Turning our biggest polluters into our biggest renewers | Lacey Reddix | TEDxSaltLakeCity

Quick Overview

Lacey Reddix argues that the massive amounts of lithium, magnesium, rare earth elements, potassium, and sodium currently extracted and wasted in industrial processes, particularly in Utah, can be recovered from wastewater or geothermal brine to create a cleaner, more sustainable future by supplying critical materials for renewable energy technologies and clean water.

Key Points: Two-thirds of the world's population will experience water shortages by 2025 due to poor management and climate change. The high cost of renewable energy technologies is partly driven by the need for critical minerals like lithium, magnesium, and rare earth elements. Utah's energy sector produces billions of barrels of geothermal wastewater annually, which contains these valuable critical minerals. Recycling these minerals and cleaning the wastewater from geothermal and fossil fuel operations offers a pathway to a cleaner, more sustainable future. Recycling lithium from geothermal brine could generate four times what the industry pays for extraction, equating to about half a trillion dollars. Lacey Reddix grew up in Mississippi, voted the number one worst state to raise a child, highlighting the impact of water issues on quality of life. New extraction technologies can reduce the labor time and cost of recovering these materials from waste streams.

Context: Lacey Reddix, speaking at TEDxSaltLakeCity, addresses the critical paradox of water scarcity existing alongside industrial processes that pollute water and demand rare, expensive materials for clean energy solutions. Having grown up in Mississippi, which she notes was ranked the worst state to raise a child, Reddix brings a personal perspective on the impact of poor resource management on communities, particularly concerning water quality and supply.

Detailed Analysis

Lacey Reddix highlights the paradox where two-thirds of the world faces water shortages by 2025, yet industrial activity, especially in Utah, produces vast amounts of wastewater containing critical minerals needed for renewable energy. She points out that the cost of technologies like electric vehicle batteries and wind turbines is inflated by the high demand and environmental cost of extracting materials like lithium, magnesium, rare earth elements, potassium, and sodium. Reddix emphasizes that Utah's energy sector, including geothermal and fossil fuel operations, generates billions of barrels of wastewater annually, which is currently trapped or disposed of, often contaminating groundwater with arsenic or high salinity. She proposes that by reclaiming these valuable minerals from industrial waste streams and desalinating the water, companies can effectively reverse this trend, creating a circular economy that provides both clean water and affordable materials for green technology. Reddix notes that reclaiming lithium from geothermal brine could generate four times what is currently paid for extraction, amounting to half a trillion dollars, and that new extraction technologies can significantly reduce the cost and time involved, offering a tangible path to a more sustainable future for communities with deep roots in these resource-heavy areas.