It’s a remarkable coincidence: In the waste produced by extracting fossil fuels, there is a huge supply of a key resource in weaning the world economy off of fossil fuels. If extraction technology can become cost-effective, it could be an economic force multiplier for Pennsylvania.

But there are costs. There are always costs.

A new study from the South Park-based National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) and the University of Pittsburgh has calculated that there’s enough lithium in wastewater from Pennsylvania natural gas production to fulfill about 40% of American demand.

Lithium is a soft metallic element essential to current battery technology, and therefore to replacing fossil fuel-burning engines with electric alternatives. It has been one of the few strategic resources not obviously in adequate supply within America’s borders, leaving the country dependent on foreign suppliers, especially in South America, that are increasingly owned by Chinese interests.

Discovering a domestic source of lithium has been a priority. It turned out it may have been under our feet all along.

One of the most troubling aspects of hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking,” has always been the enormous amounts of toxic water used in, and produced by, the process. According to the Pitt-NETL study, over two billion gallons of “produced water” come out of Pennsylvania gas wells each year, almost all of which (about 95%) is reused to smash the next section of shale.

In that water is an enormous variety of dissolved metals and minerals, including lithium.

Further efficiency enhancements are needed before a major lithium production operation can work economically. If it can, we must answer the most difficult question of all: Should Pennsylvania get into a business that requires fossil fuel extraction to function, even though its purpose is to help reduce our reliance on fossil fuels?

The answer is a cautious “yes.” We should employ this technology as a bridge while new sources of lithium are discovered and new battery technologies are developed.

For the foreseeable future, the United States will need natural gas derived from fracking, while we will also need increasing amounts of lithium. Extracting the second from the waste created by the first is the best way to serve both needs.

There is no way to power human civilization without environmental costs. Solar panels become toxic waste. Wind turbine blades become dangerous junk. Lithium production, whether from water or the earth, dangerously pollutes our air and our water.

America can’t transition from fossil fuels without costs. We can minimize the costs that are borne by the natural world, so as many future generations as possible can enjoy it. Right now, we need lithium — the lithium right beneath our feet — to take the next right step.

— Pittsburgh Post-Gazette via TNS