The US has enormous deposits of critical minerals like lithium right here at home. So why are we looking at mining the ocean floor and asteroids? This episode was made in partnership with Vox’s Future Perfect team. It was produced by Avishay Artsy, edited by Jolie Myers, fact-checked by Laura Bullard, engineered by Andrea Kristinsdottir and Patrick Boyd, and hosted by Noel King. Listen to Today, Explained ad-free by becoming a Vox Member: vox.com/members. Transcript at vox.com/today-explained-podcast. A lithium recovery demonstration plant at the Salton Sea. Photo by Darco Productions. Help us plan for the future of Today, Explained by filling out a brief survey: voxmedia.com/survey. Thank you! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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We call them critical minerals because they're critical. A handful of elements that we need for modern technologies.
Whoever controls the production and processing of these critical minerals will control the 21st century economy the way that control of petroleum defined the 20th century economy.
China controls 90% of these minerals, and this worries the U.S.
because... The girls are fighting! Why? Why?
So the U.S. needs to find them stat. Some of the places we're looking are uneasy about the attention.
They want to make sure it's not done at the expense of a community that can't afford it.
Some, like the ocean, are as yet unexplored, and some asteroids are on the bleeding edge of what we can even imagine. Coming up on Today Explained, Minecraft. Support for today's show comes from BetterHelp. June is Men's Mental Health Month. And according to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America, six million men in the U.S.
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