RUPERTKBD Posted May 26, 2020 Share Posted May 26, 2020 1 hour ago, IBatch said: Maybe some people aren’t aware that most countries that don’t have hydro sources still mostly burn coal or gas to create their electricity. Which is why electric cars are a bit hypocritical in nature at the moment. Sure no gas but still powered by fossil fuels. Less of an impact? Probably so still a good thing. But not Green. Walking or horseback is Green. Even bikes have to built right? Ha ha. I bet a highly efficient bio-diesel is at least on par with the carbon fooprint and same with some standard gas vehicles (Prius or whatever) of electric cars. Plus we simply don’t have enough power sources yet to support only electric cars. Or the batteries to maintain them. When I moved to Ontario ten years ago most of their electricity was created from burning coal (76%)....since then they’ve reduced their emissions by 80% by all but eliminating coal and adding huge solar and wind fields (including getting the homeowners involved to install solar power and sell it back to the grid), switching to natural gas etc. That’s a pretty big impact that all first world countries can work towards. The information comes from Canadian Government - but do they factor in the mechanical costs to build these and maintain these things and the emissions as well? Maybe - maybe not / but IF they were completely built in Ontario it would have factored into the overall emissions tracked and reduced during this change. One thing I’ve never understood is why don’t they add turbines to rivers too. Create a channel beside it and then divert the water through it ... parts of the Fraser and Columbia would produce a sh!t ton. And this would offer areas where damming is not practical to consider an alternate method as well. BC only has a few remains spots that BC Hydro would consider damming. At some point alternate outside the box thinking needs to be added to our Earths toolbox. I suppose populations are the biggest issue with this method - not many folks would like to lose their riverfront ... but in Canada at least it could be done. McKenzie and Red too. Sorry....what fossil fuels are powering electric cars? Pretty sure Lithium isn't considered a fossil fuel....nor is Nickel or Cadmium.... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canuckster19 Posted May 26, 2020 Share Posted May 26, 2020 3 hours ago, RUPERTKBD said: Sorry....what fossil fuels are powering electric cars? Pretty sure Lithium isn't considered a fossil fuel....nor is Nickel or Cadmium.... He/she means the electricity charging those cars is not necessarily green, which is an absolute legitimate criticism. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kragar Posted May 26, 2020 Share Posted May 26, 2020 And lithium and cobalt (another important component in electric cars) have their own issues. Lithium mining typically uses large amounts of water, pollutes the land to the point of killing wildlife, and lacks feasible recycling options. Cobalt is toxic, and comes from a place that has worse protection of workers than China. https://www.wired.co.uk/article/lithium-batteries-environment-impact https://www.fool.com/investing/general/2014/01/19/tesla-motors-dirty-little-secret-is-a-major-proble.aspx https://medium.com/thebeammagazine/cobalt-the-toxic-hazard-in-lithium-batteries-that-puts-profit-before-people-and-the-planet-ae5a63e0f57c 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Lock Posted May 26, 2020 Share Posted May 26, 2020 (edited) It's kind of like how mercury is in those fluorescent light bulbs. I'm sure they last a long time, but how much of that mercury's going into a landfill afterwards, likely causing more long-term problems than a regular bulb? Edited May 26, 2020 by The Lock Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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