Earlier this week, Max Wilbert, co-founder of Protect Thacker Pass, visited the site of yet another planned open pit lithium mine that is threatening the Great Basin — this time, in the state of Oregon. This site, about 15 miles north of Thacker Pass, is vital habitat for the Lahontan cutthroat trout, sage grouse, and countless other species — and it would be completely destroyed if the mine is built. Yes, global warming is a crisis, and yes, we must stop burning fossil fuels. But this is not the way forward. This is an addict seeking another hit. The “green” energy economy destroys the planet, same as the old fossil fuel energy economy. This project is another greenwashing lie, just as Max wrote about in “Bright Green Lies.”

In this interview with Will Falk on April 25, 2023 during a direct action to block construction at the Thacker Pass Lithium Mine, Will answered a question about what goes into EVs and lithium mining and why they are so destructive to the natural world.

After trying everything — from lawsuits to pressuring the Bureau of Land Management to begging first-ever native Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland to come listen to their concerns — Paiute people were force to engage in direct action.

This action only stopped construction for a day. But it is beginning to stir a much larger resistance to the Thacker Pass lithium mine.

The full-scale destruction of Thacker Pass, Peehee Mu’huh, this sacred and wild place, has begun. This video was submitted to us anonymously two days ago. As you read this, life and biodiversity is being bulldozed and destroyed. Ancient artifacts and the remains of ancestors are being crushed into dust. Water is being poisoned and the once-clean air is being fouled with toxic fumes.

And yet, despair is only for those who see the end beyond all shadow of a doubt. We do not. This fight is not over. There are still court cases ongoing. Residents are rising up. Protesters are gathering. In times of darkness it is most important to look deep into your heart and walk with your head held high.

Never forget, as Martin Luther King Jr. said, that “Law and order exist for the purpose of establishing justice, and… when they fail in this purpose they become the dangerously structured dams that block the flow of social progress.”

Will Falk and Max Wilbert provide an update and answer audience questions about the fight to Protect Thacker Pass, which has now been ongoing for more than two years. On Thursday, three tribes filed a new lawsuit against the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to protect Thacker Pass. This streamed live on February 19th, 2023.

The Protect Thacker Pass Campaign is a campaign to protect an area in Northern Nevada from a massive lithium mine. This video is a brief overview of the campaign. 

Max Wilbert describes the history of the Protect Thacker Pass campaign and the current status of the campaign.

We are an independent, grassroots collective of people resisting the Thacker Pass lithium mine. We work in solidarity with regional indigenous people. Thacker Pass is sacred land to the Northern Paiute and Western Shoshone, and critical wildlife habitat. We invite all people with good hearts to help us stop the greenwashing.