美国加州锂谷--未来电动汽车之源

Of all the cars, SUVs and trucks in America, less than one percent of them are electric.

在美国所有的汽车、SUV和卡车中，只有不到1%是电动汽车。

That's according to the Reuters News Agency.

这是根据路透社的报道。

But the U.S. government says sales of electric and hybrid cars are growing almost doubling from 308,000 in 2020 to 608,000 in 2021.

但美国政府表示，电动汽车和混合动力汽车的销量几乎翻了一番，从2020年的30.8万辆增长到2021年的60.8万辆。

Like gas powered vehicles, they have their pros and cons.

就像汽油驱动的汽车一样，这些汽车也有优点和缺点。

Electrics are less pollutive to drive than other cars and you can charge them at home without going to the gas station.

电动汽车比其他汽车的污染更少，你可以在家里充电，不用跑去加油站充电。

But charging stations are generally harder to find and it takes a lot longer to charge an EV than it does to gas up an internal combustion engine.

但是充电站一般比较难找，而且给电动车充电的时间比给内燃机加油的时间要长得多。

EVs are quieter and require less maintenance, but they're more expensive to buy and their battery packs are expensive to replace, while it's far less likely you'd replace the engine of a gas powered car.

电动汽车更安静，需要的维护也更少，但它们的购买成本更高，电池包的更换成本也更高，而替换燃油汽车发动机的可能性却很小。

Still, with sales on the rise, one thing electric car makers need is lithium.

不过，随着销量的增长，电动汽车制造商需要的一个原料是锂。

It's the lightest of the metals and a crucial part of the batteries for computers, smartphones and electric cars.

锂是最轻的金属，是电脑、智能手机和电动汽车电池的重要组成部分。

But mining and refining lithium can threaten the natural environment and contribute to pollution.

但开采和提炼锂会危害自然环境，造成污染。

So there's a trade-off there.

所以这里有一个权衡。

Eight thousand feet beneath my feet, there's enough lithium to power America's electric car industry into the foreseeable future.

在我脚下八千英尺的地方，有足够的锂在可预见的未来为美国的电动汽车行业提供动力。

There is a treasure potentially worth billions of dollars.

有一个可能价值数十亿美元的宝藏。

He takes us to a remote part of California near the border with Mexico.

他把我们带到加利福尼亚靠近墨西哥边境的一个偏远地区。

And a billion-dollar project promising to transform this region.

有一个价值10亿美元的项目有望改变这个地区。

Now what some people are calling California's lithium valley is an economic and environmental wasteland but it could be on the cusp of a boom like this area hasn't seen in 60 years.

现在，一些人称加州的锂谷是一片经济和环境的荒地，但该地可能正处于60年来从未有过的繁荣时期。

It's not like any big secret, it's not like people didn't know there was lithium in the groundwater here before, just wasn't worth enough to bother getting it out.

这并不是什么大秘密，人们以前也不是不知道这里的地下水中有锂，只是不值得把它弄出来而已。

But now with lithium prices going through the roof, companies that before were just concentrating on geothermal energy are seeing even more potential in the metal that's in the water.

但现在，随着锂价格一路飙升，之前只是专注于地热能源的公司看到了水中金属的更大潜力。

Geothermal companies like energy source that has operations in the southern tip of the Salton Sea and is modifying its facilities for lithium extraction.

地热公司，如在萨尔顿海南端有业务的能源公司，正在修整其设施提取锂。

Why is there so much lithium in the ground here?

为什么这里的地下会有这么多锂?

So geologically, this is, you know, an interesting place.

从地质学角度来说，这是一个有趣的地方。

Colorado River has cut canyons in the west -- all of that mineral, all of those deposits have made their way here.

科罗拉多河切割了西部的峡谷 -- 所有这些矿物，所有这些矿藏都进入了这里。