I saw this the other day while looking for commentary to bring to AB. You can read the rest at the NYT. An easy read. Starter topic. Maybe EVs are not so environmentally friendly the way we are manufacturing them, the materials and the amounts used, and how we mine them. Raw materials can be problematic. “Like many other batteries, the lithium-ion cells that power most electric vehicles rely on raw materials — like cobalt, lithium and rare earth elements — that have been linked to grave environmental and human rights concerns. Cobalt has been especially problematic.” For example, “Mining cobalt produces hazardous tailings and slags that can leach into the environment, and studies have found high exposure in nearby communities, especially
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I saw this the other day while looking for commentary to bring to AB. You can read the rest at the NYT. An easy read. Starter topic. Maybe EVs are not so environmentally friendly the way we are manufacturing them, the materials and the amounts used, and how we mine them.
Raw materials can be problematic.
“Like many other batteries, the lithium-ion cells that power most electric vehicles rely on raw materials — like cobalt, lithium and rare earth elements — that have been linked to grave environmental and human rights concerns. Cobalt has been especially problematic.”
For example, “Mining cobalt produces hazardous tailings and slags that can leach into the environment, and studies have found high exposure in nearby communities, especially among children, to cobalt and other metals. Extracting the metals from their ores also requires a process called smelting, which can emit sulfur oxide and other harmful air pollution.”
As taken from: NYT, March 2, 2021, How Green Are Electric Vehicles? Hiroko Tabuchi and Brad Plumer
Executive summary – The Role of Critical Minerals in Clean Energy Transitions, Analysis – IEA, Paris.
I had thought you would be able to get into the NYT article. I was allowed to do so yesterday. The Executive Summary I just linked to, is excellent and worth a read. If I am given permission, I will repost parts of it and some graphs.