Podcast #36 Olympics, Lithium and Defense Spending

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OLYMPICS:

I have to wonder if Mikaela Schiffrin rues her decision not to

take me up on my advice to skip these olympic games.  I have watched

nearly every race Mikaela has skied since she was 16 yrs old. A tech race (GS

& SL) have 4 components: The top of the first run, the bottom of the first

run, the top of the second run & the bottom of the second run.  Of all

four of those sections, where has Mikaela DOMINATED?  The 4th component. 

She owns the bottom of the second run.  Here, she and her coach (who set

the first SL run) decided she should go full-out, or all-in at the top of both

first runs.  I don’t get it at all.  Her strategy was at odds with

her strategy in all of her 73 WC victories.

LITHIUM, Part 3:

Several weeks ago we looked at Lithium-ion batteries for electric

vehicles.  You might recall that here in the U.S.

There are about 289 million vehicles on the road in the US, with

an average age of 12.1 years.

President Good Joe (always remember folks, Orange Man Bad, vote

for President Good Joe).  President Good Joe wants all American cars to be

EV’s. 

The Tesla Model 3 uses 48 kg’s (105 lbs) of Lithium hydroxide per

car.  

How many lithium mines do we have here in the U.S.?  The lone

U.S. lithium mine produces 3500 metric tonnes of lithium carbonate/yr. 

That’s enough lithium to build 73,000 Tesla Model 3’s/yr.  

“In 2019, Australia and Chile led the world in lithium extraction

at 52.9 and 21.5 percent, respectively. While China ranked third in lithium

extraction at 9.7 percent.”  

How is President Good Joe going to create green jobs when 84% of

all lithium mining occurs in Australia, Chile and China?

Collectively, the world produces 520,000 metric tonnes of

lithium/yr; enough to build 10.8 myn EV’s/yr, yet Pres. But, only 56% of

lithium is used in electric vehicles, 36% is used in cell phones and other

gadgets, with the rest being used in ceramics, glass and lubricating greases,

and to treat psychological dsiorders….which means with current worldwide

lithium production, we can only produce just north of 6 myn new EV’s/yr.

President Good Joe wants to replace our whole fleet of 289 myn

vehicles with EV’s by 2040.  At the current pace of mining, that would

take 48+ years if the U.S. used every available ounce of lithium mined in the

world. 

I constantly tell you folks that democrat leaders and activists

can’t do simple math.  Car makers sell some 17 myn cars/yr here in...