Flamingos Need Water
In a study published in March in the Proceedings of the Royal Societies B journal, researchers found that the decline in at least two flamingo species in areas of the Atacama is linked to areas where water is becoming scarcer due to lithium mining. Flamingos need water to reproduce and eat, and that water is being taken away by lithium mines: lithium in the Atacama is harvested by evaporating saltwater to separate out the mineral. In Salar de Atacama, an estimated 450 gallons (1,700 liters) of saltwater is pumped out of the ground each second for mining.
