Decades of hyperconsumption and technological determinism have failed to deliver on the promise of prosperity. Government after government, federal bills aimed to facilitate the just energy transition all but accelerated climate change. Green mobility, green energy, and green lives have all been predicated on more consumption, more extraction, and more manufacturing to always deliver the latest technology at whatever cost.
Today, the promised green energy transition is in full swing. The world is hyperconnected and media propaganda tells us everything is fine. But everything may not be fine after all. Dense coastal regions submerged under the rising seas, vast arid territories devoid of life, and now highly visible migrations signal a shift. The bread basket of the US Pacific Southwest has been disbanded, water depleted, wildlife has gone extinct, and extreme weather ravages the territory.
Now climate migrants in search of work, thousands of former agricultural workers make their way North through the mineral-rich Nevada landscape. Offering cheap labor in abundance, Silver Peak witnesses a mining boom unlike anything seen before. This time is different, they say. This time extraction is to save the planet from its own greed. Thus, Nevada’s Lithium flows, people come and go, and the boom town is always in the making. Permanence and accumulation are only possible for a few. For the rest, life is always on the move, transient and uncertain, like climate. Green, elusive.
Predicted EV Sales within the US
30,000,000
25,000,000
20,000,000
15,000,000
10,000,000
5,000,000
Source: EVAdoption
EV Sales Cumulative EVs in Operation
A growth in EV consumption is due to the current Infrastructure Bill put forth by the Biden Administration. This sets the ground work for EV infrastructure capable of handling this shift, but what does this do for consumption?
EV Sales within the US are expected to increase exponentially in the coming years and decades. As the government slowly phases out the sale of gas-powered vehicles, EVs are pitched as the way forward.
Total Budget Breakdown
The Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill (Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act) was passed in November 2021.
Source: Brookings
This bill aims to transform American infrastructure in order to maintain American competitiveness on the world stage. This all operates under the basis of continuous expansion.
$65b 500k $21b
Allocated to green energy transmission and grid enhancements
EV Chargers expected to be built nationwide
Allocated to Superfund and Brownfield site clean-up
Broadband$65b Power and Grid$65b Water$55b
Resiliency$47.2b Legacy Pollution$21b
Total Budget$1.2 trillion
A sizeable portion of investment is aimed at enhacing existing infrastructure. Whilst some aim to help the country transition into a green future, other forms of investment, namely transportation, aim to reinforce the status quo.
Total Budget Breakdown
The large variety of infrastructure expected to be constructed or updated can only be described as:
EV Charging Stations
Transportation Expenditure
The United States currently lacks behind global rivals with regards to transportation.
Source: The White House
In a push to achieve endless economic growth, transportation forms a crucial part of the Infrastructure Bill This aims to be rolled out through a combination of novel strategies along with repairing dilapidated archaic forms of transportation.
$110b $50b $90b
Allocated for road repairs and highway construction
Allocated for projects related to climate resiliency
for transit and rail improvements
Budget$1.2 trillion
The bill seeks to modernise America’s infrastructure through rigorous spending on repairing, reinforcing and widening current highways. Transit is also going to be heavily invested in, but again it appears that cars are given the priority.
The Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill’s investment in transportation can only be described as:
EV Charging Stations Ports Hyperconsumption
$200b
The Green Energy Transition
The current model for infrastructure revitalisation in the US relies heavily on reinforcing a highly unsustainable status quo. This all serves as a missed opportunity to rethink transit and mobility.
Beyond infrastrcture however, this bill serves as a reinforcement of America’s unwavering culture of consumption, predicated on a dangerous notion of the possibility of endless growth.
Silver Peak, Nevada
Clayton Valley currently contains the only functioning lithium extraction site in the United States, and plays a key role in enabling the US to partake in the rushed green energy transition
Significant amounts of change are expected to take place in the next decade, due to rising mining claims nearby, many of which will entail sizeable alterations and destruction of the surrounding landscape
There is no reason why Silver Peak cannot stand to transform as well. As the amount of mined land multiplies 4-fold, so too can the population, enabling workers to relocate and live within close proximity to the mine. This forms a key component to Migra-Topia.
$1.03 billion years
Mining Life left in Clayton Valley’s Lithium
Reserves
Albermale is the only company currently in operation, extracting lithium from the only functioning lithium brine in the US
Newer lithium extraction is expected to take place in the near future, further transforming the landscape
This new lithium extraction is expected to be through open-pit mining
Clayton Valley Mining Claims8+ mining companies currently have claims in Clayton Valley -Albermale -Ameriwest -MQR -Pure Energy -Noram -Cypress -Other -Spearmint
“PROMISING A BETTER FUTURE, TODAY”
PROMiSE
Clean-Lithium Incorporated promises a career that broadens your horizons.
Using Silver Peak and Clayton Valley as a testing ground, mining for Clean-Li involves more than just pure and hard labour, it encompasses a way of life centered on exploration and discovery.
The riches that lie underneath Clayton Valley’s sand carry limitless wealth that you too can tap into.
IMPACT
Clean-Lithium Incorporated enables you to tap into the global lithium supply chain, ensuring your impact is felt worldwide
By operating state-of-the-art EV trucks, equipped with every neccesity you could dream of, a conventionally arduous job becomes nothing short of a breeze.
The sheer quantity of lithium being mined locally ensures a constant stream of work, giving you and your family a sense of security for decades on end.
CONNECTiON
Clean-Lithium Incorporated keeps you connected to the things that matter most in life.
Provisions for recreational spaces ensure you get to spend time with the people that truly matter in your life.
Because your mental and physical health matters to us, Clean-Li also does a meticulous job at documenting every facet of your life at our complex. We make it our goal to make sure you and your family live your best life.
Silver Peak
Albermale Lithium Brine
Clayton Valley
Climate migrants head towards Clayton Valley along pre-existing Highways and state routes. Route 265 and US-95 become key migration corridors.
95
Montezuma US-95 Highway
Silver Peak, Nevada
Stage 2:
Establishing Infrastructure
Silver Peak
Albermale Lithium Brine
Clayton Valley
Three key sites are established along Clayton Valley’s primary artery, each with the purpose of habitation, refinement, and logistical handling. A rail line is expected to be constructed between each of these points.
Montezuma US-95 Highway
Circulation PathsMovement of people and material throughout site
Silver Peak
Clayton Valley
Albermale Lithium Brine
flow in between each of these three sites. Ultimately, labor, extraction, production, and consumption are what allow Clayton Valley’s entire mining operation to come to life.
US-95 Highway
Logistics Centre
Rail LinkRefined lithium will be transported here for onward exportation.
Imported goods will also be transported into Clayton Valley & Silver Peak via this point.
Logistical CentreThese modules focus on the transport, storage, and handling of incoming and outgoing material.
This forms the lifeline for Clayton Valley’s entire mining operation.
Logistics Centre
Highway IntegrationImport/Export containers are to be lifted directly off of trucks and transported via a interconnected system. Modular TypeLogistical handling segments can be added, removed, or adjusted according to incoming and outgoing supplies
US-95 HighwayThis allows for a seamless point of connection with other Metropolises in the US, allowing for limitless export of lithium.
Refinery Plant
Elevated TypologyThis minimises the refinery plant’s physical footprint.
Refinery Plant-
Large structures aim to host the refinery plants. These plants take raw mined lithium and refine it for eventual use in consumer goods.
Infrastructure ConduitsThis system aims to supply Clayton Valley’s mines with water and electricity
Refinery Plant
Wind FarmWind turbines here utilise the valley’s high wind conditions to supply the refinery with energy Underground WellsThese will help supply Clayton Valley’s workers and Silver Peak’s residents with potable water throughout the entire mining operation’s lifecycle.
Rail LinkRaw lithium will be transported into the refinery for further processing. Refined lithium will be transfered out for exportation.
Habitation Complex
Caravan StorageIncoming migrants, expected to arrive by car or caravan, will be able to store their vehicles inside this lot outside of the complex.
Recreational ParkAn outdoor park provides residents with green space, shielded from the surrounding area’s harsh and dusty landscape.
Food Storage RingThis underground ring stores at least a year’s worth of food capable of supplying the habitation ring and all its residents
Habitation Complex
Transit HubConnects to Refinery + Logistics Hub
Crop FieldEnables limited self-sufficiency in the event of unforeseen supply chain disruptions
Solar FarmProvides most of Silver Peak’s energy demands. Excess can be rerouted to the adjacent mines
RECREATION
GATEWAY
UTILITIES
ENERGY GENERATION SILVER
LOCAL TRANSIT
HABITATION
SURVEILLANCE
PROCESSING
CONSUMPTION
TRANSPORT
RAILWAY
AGRICULTURE PRODUCTION
Functions are clustered into spaces of production, habitation, and consumption, with infrastructure connecting everything.
Rare Mineral Drop
Rare minerals found in lithium mining tailings are expected to be processed here, being organised into various piles through the use of a robotic sorting mechanism.
The sorted material is then transferred into shipping containers for onward exportation and consumption, either locally within the Silver Peak Habitation Complex, or nation-wide.
Sectional Overview
The Agri-hub consists of an indoor greenhouse component, capable of functioning year round, along with an outdoor crop ring that is heavily weather dependent.
The agricultural operation pumps its own water from aquafers, lasting just enough for the duration of the entire mining operation. This will eventually deplete this resource.
Agri-Hub Crop Ring
Laboring through the outdoor crop ring involves contending with issues of scorching heat, unbreathable air, and occasionally lethal dust storms.
When the conditions are just right however, crops are capable of being grown. All the while, the under-represented backbone of Silver Peak’s labor force enables this to happen.
Agri-Hub Greenhouse
The indoor greenhouse provides a stable supply of crop growth owing to its controlled and shielded conditions. This provides a more stable supply of fresh produce to Silver Peak.
Working here requires a certain social standing and professional qualification. This allows the elites of Silver Peak to put their qualifications to use, and to also keep their labcoats free of grime.
Sectional Overview
The habitation ring is made up of units that either face internally with views, or externally with no views or sunlight at all. The quality of each unit depends on a resident’s social standing.
The entire ring rests atop a busy trade route. The volume also interfaces with the Silver Peak Strip, providing seamless access to limitless consumption.
Messages of Gratitude
LABOR
Clean-Lithium Incorporated ensures that each of these messages of appreciation are placed within every standard residential capsule.
Labor forms the backbone of Clean-Li’s entire mining operation, and ensuring workforce morale and optimal profitability amid inhumane working conditions is key.
CONTRiBUTiON
Clean-Lithium Incorporated proudly displays each of these messages of sincere gratitude within every Residential Plus capsule.
Generous donors ensure the continuous functioning of Clean-Li’s mining operation from extraction through to exportation. It is with their generous contributions that Clean-Li is able to do the good work that they do.
Residential Capsule Standard
Type: Capsule Standard
Area: 400 sq ft.
Rent: $5,000/ mo
These units serve primarily as resting points, providing just enough space for a blue-collar family to be able to exist. Views and sunlight are luxuries that these units do not provide.
Habitation Unit
Area: 1,000 sq ft. Rent: $20,000/ mo
Type: Capsule Plus
These units serve as luxury habitation, offering open views, an abundance of sunlight, along with ample space for all the designer furniture any affluent family could ever dream of.
The Silver Peak Strip serves as the culmination of all the processes that enable the habitation complex to function. The ultimate end goal has always been to consume.
The Silver Peak Strip
Operated by Clean-Li Inc., the strip offers shopping, dining, entertainment, and everything in between. A spending laborer makes for a happy corporation afterall.
Greater Relevance
Current trends show that a dystopian reality rooted in ever more consumption could be possible. Migra-Topia sheds light on this very real trajectory that currently appears to be unchallenged.
This undesriable scenario is predicated on a future that runs unhinged, characterised by excess and abundance. Without serious reconsideration, this appalling future may become our reality.
