Electric vehicles are marketed as a climate change solution. But they’re not very “green,” report Gerry McGovern and Sue Branford for Mongabay.
The first problem lies in how electric vehicles (EVs) are manufactured. To create a typical electric car, you need six times more minerals than a conventional internal combustion engine. Two minerals that are particularly critical for EVs are lithium and cobalt. They are the mainstays of EV batteries for now. But the mining and extraction of both lithium and cobalt are unleashing unprecedented harm on the environment and local communities, the Mongabay report notes.
For example, roughly half the world’s Lithium is mined in the salt flats of the Andes in Chile, Bolivia, and Argentina. These salt flats are both geologically and ecologically unique. They are also home to extraordinary wildlife like flamingos, the vicuña (Lama vicugna), the guanaco (Lama guanicoe), and the short-tailed chinchilla (Chinchilla chinchilla), all adapted to the dry climate, extreme temperatures, and high salinity of these areas. However, lithium mining is rapidly degrading the salt flats and the wildlife habitats, McGovern and Branford report.
Lithium mining is also very water intensive and negatively impacts the local communities in the region. For example, in Chile, lithium mining involves pumping brine from the salt flats and letting it evaporate in large ponds. But the salt flats are also where glacial runoff accumulates, that’s the main source of fresh water for the local communities. They’re losing it to the lithium rush.
Cobalt is mainly sourced from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Mining for cobalt in the DRC has resulted in contaminated rivers, farming challenges, and health issues, even deaths, in local communities.
It’s not just the destructive mining practices. There are several other issues with EVs, the Mongabay report notes. For instance, electric cars are much heavier than internal combustion engines (ICE) because of their large batteries. Heavier vehicles experience more wear and tear of tires during their lifetimes, releasing more toxic chemicals into the environment.
Electric vehicles are indeed “greener” than ICE vehicles in some ways. For instance, they emit less air pollutants and greenhouse gasses from their exhausts. These benefits are smaller when the electricity powering EVs is generated using fossil fuels, not renewable energy. Moreover, EVs “consume substantial amounts of oil, natural gas, and coal during their manufacture”, McGovern and Branford write.
Manufacturers of EVs claim to be working toward more responsible mining practices and lighter, more efficient batteries. Experts, however, told Mongabay that humanity’s focus should instead be on changing lifestyles and reducing overall consumption.
