(USNewsMag.com) – The Wyoming Republican Senator, John Barrasso, is asking Jennifer Granholm, Secretary of the Department of Energy (DOE), about a new report on lithium mining limits.
The Climate Communities Project and the University of California, Davis produced “Achieving Zero Emissions with More Mobility and Less Mining” in January 2023. These two organizations have links to her department, and the research found that Americans should migrate to cities and avoid owning vehicles to lower the lithium demand for electric cars.
Barrasso wrote to Granholm on March 1 that the UC Davis’ Energy Efficiency Institute website identifies the DOE as a collaborator, and one staff person from UC Davis and two students associated with drafting the paper are Energy Efficiency Institute members. According to the letter, the website of the Climate Communities Project lists Shalanda Baker as one of its members, even though she is the DOE’s Office of Economic Impact and Diversity director.
He wants Granholm investigated for her ties to an electric bus, battery, and charger firm. He also urged the inspector general of the DOE to investigate possible conflicts at Proterra when Granholm was a board member.Barrasso, who is from the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources and is a ranking member, raises various issues regarding DOE’s role in such research. Instead of “constraining the choices of individual consumers,” the DOE should promote American energy and industry.
The report recommends electrifying transportation for decarbonization. If we decrease vehicle dependence, develop public transit, and lower the lithium needs for electric transportation, this transition will be faster and fairer.
He asked Granholm whether Biden’s administration endorses reducing the total number of automobiles in our nation and increasing urban populations by lowering rural populations; if it endorses lithium mining in the U.S.; if it supports lowering mineral output by eradicating the demand for cars; and if Baker was engaged with the Climate and Community Project and the report.
Barrasso said that the government telling individuals where they should live or limiting their movement is absurd. He concluded the letter by asking for meaningful responses by March 17 to keep taxpayers informed.
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