Draft:Lithium vs oil

Some people see the [transition to renewable energy] as "Big Lithium is replacing Big Oil". This brings up a valid question:

What would be lithium's environmental impact, compared to the oil we're trying to phase out?

Thought experiment: Status quo -vs- perfectly renewable energy powering lithium-battery-based electric vehicles:

• oil: impact of mining^{[QUANTIFICATION needed]} + climate change^{[QUANTIFICATION needed]}
• lithium: impact of mining^{[QUANTIFICATION needed]}