to a level two charger. This is a major issue. And then you have all of the other renters who live in much higher , higher density housing where they may not even have dedicated parking spaces. So they may have , uh , you know , they may have this free park. They may have to do , you know , other they may have to park the vehicle somewhere else. You know , this lack of access is going to be a major issue. And then also , I think depending on where you go , I think the variety of different chargers , you know , even if you try to seem like it's still very confusing for an average consumer , right ? There's the Tesla's charging network and then there's everybody else. If you go to like a Whole Foods , they have a different vendor. If you go to your workplace there's a different vendor. So some of these are going to be very similar. But you know because there are different vendors and they're going to have in inevitably they're going to have different user user experiences across all of these platforms. That's going to cause another issue for a lot of consumers , like , why do I you know , if you go to a gas station , you know what you're going to get , you got you got the pump , you take it out , you pump your car , you fill it with gas and you leave. You know , for EV charging , if you're going to do it in public places. That whole model may take some time for people to get used to , and there's going to be a lot of confusion. And , you know , I think we haven't done a really good job of , I think , trying to make this process easier for consumers , even for existing EV owners. A lot of them , I think , are frustrated with broken chargers out there. Um , courts being too short. Um , you know , just a lot of these issues that I think , you know , we have to really think through and make the user experience better , better for everybody.
S1:
S2: Ultimately you got to do what makes sense for you and your family. So , um , I , I personally don't think , uh , Donald Trump is going to come into office and completely get rid of the 35 credit overnight. I don't think that's going to happen. It might be pare down a little bit. Um , but personally , what I would recommend to any , you know , buyers , potential buyers out there is if you're looking for an EV , so you have access to reliable charging , whether it's at the workplace or at your home. I would personally lease the vehicle and not buy it , because the current rules already right now really make the list of cars available for you for direct purchase. Lease is a different category altogether , so typically a lot of manufacturers are doing like Hyundai and Kia is. Even if the car is not , you know , they don't meet the critical mineral percentage or battery component percentage or the final assembly rule. If they're leased , they're considered complete in a different category. So the 7500 credits still applies and they just get passed through to the consumer , typically through the dealer to the consumer , and then by leasing the car , although you don't build equity in the car so you can't resell later , it may be some of your anxiety about uncertainty , about what's going to happen with EVs in the next two or 3 or 4 years. Um , you know , you might have much better EVs out there in a couple of years with much better range. And also the prices may come down significantly. So if I were in the market for a vehicle right now , I would probably look for lease deals. And then I would also make sure that I have access to a reliable charger. So and this won't be a burdensome task for me to , you know , find charging every single time. I need to basically charge up my car. It'll get better , I think in the next 3 or 4 years it'll get better. As you see , you know , more adoption , there'll be more scale. I think there are more and more entrepreneurs out there. They're figuring out the EV charging business , how it should work out , what the business model need to be. But , you know , if you want to mitigate some of the risk in the short run. I think the lease deal is probably the best.
S1: I've been speaking with Jay Kim , associate professor and chair of industrial and systems engineering at the University of San Diego. Professor Kim , thanks so much for your insight today.
S2: Thank you for having me.
S1: Coming up , we hear about a new book looking into the lithium industry and how it could shape the Imperial Valley.
S3: It's a place where really the clean energy revolution , all of its promise and perils , is really being unfolded onto that desert landscape.
S1: That's ahead on Midday Edition. You're listening to KPBS Midday Edition. I'm Andrew Bracken. Across the Imperial Valley people are preparing for the arrival of the lithium industry , while there are talks of new jobs and clean energy. Concerns remain over whether those promises will become reality and if the community will reap the benefits. Well , a new book , Charging Forward Lithium Valley Electric Vehicles and Adjust Future , explores that and more. Last month , KPBS Midday Edition host Jade Heineman sat down with Manuel Pastore , who co-authored the book. He's the executive director of the Equity Research Institute at the University of Southern California. Here's that conversation.
S4:
S3: You know , it's a place where really , the clean energy revolution , all of its promise and perils , is really being unfolded onto that desert landscape. This is a place with the Salton Sea that's been an environmental disaster zone. It's a place that's been a site of tremendous environmental injustice , with asthma rates 2 to 3 times that of the national average. It's a place of grinding poverty and sometimes labor exploitation , usually the first or second poorest county in the state. It's a place where the Latino supermajority , 85% of the population , has been very close to poverty and very far from power. And yet it's sitting right now in enough lithium to completely redo the American auto fleet and have 100 million batteries left over. So whether or not Imperial Valley , now being rechristened Lithium Valley gets it right is important for the residents of Imperial County , but it's actually also important , emblematic for what a clean energy future will look like in America , whether it will not just be clean , but fair and inclusive.
S4:
S3: In particular. There's a group called Alianza Coachella Valley just to the north of Imperial Valley. And Alianza was trying to think about an inclusive economic development strategy for the Salton Sea region and asked us to work with them on that. And that led us to thinking about Lithium and Imperial Valley , and both rekindling relationships with folks that we knew there for some time , and making new friends and new acquaintances as we try to explore the area. But I think one thing that's important about the book is the book sort of goes from the big picture about what does it mean to move in a clean energy direction , and is it possible for that to also be a sort of Green New Deal that is something that generates jobs , is fair , deals with the legacy of environmental damage at a national level. So we sort of start globally. Then we actually go down and look at the electric vehicle industry , think about the importance of the auto industry at forming the post-war social compact between business and labor , and then the really important strike of last year in the auto industry about who would benefit from the evolution of the EV industry. And then we sort of dig in deep on Imperial Valley and then surface back up to some big lessons for a more just transition in America.
S4:
S3: They're lithium , but it's the key ingredient for batteries , for electric vehicles. And there's three ways of extracting lithium. One is hard rock mining , which is very environmentally damaging. A second way to extract lithium is what's called evaporation ponds. This happens a lot in South America. It's big desert areas where they surface water , and it's a tremendous waste of water. And actually also objected to by indigenous folks for whom water is a sacred element in those areas. The third way of extracting lithium is what's called direct lithium extraction. And that's what's possible in Lithium Valley , Imperial Valley. That's where you surface geothermal reserves , basically hot water , salty brine beneath. In this case in Imperial Valley , 5000 to 8000ft below the surface. You bring it up. They currently do this to run geothermal plants , to use the steam to generate electricity. And you can extract from it lithium as well as other minerals. There's only three places in the world that have large geothermal reserves. Rhine Valley , Cornwall , England , and Imperial Valley. An Imperial valley has the most ideal situation for this method of extraction , which promises to be the cleanest , greenest way of extracting lithium because it's not hard rock mining with the scraping of the mountains , it's not the evaporation ponds with tremendous use of water , it potentially a closed loop system. Now , of course , within the valley itself , there's tremendous concerns by local environmental groups about whether or not it really will be as closed loop as promise about the additional pollution that will take place as a result of truck traffic to the site as a result of other minerals that might be unleashed. But it has the potential to be cleaner and greener , and it has the potential to generate jobs in a place where poverty has been the standard where low quality and low wage work has been the norm.
S4: Well , for many Imperial Valley residents , this idea of an economic boom. It's a story they've heard before.
S3: One of the things we talk about in the book is how it is that Imperial Valley has been a place of schemes , scams and scoundrels. You know , it actually was formed the Salton Sea and the abundant agriculture and Imperial Valley , when entrepreneurs , in the form of something called the California Development Corporation tried to snag water from the Colorado River , built a canal , they did it not so well , and it actually broke and wound up flooding for two years , which is what created the Salton Sea. It was a scheme scam. Scoundrels. When you look at the Salton Sea itself , this was something that was billed as the recreation area for Southern California , but as a result of the fact that only agricultural runoff was replenishing the water , it became what is now the largest toxic lake in the state of California. And has the sea has receded. It kicks up dust , which is one of the reasons why you've got these very high asthma rates peak , and people are rightly wary about new arrivals , promising that this time it will be different , that this time the companies making the investments really do care about the residents. This time this method of extraction really will be clean and green and closed loop. And so you've really got a a tension going on with an Imperial Valley about the difference between moving at the speed of market , the need to do the lithium extraction in a very timely way to be able to capture the battery market because of the lithium is absolutely critical for these batteries in electric vehicles. Uh , but you also need to move at the speed of trust , meaning that you've got communities that have long been used to not getting a fair deal , that are wondering about whether or not the jobs are going to be there , that are insisting on community benefits agreements from the get go.
S4: And as you've already spoken to , Imperial Valley is rich in resources but remains one of the poorest counties in California. The valley also has a long history of racism that has kept many Latino residents in poverty.
S3: I mean , at first it's been dependent on agriculture , which has both incentives for cheap labor brings in a lot of competitive labor from Mexico. Maybe Cali is right next door. Um , and where the working conditions are very difficult in , the wages are low and it's a area where kind of a grip on power has been part of the DNA. You know , in Imperial Valley , which uses about one seventh of the Colorado River's water that's diverted for different purposes for agriculture. About half of that water is actually controlled by 20 extended families. So there's a kind of long history of almost a monopolistic grip on economic and political power. And so you've got a place that's overwhelmingly Latino. And yet the Latino voice in decision making really hasn't been there. It's also a place , while it's either the first or second poorest county in the state of California , depending on the year in question , almost every election. It's got the lowest rate of registered voters who show up to vote. There are vibrant civil society groups there , trying to organize Latinos and others to make sure that their voices are heard. Civic television has a long history , has been a leading environmental justice and immigrant rights group. There's a newer group called Imperial Valley Equity and Justice Coalition that's gotten very much involved in this debate around lithium and the potential benefits. And , of course , unions are extraordinarily interested because of the potential jobs that will be generated. However , one of the things to really know is that there are very few jobs that will be generated in lithium extraction. The potential for real jobs is as you move further up the supply chain from not just extracting the lithium , but actually building the batteries , assembling the cars , eventually recycling the batteries and the materials. All of those have exponentially more jobs. So one of the things I think that Imperial Valley is trying to do is to not just make sure that it becomes a place of extraction and exploitation , but a place of expansion and growth along the supply chain , with other kinds of high quality employment that can provide relief to the residents.
S4: Well , this conversation has been just filled with so much rich information , much like the book.
S3: You know , it's also a big lesson that while we think of going green as going small , going local , in fact , going green to deal with our climate crisis means that we need to go big. We need to have a gigantic shift in our industry toward electric vehicles. We need to have a gigantic shift in the way that we live toward more compact living. So we got to think big. That means big investments and big projects. The second is that in order to do that , uh , while it is the case that it's fossil fuel companies , corporations that helped get us into this climate mess , it's actually also the case that we're going to need big firms who can amass capital and technology to be able to deal with climate challenges. One of the examples we use in the book is that the United Auto Workers , when they were basically born , when the union got recognized by the Big Three , was because they staged sit down strikes , they actually sat down on the plants and occupied them. And that made the companies pay attention. They were building power , but at the same time , what was key was that after sitting down to insist that the companies pay attention to them , they actually sat down to negotiate as well. And that's a little bit of the set of skills that need to emerge in this current period is basically both power building to make sure that the forces of equity get put centre stage in conversation with these companies , but actually also how then do agreements get made so that you can actually move forward ? But the other thing I would say about the book , and I hope in your reading of it , you're able to notice , is that we say , well , come for the analysis , stay for the story. We tried to write the book not as a series of analytical propositions about the industry , not has just lessons about just transition , but understanding that the wealth of Imperial Valley is not the minerals , but its people , its history and its stories , its stories of scams , schemes and scoundrels , its stories of high hopes and aspirations , its stories of young people who in the past had as their big admonition , leave , if you can , that if you could get a college degree , you should never relocate back into Imperial Valley. That has changed , and the young people are coming back more with a slogan of akin McKerrow. Here I stay to try to make a future for myself and my family.
S1: That was Manuel Pastore , executive director of the Equity Research Institute at the University of Southern California and co-author of the book Charging Forward. Still to come. We talk more about some of the environmental and economic concerns for the lithium industry coming to the Imperial Valley.
S5: We want to make sure that the mistakes of the fossil fuel era and the conventional mining industry aren't repeated in Imperial Valley.
S1: KPBS Midday Edition returns after the break. You're listening to KPBS Midday Edition. I'm Andrew Bracken , filling in for Jade Hindman. As you just heard , there's a lot of excitement over the prospect of Lithium Valley and what that industry could bring to the Imperial Valley. But environmental groups are cautious about the impact the industry could have on local communities. So we reached out to activists helping to lead environmental justice efforts in the region. I'm here with Fernanda Vega. She's a community organizer with the Imperial Valley Equity and Justice Coalition. Fernando , welcome. Hi.
S6: It's great to be here.
S1: Great to have you. Also with us is Jared Newmark. He's with the environmental justice organization earthworks and looks at how communities across California are impacted by mining. Jared , welcome to midday.
S5: Thanks for having me. Jared.
S1: Jared. I'm going to start with you. You're part of this new coalition that is calling on lithium companies to make sure Imperial Valley residents benefit from these projects. Tell me more about it. Who's involved and what are you advocating for ? Absolutely.
S5: So we're proud to be part of a new coalition called Valley United for Community Benefits. And this is in solidarity with local environmental justice organizations Imperial Valley Equity and Justice Coalition commentators , as well as allies in the labor movement , United Auto Workers and Jobs to Move America. And we formed this coalition to make sure that the lithium companies in Imperial County follow through on their promises. Right now , they're saying that they're pursuing a type of lithium extraction that will be less environmentally harmful than other types of lithium extraction around the world. And we really believe that this is an opportunity to get lithium extraction right , so that benefits flow to the communities on the front lines of extraction and that harms are reduced. So we want to make sure that the mistakes of the fossil fuel era and the conventional mining industry aren't repeated in Imperial Valley , and this is a chance to make sure that lithium extraction is done right , with proper safeguards for the communities and the environment.
S1:
S5: So right now we're seeing a boom in demand for lithium for the transition away from fossil fuels and towards renewable energy. But unfortunately lithium has really well documented environmental and social impacts around the world. And so what we've seen with the typical hard rock or large evaporation ponds around the world are they leave huge scars on the landscape. They often negatively impact the sacred sites and cultural resources of tribal communities. They end up polluting air , land and water , sometimes in perpetuity. So those are some of the mistakes that we'd like to avoid when we're talking about new lithium extraction occurring in Imperial Valley. And one of the ways that we can make sure that happens is to fully analyze and mitigate any of the potential environmental impacts from direct lithium extraction here in Imperial Valley. We're talking about lithium that will be removed from geothermal brine using physical and chemical processes before it's injected deep underground. But the problem is this has never been used at commercial scales in the valley before. So there's a lot of uncertainties. So we're wanting to make sure that the impacts are fully analyzed , avoided and mitigated before these projects get off the ground so that these can be sure that they're not going to be left with a toxic mess to clean up later. So one example is really making sure that we're looking at the complete picture of freshwater consumption. These lithium projects will use precious Colorado River water that we know is already under stress from drought and climate change and the ongoing negotiations. And we want to make sure that any water going to lithium projects does not end up reducing the inflow into the Salton Sea and worsening the exposure of the lake bed and the ongoing air quality crisis in the region. So this could look like implementing water conservation and mitigation measures as part of any project approvals in the area.
S1: Fernanda , I want to bring you in here. You're also part of this new coalition , and you mainly organize on the north end of Imperial County.
S6: Um , a lot of these companies are not saying how much water they're going to use. And , and the flow into the Salton Sea does bring a big bring a red flag for community members , because if the playa does get exposed and more people , um , are bound to get respiratory issues in the area , 1 in 5 people out there have asthma issues. And so that is one of the biggest concerns that the water starts receding , the shoreline starts receding and more of the player gets exposed. But not only that , even like air quality issues with infrastructures and transportation increasing in these areas , the air quality might be impacted as well. The North End already faces bad air quality days , and and this is one of the ways that it could just be worse. Um , and not a lot of people , um , well , when we are out in community and we start talking about these things that that might , might affect them , the hazardous waste is one of them that rings alarms for them as well. Um , they're not sure what is being categorized as hazardous waste , how it's going to be transported. And honestly , they're also worried about those communities where the hazardous waste will be transported to. Um , they also don't see it fair that like they're moving it from our area to another area. But those are some of the of the biggest concerns of the environmental concerns that they're worried about.
S1: And there have been past efforts to bring renewable energy to the region like solar. That didn't always bring the promised jobs and economic prosperity that may have come to the region.
S6: They want to make sure that they don't want any more empty promises. So they want to make sure that the jobs that are getting offered , the educational opportunities that are out there to be able to get these jobs , they want to be able to participate in all of this. Um , they want to make sure that the jobs are for local folks. They want to make sure that or we want to make sure that they're also , um , high family , sustainable jobs. They're they're cautious about how they're they're bringing this project forward because , once again , they've heard it before. They've heard promises. And when the solar project came and offered some jobs , they noticed that it was just a few jobs for some people. And and it wasn't like a long term job position for them either. So they , They're. They're keeping their eyes open to make sure that these promises aren't false and that they are good long term jobs that will sustain their families.
S1: And , Fernanda , can you talk a little bit about , you know , the community efforts you're involved with , but specifically around education ? Yeah.
S6: So one of the main things that we do is we make sure that all of the documents , all of the documents that the county releases are translated in a language that is accessible to all the folks in Imperial County. We do have a high rate of folks who only speak Spanish , or who only read Spanish , and a lot of the documents that the that the county releases are just in English. So that is a big obstacle and a big barrier for folks to engage , because one , they're not even understanding what is out there. So we first translate everything , and then we partner up with folks like Jared from earthworks that help us digest all of these scientific documents that we might not be super familiar with. And we try to simplify it so that community members are able to further engage past the language barrier. Um , that they they engage in a way where they can also input. We facilitate public comment , um , submissions as well with um , depending on the document that gets released , we create worksheets that are accessible to folks. We have them out when we're out tabling and in , um , events or when we actually have a community meeting. We have these handouts where they're , they're able to fill out the form , fill out a public comment , and we then transcribe it so that the county has no excuse for saying that they didn't understand their writing. Um , and we also go out there past the past the worksheets. We also go out to community members. We will we will go to where they're at. We have told them that even if it's just one to 2 to 3 people in a table , we're willing to give the educational materials that we bring. So we we go around , um , the Imperial County , and we have been focusing around the North end. But we go out there and we make sure that all of these resources are at the reach at the palm of their hands. We have made QR codes. We have made folders of extensive information for them to have. Um , and the point is just to make sure that they know what's happening at Ivey Equity , we believe that every resident deserves the right to know what's happening , to know what's happening in their backyards. And this is just one step to letting them know what's happening.
S1: And Jared , there's been a lot of coverage , a lot of excitement over this , you know , so-called potential lithium boom because of the role it could play in the country's transition to clean energy.
S5: A truly just energy transition means one where we're not creating new sacrifice zones for lithium and other transition minerals Mining. And there's some really important ways to do that at the policy level , including prioritizing circular economy solutions that make sure that our lithium ion batteries and other renewable energy technologies that these minerals are going into are recycled , refurbished and reused at the end of their life and don't end up in a landfill. If we scale up that circular economy for transition minerals , we could really reduce the need for new mining , new minerals coming out of holes in the ground with all of the impacts that come along with it. So that's that's the first way to work on a just energy transition. But of course , we know that there's going to be some places where mining does occur. And so in places like Imperial Valley where the communities are really seeing the the need and the potential for safe , high paying and sustainable jobs. And the type of lithium extraction technology has the potential to be less environmentally harmful. That's where we see the importance of the kind of work that Fernanda and Ivy equity are doing , of making sure the community is informed and engaged in the permitting process , making sure that the entire community knows the potential impacts and how to reduce them , and making sure that the strongest environmental safeguards and mitigation measures are in place before any projects are permitted.
S1:
S6: A lot of these folks have been working in the same field for so long , and , um , they do wish to move up the scale. They do wish to be able to sustain their families more than they are able. Now , a lot of folks in our area can't truly engage because they are worried about surviving , and surviving means having to come home , make dinner , go to sleep so that you can wake up the next day to work maybe more than 12 hours to be able to sustain your family. And so it's important then , and these folks have said that they want to make sure that they're there for their families and not just work , work , work. So , uh , the jobs is a big thing. Um , folks are really are really looking forward to to these jobs that are getting offered. And , um , not only that , they really wish that the Salton Sea can be restored in any way , shape or form. I mean , um , the folks out here really love the Salton Sea and all. We keep seeing our resources being taken away from from it. And so , um , it does hold its beauty , um , whether whatever way may have gotten there , but people really want to see it be restored and respected and , and maybe some in some time in the future a place where they are recreational activities can actually happen in the area without affecting their health.
S1: I've been speaking with Fernanda Veiga , community organizer with the Imperial Valley Equity and Justice Coalition. Fernanda , thanks.
S6: Thank you for having me.
S1: Also joining us has been Jared Newmark. He's the California mining organizer with earthworks. Jared. Thanks.
S5: Thank you.
S1: That's our show for today. I'm Andrew Bracken. KPBS Midday Edition airs on KPBS FM weekdays at noon , again at 8 p.m.. You can find past episodes at KPBS. Org or wherever you listen. Thanks again for listening. Have a great day.
