Field of Dreams

Imagine. You are the poorest country in South America, and one day, you realize you are in control of 50% to 70% of the world's supply of a mineral that will triple in demand in the next 15 years: lithium, the mineral used in lightweight batteries that power all our digital gizmos and hybrid cars. It's the story of Bolivia and its spectacular Uyuni salt flats, shown below, which Joshua Keating writes about in Foreign Policy.