Shigsy89 t1_iu7may1 wrote
Ah yes, electric vehicles which charge from a grid predominantly fed by power stations burning fossil fuels. They also require scrapping of all existing vehicles which is incredibly bad for the environment. They also require new infrastructure to be installed globally (car charging points) which isn't exactly environmentally friendly. Their batteries are very heavy in relation to their size which gives them a very high carbon footprint when it comes to shipping them around the world. The same batteries have a very short lifespan compared to a diesel engines, are made from environment damaging chemicals and materials and are a disaster for the environment when it comes to disposing of them.
We should be investing in more sensible alternatives like biofuels, many of which are very much sustainable and don't require farmland e.g. seaweed. Many of them also work perfectly well with existing diesel engines, so no need for scrapping billions of cars or installing hundreds of millions of charging points. EVs are little more than a green-washing solution and not a real sustainable future for cars.
ComplexBus7725 t1_iu7qyu9 wrote
Sustainable biofuel is a pipe dream. You'd need to pretty much tear down every forest and cultivable land in the world in order to replace oil entirely, not to mention that wouldn't solve the pollution problem anyway. Also, unless you live in a country where the electricity is exclusively made from coal electric cars are always gonna end up better for the environment than combustion engines. And I say this as someone whose dream car is the CLK GTR.
Shigsy89 t1_iu7rso7 wrote
As I said, many modern biofuels don't require land usage. Focusing just on the combustion itself ignores all of the environmental damage and impact I mentioned above.
Jeramus t1_iu8cxsh wrote
Where does it say they will scrap existing vehicles?
EV lifetime emissions are lower than ICE vehicles even when the electricity comes from fossil fuels.
[deleted] t1_iu7yp7u wrote
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santz007 t1_iu7w7fl wrote
What is the life of EV batteries?
flappers87 t1_iu7z4li wrote
My concern isn't the charging of the batteries, as with nuclear, wind and solar energy becoming more widely adopted - by 2035, most of the EU's power grid will be powered by sustainable green energy.
The batteries don't have a short life span either. Averaging around 10-20 years of usage. That's longer than most people have their combustion cars for before looking to change.
But even with that said, the lack of recycling of the batteries is a core problem. This is e-waste to the extreme. So we can only hope that by the time 2035 comes around, there will be more recyclable parts used in the batteries which will reduce that e-waste.
Biofuels are not sustainable. It would require tearing down massive amounts of land, which damages the ecosystem of the planet. Also, it's still burning. Burning anything causes damage to our o-zone layer.
You mention seaweed. Seaweed provides an important part to our marine ecosystem, providing homes and safe areas for young fish.
The future is nuclear. Nuclear energy needs more funding, more research and more study. Fusion is so close, and once that happens, we're a step in the right direction with proper sustainable energy and no e-waste.
LyptusConnoisseur t1_iu8ed7z wrote
Lithium batteries are being recycled due to expense of battery materials. Check out Redwood Materials among many companies recycling batteries.
widowhanzo t1_iu9q8of wrote
Thorium. It's safer, easier to produce, doesn't require enrichment, and doesn't leave dangerous waste like uranium does. But thorium can't be used for nuclear weapons, that's why the government doesn't fund it.
b0unce79 t1_iu82vln wrote
Once again someone being down voted for speaking the truth about ev's, surprised they didn't call you pro Russian on here!
Shigsy89 t1_iu8326i wrote
Yeah, not sure why. EVs are not a great choice for the long term.
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