CALIPATRIA, CALIFORNIA - MAY 01: A great blue heron flies while foraging in an agricultural field near a geothermal power plant near the Salton Sea on May 1, 2026 near Calipatria, California. A deposit of geothermal brine beneath the Salton Sea area is believed to hold one of the planet’s largest reserves of lithium and is worth an estimated $500 billion. The lithium could bring jobs to the region and help power electric vehicles, smartphones, and electricity grids while some residents are concerned that lithium extraction would exacerbate environmental issues. In 2022, Governor Gavin Newsom has called the area “the Saudi Arabia of lithium”. California has launched the Salton Sea Conservancy, its first new conservancy in more than 15 years, in an effort to support long-term habitat restoration while improving air quality around the deteriorating inland lake. The Salton Sea, located in the desert in Southern California, has been shrinking for decades and is now nearly twice as salty as the ocean while contaminated by pollutants including agricultural runoff. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)