Chris Benner

(he/him)
The edge of the Salton Sea, a heavily polluted lake with large geothermal and lithium resources beneath it. Manuel Pastor

Big lithium plans for Imperial Valley, one of California’s poorest regions, raise a bigger question: Who should benefit?

The promised ‘white gold rush’ would extract lithium alongside geothermal power production. The mineral is used in EV batteries, but even this less-polluting mining raises local health concerns.

Contact Chris for

  • Media request
  • Speaking request
  • Consulting / Advising
  • Research collaboration