Atacama

Atacama exists because lithium exists—and because electric vehicles need batteries. The Salar de Atacama, the world's largest salt flat, contains 7.5 million of Earth's 28.3 million tons of lithium reserves, currently supplying 34% of global production through SQM (65%) and Albemarle (35%). This makes the region essential to the energy transition: lithium-ion batteries power everything from Teslas to grid storage. But the extraction method—pumping brine to surface evaporation ponds—creates an environmental paradox visible from space: green rectangles in the world's driest desert, consuming water that indigenous Lickanantay communities consider sacred. Black flags now fly above Socaire village, marking resistance to mining that community members call a 'disaster.' President Boric's 2023 National Lithium Strategy maintains selective state control through public-private partnerships, with Codelco acquiring 50%+1 of SQM and extending operations to 2060. Yet lithium prices have slumped since 2023 as EV demand slowed and Argentine and Chinese production expanded—Chile is projected to fall to 8% of global production by 2030, down from its current third. The region demonstrates what economists call the 'resource curse' but biologists recognize as specialized dependency: monoculture extraction that devastates local ecosystems while serving distant consumers who never see the cost. By 2026, direct lithium extraction technologies may offer lower water impact, but the fundamental trade-off remains—green energy elsewhere requires sacrifice here.