To achieve fossil fuel independence, few technologies are more important
than batteries. Used for powering zero-emission vehicles, storing
electricity from solar panels and wind turbines, and revitalizing the
electric grid, batteries are essential to scaling up the renewable
energy resources that help address global warming. But given the unique
environmental impact of batteries--including mining, disposal, and
more--does a clean energy transition risk trading one set of problems
for another?
In Charged, James Morton Turner unpacks the history of batteries to
explore why solving "the battery problem" is critical to a clean energy
transition. As climate activists focus on what a clean energy future
will create--sustainability, resiliency, and climate justice--the
history of batteries offers a sharp reminder of what building that
future will consume: lithium, graphite, nickel, and other specialized
materials. With new insight on the consequences for people and
communities on the frontlines, Turner draws on the past for crucial
lessons that will help us build a just and clean energy future, from the
ground up.