While oil and its refined derivatives are still the mainstay of our energy economy, their prices are rising – in fact, high prices for gasoline and diesel are major drivers of the current high rates of inflation, and are partly responsible for the strong push to promote electric vehicles (EVs). But switching to EVs doesn’t end our reliance on energy. It will just make us trade one issue – reliance on oil – for another – reliance on lithium batteries. In this case, as Elon Musk has said, “Lithium