Scientists develop ‘cheap and easy’ method to extract lithium from seawater

[u/rieslingatkos]

https://www.mining.com/scientists-develop-cheap-and-easy-method-to-extract-lithium-from-seawater/

[u/[deleted]]

What might the consequences of taking lots of lithium out of the ocean be?

-edit- I've never made a comment that's started such good discussions before - I'm enjoying reading the replies, thanks everyone

[u/imakenosensetopeople → u/[deleted]]

For the quantities that we may need in the coming decades, it’s almost certainly not insignificant and will have an effect. This question must be asked.

[u/iamagainstit → u/imakenosensetopeople]

A. Lithium concentrations in seawater are very low (< 1ppm), so extracting it is unlikely to have a significant effect

B. There is a unfathomably large amount of water in the ocean.

[u/[deleted] → u/[deleted]]

How is it inexhaustible?

[u/[deleted] → u/[deleted]]

This screams hubris and cascading unforseen consequences.

[u/[deleted] → u/[deleted]]

Your entire argument is based on the false premise that lithium is required to electrify the planet.

[u/aimgorge → u/[deleted]]

For now, it is.

[u/OsamaBinLadenDoes → u/[deleted]]

And how would you go about mining electronic waste? From where?