Vast lithium deposits beneath California’s Salton Sea could power the nation’s clean energy future and bring significant economic growth to the Imperial Valley, including jobs and investment. However, the proposed extraction has raised environmental concerns among local residents, who fear increased air pollution and strain on already scarce water resources in a region facing existing ecological challenges. “Is Lithium Valley really a vision that’s going to be a clean energy hub?” asks James J.A. Blair, associate professor of geography and anthropology. “Or is it kind of a Trojan horse for these other industrial harms?”

This story was originally published by The New York Times on April 6, 2026.