Energy Conservation

"To every [person] is given the key to the gates of heaven. The same key opens the gates of hell. and so it is with science." Richard Feynman expressed this in his book The Meaning of it All. This, in my opinion, is an analogy that can be applied to our current situation with the Lithium Valley Vision. The world's largest lithium deposit was discovered near the Salton Sea. Superficially, it seems like a great opportunity for Imperial Valley residents with a promise of bringing in employment and much needed resources to a historically disinvested county. Unfortunately, past experiences with similar opportunities like solar energy have given residents the short end of the stick by outsourcing most of the benefits to counties that are much better off. Understandably, Imperial Valley residents are hesitant about this project, however, we all have the chance to raise our voices and express our concerns. We can make sure that those in charge are held accountable for their actions, we can fight to mitigate the damage such a project can do to our environment, we can become stakeholders of this vision and ensure that those who benefit first are those who need it the most. The key to making this happen is to get it in writing, we need to be successful in ensuring Community Benefits Agreements are prioritized. This project will inevitably change our community, it is up to us to make sure this change leaves a long lasting positive outcome. We have an opportunity of a lifetime and it is our responsibility to set the bar high with shifting the vision in favor of uplifting a misrepresented community and to make it replicable around the world.