Over the years there have been many notable con jobs foisted on the masses. We are now enduring a new one, that of the “planet-saving” move to electric vehicles (EVs). We are told that the EV move will do much to reduce the pollution caused by burning fossil fuels in our vehicles. Here are a few things that we are not being told in this con job.
The battery pack for a vehicle adds some 900-1,000 pounds to the vehicle over a comparable gas-fueled one. 30# of lithium, 60# of cobalt, 130# of nickel, 190# of graphite, 90 # of copper, and 400-500# of steel, aluminum and plastic.
According to Mark P Mills of the Manhattan Institute, this is the amount of ore that must be mined to produce a single battery for an EV.
- 20,000 # of lithium
- 60,000 # of cobalt
- 10,000 # of nickel
- 2,000 # of graphite
- 12,000# of copper, and that doesn’t include the ore needed to manufacture the steel, aluminum, and plastic parts.
How much fossil fuel will be required to mine that for a single battery, not to mention processing the ore?
It should also be noted that these materials are not in limitless supply. For example, there are 88 million Tonnes of known lithium ore, but only 1/4 of it is minable. As the supply of lithium, cobalt, copper, etc. become more scarce the price will greatly increase and international stress will become a major factor. It is also worth noting that 2 million tons of water are needed to mine enough lithium for 100 batteries. (2/3 of Chili’s water use is for mining this ore.)
Then there is the issue of disposal of millions of batteries over the coming years. Both lithium and cobalt cause long-term consequences when soil or water is contaminated.
Perhaps I should also mention that the added weight of these EVs will put further stress on our aging roads while removing the major source of road maintenance provided by the gas tax.
There is also little attention given to the fact that our electrical grid can hardly keep up with the current demands, without the added demand of several million EVs.
So now let us put this on a more personal basis. Is it economically sound for you or me to move to an EV? While we are told that owning an EV is less costly than the cost of gas-fueled vehicles, particularly with the wild fluctuation of gas and diesel there are a few items that are seldom included in this position.
An EV costs $15,000-$20,000 more than a comparable gas vehicle, even with such tax rebates as may be available. Recent numbers show that a 3-year-old EV will have lost up to 50% of its value vs. about 39% for a gas unit.
Routine maintenance costs 18-30% more for an EV with not every facility able to work on them. That assumes that the batteries don’t need to be replaced which can cost $13,000-$20,000. To be fair it should be noted that manufacturers of EVs feel that batteries (under ideal conditions) should last 8 years or 100,000 miles. This is of course not yet proven.
Registration and insurance costs are higher for EVs.
Lest this post become too long, I’ll stop here and move to Another great con job (Part Two).
Great Article Ken, and yes, child labor is also a major factor, at this point I don’t think our current administration knows which end is up. It sure isn’t this Green New Deal crap!
I agree with you Lynn. As to the administration knowing anything it is in doubt. When leadership doesn’t know what state they are in, how to exit a stage, or how to put three sentences together that make some sense, how can we have any faith in their fixing any of the country’s problems.
Good point about the child labor issue, Danny.
All great points Ken. How about the child labor that 3rd world countries employ to supply the minerals to implement this Green New Deal fantasy. Well written my friend.