Lithium and Flamenco de James

Flamenco de James (Phoenicopterus jamesi) or James's Flamingos dancing in Laguna Colorada. The lake is part of Eduardo Avaroa National Reserve in Bolivia. While the reserve is a protected area and internationally recognised Ramsar wetland there is trouble looming nearby. A according to some estimates the Bolivian Andes harbour 70 per cent of the planet's lithium as brine under the great salt lakes of the altiplano. When the world shifts to electric cars and battery based decentralized power grids this is going to take on increasing importance and become too hard to ignore.

Most of the lithium salt brine is nearby under the great Salar de Uyuni, and there is mounting pressure to step up mass exploitation of the resource. A single battery for Tesla's Model S requires as many as 63 kilograms of lithium carbonate , which is enough to power approximately 10,000 cell phone batteries (see article here). Let's hope we can find the right mix between protecting local ecosystems, providing jobs for Bolivians, and fuleing the global renewable energy revolution. It’s a particularly tricky balancing act for one of the most impoverished nations in South America.

I took this shot while 4WD touring around the Altiplano. Laguna Colorada sits high in the Andes at and elevation of 4,278 m (14,035 ft).

If you would like to learn a little bit more about my background in photography you can read the interview @photofeed did with me here

Robert Downie
Love Life, Love Photography

_{All images in this post were taken by and remain the Copyright of Robert Downie - http://www.robertdowniephotography.com}