“Blowing up a mountain isn’t green, no matter how much marketing spin people put on it.” There are many upsides to electric cars. But in some cases, getting the raw materials—like lithium, cobalt and nickel—to power them isn’t all that green. The NYT: The Lithium Gold Rush: Inside the Race to Power Electric Vehicles. The “environmental toll has often been overlooked in part because there is a race underway among the United States, China, Europe and other major powers. Echoing past contests and wars over gold and oil, governments are fighting for supremacy over minerals that could help countries achieve economic and technological dominance for decades to come.” (The downside of batteries is one reason why I’ve always preferred the idea of a really long extension cord…)