Scientists Use Material From Your Swimming Pool to Make Batteries

Perhaps you have used diatomaceous earth as a substance to help with filtration of the water for your swimming pool and that unassuming material has been rising in status since now it's integral to developing ultra high-performance lithium-ion batteries.  (Science Daily:  From ancient fossils to future cars)

Researchers at the University of California, Riverside's Bourns College of Engineering have developed an inexpensive, energy-efficient way to create silicon-based anodes for lithium-ion batteries from the fossilized remains of single-celled algae called diatoms. The research could lead to the development of ultra-high capacity lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles and portable electronics.

- Science Daily

There's no particular lofty sci fi moral of the story to make beyond the principle of 'maximum use of available resources' but who would have regarded diatomaceous earth as much of a resource anyway and thus the admiration for the Riverside scientists in finding an important application for it today in one of the most high tech projects currently active.

Note:  that principle isn't to find every resource possible from anywhere and burn it up but rather it's the maximum use of that which is available instead of fetching more of it from elsewhere.

Finding high science in a substance most would consider almost entirely worthless is partly along the theme of some discussion with Lotho earlier in recycling for the Rock City which is mandated to use the highest possible technology for its recycling tasks.  Discovery of a newly-important application for even diatomaceous earth gives all the more reason to do it.

For more toward the determination to recycle is the existence of millions upon millions of retired cellphones which, in the understanding of the Rockhouse, are poorly recycled.  That's an unfortunate situation when they have all manner of important elements and rare earths inside them.  All of them have much higher scientific status than diatomaceous earth even if we only recover the gold but any recovery from many millions of devices is going to result in a large pile of gold dust.

There is no interest in getting preachy about recycling it since you know the value well already but we don't just appreciate recycling, we fucking love it.  We don't want to waste any damn thing whatsoever since what possible sense is in that and, yes, I'm the one who goes Jeff Goldblum when there's an aluminum can in the regular garbage.

"My God in Heaven, what were you thinking?  Just look at this!" - Jeff Goldblum in "Independence Day"

I love that guy and I was doing that anyway but he gave the role substance and now we're warriors for the Lord more than the insistent pricks who bust you for improper garbage handling.

Well, diatomaceous earth got a promotion and so did God's Warriors for recycling aluminum cans.  There's no chance I perceive myself as God's Warrior for anything but it's great to see the role elevated and it was funny and charming how Goldblum did it.