I read somewhere in a link I posted to this board that we will need 10x today’s Lithium mining by 2030.
Meanwhile, this guy, Graham Conway, at a TED Talk explaining why “Zero Emissions” brags are not telling the whole story on investing in EVs and Lithium in a way which alerted me to the dark side of Lithium mining.
Here’s the intro to the video and I will add that I love what BEVs and hybrids are doing to Key West: the electrification of bicycles and scooters has truly been a boon for Key West in one area rarely mentioned when weighing BEV vs. ICE: noise pollution.
Last month I was down in Key West during daylight hours for the first time in two-years. I could not believe the change in noise pollution in just two-years time as the majority of locals make the switch to electric bicycles and scooters. Nothing is more annoying that tourists on motor scooters belching 2-stroke smoke, many of them needing new mufflers, and even with mufflers, the damn things make so much noise you can’t carry on conversation. Very annoying racket. Anyway, the promised intro:
This talk will challenge the popular perception that Battery Electric Vehicles (BEVs) are environmentally friendly, and will argue that we are inappropriately rushing the market introduction of these vehicles. BEVs are commonly sold under the guise of being ‘Zero Emissions,’ an assertion that is not true by any definition. Brake pads produce emissions, as do tires and even interiors under sunlight. The electricity that powers BEVs is generated by power plants, 64% of which burn fossil fuels in the U.S.—fossil fuels that contribute to greenhouse gas emissions and global warming. Even more importantly, there are significant CO2 emissions created during the manufacture of the battery pack, meaning that in order to offset the carbon created during the production process, a BEV must drive 40,000 - 100,000 miles before being environmentally comparable to a gasoline-powered vehicle. Hybrid vehicles, on the other hand, which combine much smaller batteries with efficient internal combustion engines, have been shown to be a much better option for lowering global CO2. Unfortunately, they do not receive the same marketable ‘kudos’ or policy backing as full BEVs. We are headed down the wrong path by rolling out BEVs before making the manufacturing and electricity generation CO2 neutral. Dr. Graham Conway is a Principal Engineer in the Automotive Division at Southwest Research Institute. For the last ten years he has been immersed in evaluating automotive technologies and consulting for car companies and suppliers. This gives him unique insights and perspectives on the industry. He is passionate about making vehicles more efficient to ensure the future of the planet and has a message to share about some common misconceptions about electric and non-electric vehicles. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx
Me again: more and more, EV powered cars are tapping into “clean” power supplies, in their manufacture and use. See the link I laid on this board about $DTE and $F announcement yesterday:
https://discussion.fool.com/dte-inks-deal-with-f-to-supply-solar…
I’m keeping an eye on all these new battery techs which are not as “dirty” in their manufacture. Toyota just began shipping a hybrid PEV which has a “hybrid” solid-state battery, the first put into any production line anywhere. $BYDDF begins shipping some high-end solid state batteries in Q4.