[INFORMATIVE] Positive and Negative Environmental Impacts of Electric Cars
Positive and Negative Environmental Impacts of Electric Cars
By: Laila Mohamed
To stop climate change, we need to stop the amount of greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide from increasing. We’ve all heard the positive impact of electric vehicles to combat climate change, but what is climate change? Do electric vehicles have any negative effects? We all probably heard about climate change, whether in school or through social media. We heard about its really negative impact on the environment, but is climate change primarily due to the use of fossil fuel vehicles?
What is climate change?
Climate change refers to the long-term shifts in temperatures and weather patterns. Human activities have been the main driver of climate change, primarily due to the burning of fossil fuels like coal, oil, and gas. Examples of such human activities are deforestation, habitat destruction, and burning fossil fuels. Burning fossil fuels generates greenhouse gas emissions, trapping the sun’s heat and raising temperatures.
Advantages and disadvantages of electric vehicles
Electric vehicles offer many advantages, but they also have some disadvantages when compared to conventional gasoline-powered cars. One reason we use cars is to travel long distances, but electric cars on average have a shorter range than gas-powered cars. For comparison, gas-powered vehicles will average around 300 miles on a full gas, while most electric car models range between 60 and 120 miles per charge, which may be an issue if you frequently take long trips.
Positive environmental impacts of electric vehicles
Electric cars reduce emissions
Using electric vehicles reduces greenhouse gas emissions, which cause climate change, as electric vehicles use efficient, more renewable energy sources. Because they rely on rechargeable batteries, driving an electric car does not create any tailpipe emissions, a significant source of pollution in the United States. In addition, using rechargeable batteries means much less money will be spent on fuel, meaning all energy can be sourced domestically.
Energy efficiency
What is energy efficiency?
Energy efficiency is the use of less energy to perform the same task or produce the same result. Energy efficiency is one of the easiest and most cost-effective ways to combat climate change and to reduce energy costs for consumers.
How is energy efficiency effective for the environment?
Reducing energy use is essential in the fight against climate change because traditional vehicles burn fossil fuels that release greenhouse gases and contribute to air pollution. EVs (electric vehicles) reduce the energy needed for driving by 32% to 70%. This means that charging an AEV’s (alternative energy vehicle) battery puts more toward powering the vehicle than filling a gas tank. Electric vehicles can dramatically reduce fuel costs because of the high efficiency of electric-drive components.
Battery recycling advances
Since EV batteries are expensive, what can be done to reduce such costs? EV batteries contain various critical minerals with limited natural reserves, leading to high prices and long-term supply concerns. Battery recycling can recover many of these materials, allowing for reuse in new batteries or other downstream applications. Different methods can recycle battery materials and integrate them into the overall battery manufacturing process.
Direct recycling
Direct recycling is the direct recovery, regeneration, and reuse of battery components without breaking down the chemical structure. Direct recycling disassembles batteries and physically separates the anode, cathode, and other materials. They may require further treatment through methods such as calcination. Cathode material can often be directly recovered and utilized in new batteries, integrating into the final manufacturing and assembly steps.
Pyrometallurgy
Pyrometallurgy refers to the use of heat to extract battery materials. This process is typically performed in an electric arc or shaft furnace and requires little pretreatment. In addition, this type of recycling is agnostic battery chemistry.
Hydrometallurgy
Hydrometallurgical recycling processing uses aqueous chemistry and typically follows three main steps: leaching spent cathode material, impurity removal/purification of leach solution, and recovery of metal salts.
Negative environmental impacts
We’ve talked about the advantages of electric vehicles, but do electric vehicles have any negative impacts? If they do, are their negative environmental impacts long-term?
Battery production and mining
EV Lithium-ion batteries are made with materials that are expensive and, in some cases, toxic and flammable. Primary materials include lithium, nickel, cobalt, and copper. The mining, manufacturing processes, and eventual disposal of these metals pose real environmental challenges.
How bad is mining for electric car batteries?
How come the production of the compartments of an EV is bad for the environment if all we’ve heard about EVs is that they’re the best alternative for traditional vehicles? There’s always two sides to a coin, and the same is for EVs; you have advantages and disadvantages. After production, electric vehicles have far lower carbon emissions than gas-powered vehicles. However, the process to mine, refine, and assemble EVs, particularly their batteries, is environmentally damaging. According to a report by MIT’s Climate Lab, one ton of mined lithium emits nearly 15 tons of CO2.
Battery disposal and toxic waste
As mentioned previously, EV batteries contain materials such as lithium, cobalt, and nickel, which are toxic materials. If left in landfills, they can leak into the soil and groundwater, posing serious environmental hazards and possible exposure to humans. But if recycled, these toxic materials can be reused to manufacture new batteries, which also saves us from having to mine for new ones.
How can EVs be better than traditional cars?
Even after mentioning some negative impacts of EVs, is it possible for them to be better environmentally? EVs are sometimes called “zero-emission vehicles.” But the batteries that go into them are not zero-emission at all, as mentioned before; in fact, making those batteries take a lot of energy that’s not clean and hurts the environment in other ways. Building a battery is an environmental cost that’s paid once. Buring gasoline is a cost that’s paid again, again, and again.
Sources:
Alternative Fuels Data Center: Electric Vehicle Benefits and Considerations. afdc.energy.gov/fuels/electricity-benefits.
Balch, Oliver, and Esther Opoku-Gyeni. “The Curse of “White Oil”: Electric Vehicles’ Dirty Secret – Podcast.” The Guardian, 11 Jan. 2021, www.theguardian.com/news/audio/2021/jan/11/the-curse-of-white-oil-electric-vehicles-dirty-secret-podcast.
Center for Climate and Energy Solutions. “Electric Vehicles - Center for Climate and Energy Solutions.” Center for Climate and Energy Solutions, 16 June 2021, www.c2es.org/content/electric-vehicles/#:~:text=Transportation%20is%20the%20largest%20single,significantly%20reduce%20greenhouse%20gas%20emissions.
“Countries Leading Green Public Transport Revolution.” GreenMatch.co.uk, 18 July 2024, www.greenmatch.co.uk/blog/green-public-transport.
Crawford, Iris. “How Much CO2 Is Emitted by Manufacturing Batteries?” MIT Climate Portal, 15 July 2022, climate.mit.edu/ask-mit/how-much-co2-emitted-manufacturing-batteries#:~:text=The%20Production%20Process&text=Particularly%20in%20hard%20rock%20mining.
Direct Recycling of Materials - ReCell Center. recellcenter.org/research/direct-recycling-of-materials/#:~:text=Direct%20recycling%20is%20the%20recovery.
Domonoske, Camila . “Their Batteries Hurt the Environment, but EVs Still Beat Gas Cars. Here’s Why.” NPR, 9 May 2024, www-s1.npr.org/2024/05/09/1250212212/ev-batteries-environmental-impact.
Duck, Charlotte. “Batteries Are Charging Our Planet, but What’s the Cost?” Science, National Geographic, 1 Nov. 2019, www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/partner-content-audi-nl-the-cost-of-batterie.
Education, Ucar Center for Science. “How Do We Reduce Greenhouse Gases? | Center for Science Education.” UCAR, scied.ucar.edu/learning-zone/climate-solutions/reduce-greenhouse-gases#:~:text=Generate%20electricity%20without%20emissions.&text=Because%20they%20do%20not%20burn,a%20solution%20to%20climate%20change.
“Energy Efficiency: Buildings and Industry.” Energy.gov, www.energy.gov/eere/energy-efficiency-buildings-and-industry.
“How Much CO2 Is Emitted by Manufacturing Batteries?” MIT Climate Portal, MIT, 16 Feb. 2022, climate.mit.edu/ask-mit/how-much-co2-emitted-manufacturing-batteries.
Kirk, Karin, and Karin Kirk. “Electric vehicles use half the energy of gas-powered vehicles.” Yale Climate Connections, 13 Feb. 2024, yaleclimateconnections.org/2024/01/electric-vehicles-use-half-the-energy-of-gas-powered-vehicles/#:~:text=Because%20they%20are%20so%20efficient,how%20the%20electricity%20is%20generated.
“Lithium Mining for EVs: How Sustainable Is It?” APM Research Lab, www.apmresearchlab.org/10x/lithium-mining-for-evs-sustainability#:~:text=After%20production%2C%20electric%20vehicles%20have.
Põldaru, Vallo. “10 Negative Impacts of Humans on the Environment - Impact Day.” Impact Day, 14 Feb. 2024, impactday.eu/blog/negative-environmental-impacts.
Staff, EnergySage. “The Top Pros And Cons of Electric Cars.” EnergySage, 18 Jan. 2023, www.energysage.com/electric-vehicles/pros-and-cons-electric-cars.
“Sustainability Focus: Electric Vehicle Battery Recycling.” Www.era-Environmental.com, www.era-environmental.com/blog/electric-vehicle-battery-recycling.
Steckelberg, Aaron, et al. “The Underbelly of Electric Vehicles.” Washington Post, 27 Apr. 2023, www.washingtonpost.com/world/interactive/2023/electric-car-batteries-geography/.
“The Truth about EV Battery Recycling.” HERE, 2024, www.here.com/learn/blog/electric-vehicle-battery-recycling#:~:text=EV%20batteries%20also%20contain%20toxic.
“Three Technologies Dominate Lithium-Ion Battery Recycling Initiatives.” Assemblymag.com, ASSEMBLY, 24 July 2023, www.assemblymag.com/articles/97921-three-technologies-dominate-lithium-ion-battery-recycling-initiatives#:~:text=Pyrometallurgy%20refers%20to%20the%20use.
United Nations. “What Is Climate Change? | United Nations.” United Nations, www.un.org/en/climatechange/what-is-climate-change.
Hydrometallurgy
Hydrometallurgical recycling processing uses aqueous chemistry and typically follows three main steps: leaching spent cathode material, impurity removal/purification of leach solution, and recovery of metal salts.
Negative environmental impacts
We’ve talked about the advantages of electric vehicles, but do electric vehicles have any negative impacts? If they do, are their negative environmental impacts long-term?
Battery production and mining
EV Lithium-ion batteries are made with materials that are expensive and, in some cases, toxic and flammable. Primary materials include lithium, nickel, cobalt, and copper. The mining, manufacturing processes, and eventual disposal of these metals pose real environmental challenges.
How bad is mining for electric car batteries?
How come the production of the compartments of an EV is bad for the environment if all we’ve heard about EVs is that they’re the best alternative for traditional vehicles? There’s always two sides to a coin, and the same is for EVs; you have advantages and disadvantages. After production, electric vehicles have far lower carbon emissions than gas-powered vehicles. However, the process to mine, refine, and assemble EVs, particularly their batteries, is environmentally damaging. According to a report by MIT’s Climate Lab, one ton of mined lithium emits nearly 15 tons of CO2.
Battery disposal and toxic waste
As mentioned previously, EV batteries contain materials such as lithium, cobalt, and nickel, which are toxic materials. If left in landfills, they can leak into the soil and groundwater, posing serious environmental hazards and possible exposure to humans. But if recycled, these toxic materials can be reused to manufacture new batteries, which also saves us from having to mine for new ones.
How can EVs be better than traditional cars?
Even after mentioning some negative impacts of EVs, is it possible for them to be better environmentally? EVs are sometimes called “zero-emission vehicles.” But the batteries that go into them are not zero-emission at all, as mentioned before; in fact, making those batteries take a lot of energy that’s not clean and hurts the environment in other ways. Building a battery is an environmental cost that’s paid once. Buring gasoline is a cost that’s paid again, again, and again.
Sources:
Alternative Fuels Data Center: Electric Vehicle Benefits and Considerations. afdc.energy.gov/fuels/electricity-benefits.
Balch, Oliver, and Esther Opoku-Gyeni. “The Curse of “White Oil”: Electric Vehicles’ Dirty Secret – Podcast.” The Guardian, 11 Jan. 2021, www.theguardian.com/news/audio/2021/jan/11/the-curse-of-white-oil-electric-vehicles-dirty-secret-podcast.
Center for Climate and Energy Solutions. “Electric Vehicles - Center for Climate and Energy Solutions.” Center for Climate and Energy Solutions, 16 June 2021, www.c2es.org/content/electric-vehicles/#:~:text=Transportation%20is%20the%20largest%20single,significantly%20reduce%20greenhouse%20gas%20emissions.
“Countries Leading Green Public Transport Revolution.” GreenMatch.co.uk, 18 July 2024, www.greenmatch.co.uk/blog/green-public-transport.
Crawford, Iris. “How Much CO2 Is Emitted by Manufacturing Batteries?” MIT Climate Portal, 15 July 2022, climate.mit.edu/ask-mit/how-much-co2-emitted-manufacturing-batteries#:~:text=The%20Production%20Process&text=Particularly%20in%20hard%20rock%20mining.
Direct Recycling of Materials - ReCell Center. recellcenter.org/research/direct-recycling-of-materials/#:~:text=Direct%20recycling%20is%20the%20recovery.
Domonoske, Camila . “Their Batteries Hurt the Environment, but EVs Still Beat Gas Cars. Here’s Why.” NPR, 9 May 2024, www-s1.npr.org/2024/05/09/1250212212/ev-batteries-environmental-impact.
Duck, Charlotte. “Batteries Are Charging Our Planet, but What’s the Cost?” Science, National Geographic, 1 Nov. 2019, www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/partner-content-audi-nl-the-cost-of-batterie.
Education, Ucar Center for Science. “How Do We Reduce Greenhouse Gases? | Center for Science Education.” UCAR, scied.ucar.edu/learning-zone/climate-solutions/reduce-greenhouse-gases#:~:text=Generate%20electricity%20without%20emissions.&text=Because%20they%20do%20not%20burn,a%20solution%20to%20climate%20change.
“Energy Efficiency: Buildings and Industry.” Energy.gov, www.energy.gov/eere/energy-efficiency-buildings-and-industry.
“How Much CO2 Is Emitted by Manufacturing Batteries?” MIT Climate Portal, MIT, 16 Feb. 2022, climate.mit.edu/ask-mit/how-much-co2-emitted-manufacturing-batteries.
Kirk, Karin, and Karin Kirk. “Electric vehicles use half the energy of gas-powered vehicles.” Yale Climate Connections, 13 Feb. 2024, yaleclimateconnections.org/2024/01/electric-vehicles-use-half-the-energy-of-gas-powered-vehicles/#:~:text=Because%20they%20are%20so%20efficient,how%20the%20electricity%20is%20generated.
“Lithium Mining for EVs: How Sustainable Is It?” APM Research Lab, www.apmresearchlab.org/10x/lithium-mining-for-evs-sustainability#:~:text=After%20production%2C%20electric%20vehicles%20have.
Põldaru, Vallo. “10 Negative Impacts of Humans on the Environment - Impact Day.” Impact Day, 14 Feb. 2024, impactday.eu/blog/negative-environmental-impacts.
Staff, EnergySage. “The Top Pros And Cons of Electric Cars.” EnergySage, 18 Jan. 2023, www.energysage.com/electric-vehicles/pros-and-cons-electric-cars.
“Sustainability Focus: Electric Vehicle Battery Recycling.” Www.era-Environmental.com, www.era-environmental.com/blog/electric-vehicle-battery-recycling.
Steckelberg, Aaron, et al. “The Underbelly of Electric Vehicles.” Washington Post, 27 Apr. 2023, www.washingtonpost.com/world/interactive/2023/electric-car-batteries-geography/.
“The Truth about EV Battery Recycling.” HERE, 2024, www.here.com/learn/blog/electric-vehicle-battery-recycling#:~:text=EV%20batteries%20also%20contain%20toxic.
“Three Technologies Dominate Lithium-Ion Battery Recycling Initiatives.” Assemblymag.com, ASSEMBLY, 24 July 2023, www.assemblymag.com/articles/97921-three-technologies-dominate-lithium-ion-battery-recycling-initiatives#:~:text=Pyrometallurgy%20refers%20to%20the%20use.
United Nations. “What Is Climate Change? | United Nations.” United Nations, www.un.org/en/climatechange/what-is-climate-change.
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