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Electric vs Gas Cars Environmental Cost
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INDEX:
My Experience with an EV
My Experience with an EV
I have owned a VW E Golf for 9 years. I drive 20 miles daily, plug it in thrice a week, and it charges at the lowest rate (after midnight). I have solar panels on my home, and there is really no cost for diving (pg&e balanced out that I used as much as input back in the system). The car will only go 82 miles on a charge. We use my wife's hybrid for longer trips. I have had to use non-home chargers only 3 times.
Summary of this page:
The greenhouse gas emissions associated with an electric vehicle over its lifetime, including the manufacture of battery and car, are typically more than 50% lower than those from an average gasoline-powered vehicle, even when accounting for manufacturing, and if the EV is coupled with Solar panels, a gas car will create almost 10 times more than the C02 an EV.
Pollution. Oil and gas operations release tons of harmful pollutants into the air and discharge dangerous chemicals into the water, degrading the clean air and water that polar bears, whales, walruses—and humans—depend on for survival. This is beyond the cost of Global Warming. Fracing, the source of most of the increase in oil production, is responsible for severe groundwater pollution
.Lithium-ion batteries will cause environmental and health problems that will increase with the increased number of EVs, but as the number of EV
Lithium production looks much worse because it is visible and local, while CO2 is unseen, and spread across the entire world, its effects are indirect and cannot be seen as any one event.
In total, the increase in CO2 from gas cars is far more destructive than the entire production cycle of lithium.
Lithium mining is not significantly more environmentally destructive than other metal mining, and Li mining is far less destructive than the total production of petroleum extraction.
The transportation sector accounts for 27% of the CO2 emissions.
Lithium mining and recycling need to be highly regulated to prevent it from becoming a major problem.
Recycling EV batteries can reduce the emissions associated with making an EV by reducing the need for new materials. While some challenges exist today, research is ongoing to improve the process and rate of EV battery recycling. For more information on EV battery development and recycling. The manufacturing will be less for EV than gas cars because the drive train uses 80% fewer parts and less metal. Some of the metal is more expensive, like copper.
If the EV is recharged with electricity from coal. The car is running on coal (see map), and the gray area of the chart will increase.
If the EV is recharged with electricity from renewable sources, the car is running free of any production of greenhouse gases, and the gray area of the chart will be reduced.
If you have solar panels that produce all of your electrical needs, the gray area goes to zero, but another cost would be added, which would be the Greenhouse Gas (GHG). That would be the costs of the panels, or about 1/10 the manufacturing cost of the car (orange)
How Electric Car Batteries Might Aid the Grid (and Win Over Drivers)
How Electric Car Batteries Might Aid the Grid (and Win Over Drivers)
Key Points:
• High Battery Costs:
• Electric cars are more expensive than gasoline models due to high battery costs.
• New technology can turn these costs into assets, reducing utility bills, lease payments, or offering free parking.
• Energy Storage and Utilities:
• Automakers like Ford, General Motors, and BMW are exploring using car batteries to store excess renewable energy.
• This could help utilities manage supply and demand fluctuations and serve as intermediaries between car owners and power suppliers.
• Potential of Car Batteries:
• Millions of electric cars could function as a massive energy system connected to the electrical grid.
• This connection could support the grid and offer financial benefits to car owners.
• Mobility House Example:
• The Mobility House buys cheap, abundant power, stores it in electric vehicles, and sells it when demand and prices are high.
• This approach turns car batteries into a profitable resource.
• Renault’s Initiative:
• Renault offers buyers of its R5 electric compact car a home charger and an energy storage contract.
• Participants can control how much power they give back to the grid, earning reductions in their electricity bills.
• BMW’s Bidirectional Charging:
• BMW’s new electric vehicles will have bidirectional capability, allowing them to send power back to the grid.
• This feature can help earn carbon credits and provide financial incentives to car owners.
• Market Growth:
• By the end of the decade, 30 million electric vehicles could be on U.S. roads.
• These vehicles could store as much power as dozens of nuclear plants produce in a day.
• Grid Challenges:
• Millions of electric cars might strain the grid, but they can also smooth out demand.
• Utilities need to adapt to bidirectional charging and recognize the value of electric vehicle batteries.
• Overcoming Resistance:
• Some U.S. utilities prefer centralized grids, but laws like Maryland’s are pushing for bidirectional charging schemes.
• Proper planning can ensure the grid supports the increasing load from electric vehicles.
• Fleet Potential:
• Business or government-owned electric vehicle fleets are promising for backup energy storage.
• These vehicles have large batteries and predictable usage patterns.
• Ford’s Smart Charging:
• Ford Pro offers free chargers to customers who allow usage to be managed during peak demand.
• The next step involves a two-way system for vehicles to send energy back to the grid, reducing costs and barriers for customers.
Lithium used in an EV vs. gas used in gas car for 100,000 miles
100,000 miles is a common guarantee for EV Batteries (they should last two times as long, and Tesla batteries have demonstrated this to be true).
An EV has about 8 kilograms (17lb) of lithium. It will last 100k miles and does not need to be replaced for 100k miles.
A Gas Car getting 30 miles/gallon will use about 3,333 gallons of gas or diesel and require 30,732 lb, 732 barrels, of petroleum to be extracted.
Mining Li causes less environmental damage than fracking for oil or mining tar sand; both will be necessary to continue driving at our present rates. See below.
The petroleum industry is causing damage in multiple ways: oil spills at sea and on land, broken oil pipes on offshore drilling, polluting aquifers, and destroying the fragile environment in the Arctic.
In 2004, it was calculated that we would start running out of oil by 2024. Since then, the petroleum industry has discovered fracking and methods of extracting from shale and tar sands and is projecting more drilling offshore and in the far north. All these new sources have the potential to be very destructive. But even with these new sources, the projections are that we are going to start running out of oil by 2050.
OIL IS A LIMITED RESOURCE
OIL IS A LIMITED RESOURCE
The world would have started running out of of oil around 2035 but since the developmental of fracking we could have increasing resources much longer but at the expense of huge amounts of pollutant in our major aquifors.
Peak OIL with out fracking.
Lithium-ion batteries Ethical and Environmental issues
Lithium-ion batteries Ethical and Environmental issues
1/3 of the Lithium comes from salt flats in Argentina and Chile,
The process uses huge quantities of water in an otherwise arid area. Battery-grade lithium can also be produced by exposing the material to very high temperatures — a process used in China and Australia —They extract Li using quantities of energy.
The energy needed for Lithium extraction can be from mostly renewable sources such as solar, wind, and water currents.
Germany and the United Kingdom, for example, pilot projects are filtering lithium from hot brines beneath granite rock. using less energy
The metal including Li can be recycled. The main hold-up now is there are not enough EV batteries to make the process economical, but that should self-solve after enough EV's have been on the road long enough.
The EU is considering a 70% target for batteries to be collected by 2030. In addition, it wants 4% of the lithium in new batteries made in the EU to be from recycled material by 2030, increasing to 10% by 2035.
Cobalt, the most costly part of Li Battery, is the battery's electrode. Around 70% of this element is found in just one country: the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
Cobalt in DRC is mined using child labor, and unsafe working practices are rife.
Amnesty International is working with DRC’s existing industry to provide jobs in safe conditions.
Research is working to replace cobalt with metals such as iron or manganese.
A fossil car uses 1800 times as much gas mass as an EV battery over 400k miles.
From: Nature
lithium-ion battery pack (of a type known as NMC532) could contain around 8 kg of lithium, 35 kg of nickel, 20 kg of manganese and 14 kg of cobalt, according to figures from Argonne National Laboratory.
Fracking, Drilling, Shale and Tar Sand Oil extraction vs. lithium mining: Which is more dangerous?
Fracking, Drilling, Shale and Tar Sand Oil extraction vs. lithium mining: Which is more dangerous?
Based on what is currently known, fracking is a much more dangerous process than lithium mining, but unfortunately, both seem to be essential to the world today. https://www.greenmatters.com/p/fracking-vs-lithium-mining
A fossil car uses 1800 times as much fossils fuel mass as an EV battery over 400k miles.
Tar sand and shale oil extraction
Future projections suggest EVs surpassing gas vehicles as early as 2030
How to Make an Electric Car Truly “Green”?
5. Use only renewable sourced electricity to recharge your EV.
Bottom Line: Lithium is not without problems, but the problem of running cars on gasoline is much worse. There is room for improvement in Li production and recycling of Li batteries
.
THE EFFECTS OF INCREASED CO2 MAY BE CATASTROPHIC FOR OUR CIVILIZATION
Hotter temperatures. As greenhouse gas concentrations rise, so does the global surface temperature.
More severe storms., AND they will occur more often
As the air becomes warmer, it holds more water that travels in atmospheric rivers that will dump huge amounts of water, i.g. Pakistan in 2022. This type of flooding is expected for California.
Increased drought and heat are making some areas of the earth uninhabitable.
Warming, rising ocean. Bangladesh, Indonesia, coastal cities, and many islands may become uninhabitable. An expert said that of 59.1 million people internally displaced in 2021 across the world, most were displaced by climate-related disasters.
Loss of species. 1/3 of the plant and animal species might be extinct within the next 50 years.
Not enough food due to, not only crop failures, but also access, utilization, and stability
More health risks include increased respiratory and cardiovascular disease, injuries and premature deaths related to extreme weather events, as well as increased spread of disease by insect vectors.
Poverty and displacement.
Some areas may experience cold when warm ocean currents become disturbed.
Increase in ocean acidity will cause the loss of coral reefs, shellfish, and phytoplankton. This will move up the ocean food chain and cause many larger fish and mammals to go extinct.
Increase in temperature droughts will increase massive wildfires like are seen in Californian.
While conventional cars’ powertrain warranties tend to last about five years or 60,000 miles, all EV batteries enjoy a U.S.-mandated eight-year or 100,000-mile warranty. In California, protections extend to 10 years or 150,000 miles .
Recycling Electric Car Batteries
Recycling Electric Car Batteries
Energy Storage: These retired batteries can store energy from sources like solar panels or wind turbines. This stored energy can be used when needed, reducing our reliance on non-renewable energy.
Second-Life EV Use: Some batteries may not have the range for long trips but can work well in electric buses, delivery vehicles, or local transport.
Battery Fixes: Specialized companies can fix up old batteries by replacing worn-out parts, giving them a second life.
Recycling: While not reusing per se, recycling EV battery materials like lithium and cobalt can help make new batteries, reducing the need for more mining.
"Lithium-ion batteries, including EV batteries, are recyclable. The metals inside an EV battery are incredibly valuable and infinitely recyclable. Dec 12, 2023
Lithium batteries are lasting longer, (chart is a bit missleading because more recent cars have not had long enough history)
It has been claimed that a plug in hybrid, if it is not pluged in, would get only the milage of a gas car. This is not true. See charg below. If you don't ;lug it in it still ges 52 mpg.
While conventional cars’ powertrain warranties tend to last about five years or 60,000 miles, all EV batteries enjoy a U.S.-mandated eight-year or 100,000-mile warranty. In California, protections extend to 10 years or 150,000 miles .
Ocean acidification:
Ocean acidification:
The most important sink for the excess C02 is the ocean. The problem is that as the oceans absorb more CO2 they become more acid and could eventually become dead acid lakes.
Over the last 250 years, roughly coinciding with the Industrial Revolution, oceans have absorbed 503 billion tons of CO2, causing a 30 percent increase in ocean acidity. At current rates, ocean acidity is predicted to more than double by 2100.
Atmospheric rivers (ARs) are long narrow bands of concentrated moisture in the atmosphere, thousands of miles long and hundreds of miles wide, that transport vast quantities of water vapor from the tropics to the mid latitudes. When they reach the mountainous terrain of North America, much of the moisture falls to earth in the form of rain and snow, which can sometimes cause catastrophic flooding. ARs are responsible for the vast majority of floods in California and the western United States.
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