The Daily Valet. - 5/17/23, Wednesday
✔️ A New Gold Rush?
Wednesday, May 17th Edition
By Cory Ohlendorf, Valet. Editor
Do you have any deliquint Google accounts floating out there?
Today’s Big Story
The Lithium Rush
Lithium could power the 21st century. Which is why There’s a lithium prospecting boom.
It's being called “white gold.” It's also been coined “the new oil.” Which is to say, there's a lot of money to be made here. We're talking about lithium. The soft, silvery-white metal that's used in batteries to power everything from personal electronics (cell phones, laptops, vapes) to e-bikes and scooters, to backup power storage and, maybe most importantly, electric car batteries.As the race toward global EV adoption heats up, calling lithium a hot commodity is the understatement of the century. Which means this now precious metal is currently in high demand, but there's just one active mine currently producing it in the U.S.A new report from Vice delves into the mess of lithium prospecting in Nevada. You see, the mineral deposits aren't enshrined in rock, the way precious materials are in Minecraft. Instead, they're spread throughout layers of clay, from which lithium has never been successfully removed at a large scale. Yet prospectors are staking claims anyway, calling dibs on land in hopes that mining tech will catch up to their needs.Some are concerned because hard-rock mining can have long-term impacts on the landscape and brine extraction is immensely water-intensive. Legal challenges brought by conservationists and tribal leaders have tried to stop the mining in Nevada but officials announced Tuesday that the land management bureau has completed necessary reviews and said Nevada lithium mining can proceed. Meanwhile, the long-term impacts on ecosystems, wildlife and nearby communities are still not well-understood. Despite that, lithium mines are popping up everywhere.According to Axios, the world's largest known deposits of the material are in Bolivia, Argentina and Chile, known as the lithium triangle. Peru's Congress is debating a bill that would declare lithium a strategic public good and build a national lithium plant. But at the moment, Australia is the world's leading producer of lithium, while Chile (who once held the title) now stands in second place.
FYI:
The International Energy Agency indicates that China produces roughly three-quarters of lithium-ion batteries, with the last 25% coming mainly from the United States, Europe, Japan and Korea.
A Potential Debt Ceiling Deal
Biden cuts Asia trip short to return and negotiate
The federal government is about two weeks away from being unable to make payments on the country's debt. It's getting so serious that President Biden—who's heading to the G7 in Japan today—will cut short his visit to Asia to continue negotiating with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, who's currently in a standoff with the president over Republican demands to tie the debt limit to spending caps and other policy priorities.“President Biden has decided to return to the United States on Sunday to ensure Congress takes action by the deadline to avert default,” a source told NBC News. But after an hour of talks, there were glimmers of hope for a deal. McCarthy told reporters the two sides remained far apart on an agreement, but said, “It's possible to get a deal by the end of the week. It's not that difficult ...”Meanwhile, in an open letter to Biden and top Congressional leaders, nearly 150 business leaders urged the two sides to act—or face “a devastating scenario … and potentially disastrous consequences.” America has never defaulted on its debts, and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said at an event on Tuesday that “a U.S. default would generate an economic and financial catastrophe.”
Dig Deeper:
NPR has the answers to the questions you may be asking about the debt ceiling and the fight over it.
Reliable Treatment for Depression?
Is magnetic stimulation the key to treating severe depression
Here's some promising news on the medical front: Stanford Medicine researchers have uncovered how magnetic stimulation in the brain can treat severe depression by changing the flow of neural activity. A new study found that transcranial magnetic stimulation—an anti-depression treatment whose mechanics were not previously understood—actually changes the brain chemistry of patients.The noninvasive procedure operates completely outside of the body and involves the use of magnetic fields on a person's brain. The FDA has approved the use of TMS for treatment-resistant depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder, migraines and to help people stop smoking.In a typical brain, the anterior insula region (which involves bodily sensations) sends signals to the anterior cingulate cortex, the part of the brain that governs emotions. The researchers examined brain scans of study participants, finding that in more than 75% of participants with depression, this flow of information was reversed. And they discovered that more severe depression translated to a higher proportion of signals sent the wrong way. The magnetic treatment has been proven to correct that flow of neural activity—and once it's moving in the right direction, patients' depressive symptoms are reduced.
Meanwhile:
Chronic pain has now become more common than diabetes or depression. Thankfully, better treatments are emerging.
Back It Up
Google Will Soon be Purging Inactive Accounts
Google is putting inactive users on notice. The tech giant announced Tuesday that this year it would begin deleting accounts that had been inactive for at least two years.That means any and all content stored on Gmail, Workspace, YouTube and Photos will all be on the chopping block—along with the associated Google accounts themselves—if there hasn't been a login or other demonstration of engagement over the past 24 months.The reasoning behind the decision, Google said, is security. That's because neglected accounts are more likely to be compromised. “This is because forgotten or unattended accounts often rely on old or re-used passwords that may have been compromised, haven't had two-factor authentication set up, and receive fewer security checks by the user.” As Mashable reminds us, if you have an account that collects spam emails—the one you use to sign-up for any meaningless mailing list—make sure you log into it before December.
FYI:
The new policy applies only to Google Accounts and not accounts affiliated with schools, businesses or other organizations.
In Other News
Regulations, atomic bombs and Garth Brooks? Key moments from the Senate's hearing.
Have you heard about ...
Worth a Listen
The New Yorker’s Fiction podcast
Let's be honest: Just looking at a copy of the New Yorker can make you feel, what, 20% smarter, right? The same goes for listening to its flagship fiction podcast. A current staffer reads a short story by a former New Yorker writer—sometimes the story is from months or years ago—and then has a conversation about it with the magazine's fiction editor Deborah Treisman. It's entertaining and engaging, of course, but listening to the two break down the meat of the story is what really makes you feel like you're absorbing something special.
Listen:
Shopping
What We’re Buying
A relaxed short-sleeve shirt
This relaxed short-sleeve shirt is perfect for the pool or date night. The bowling collar gives the shirt a smooth, retro vibe.
Get It:
Edd short-sleeve shirt, $215 / $129 by A.P.C.
Partner
Brand to Watch: 877 Workshop
Vintage-inspired goods with a contemporary look & feel
Do you know 877 Workshop? The German brand specializes in almost forgotten crafts and old techniques. They even utilize the same old school tools from back in the day for a truly authentic look and feel. We're talking about engraving and forging metal by hand. Embossing using more than 700 embossing dies from the early 1900s to the 1980s. Leather that's been tanned with oak bark and then waxed by hand. But while the items have an antique vibe, at the same time they're exactly the kind of accessories the modern men wants today. What's more, most of their items can be personalized too, which makes them even more special. Here are a few items we're watching.
Army black leather belt, $107
Engraved windproof lighter, $140
Signet ring, $183
Learn More:
Browse all of 877 Workshop's vintage-inspired accessories.
Morning Motto
Most good things start with a question.
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