Not if there are going to be hundreds of millions of them, no.
You can run a fleet of ev on regenerative energy, that doesn't work with converting engine vehicles. BUT the problem is it makes no sense if we just exchange all the ce cars with ev ones. We need to stay away from individual transportation solutions towards public transportation.
The #1 problem with EVs is not the energy and materials used to create the battery because that is eclipsed many times over by not using gas during the battery’s life- the biggest problem is that the entire car becomes e-waste as soon as the battery is damaged or degraded in any way.
They also produce just as much tire waste as an ICE car.
I hope moving forward, EVs will be regulated and have modular parts, and can still be user repairable, unlike (most) smartphones.
I don't want them to have that "vendor lock in" that Apple and Samsung are famous for, component wise.
Pretty much; although, (more importantly IMO) it also removes their economic support from oil companies. GHG's are still produced when obtaining lithium for the batteries, aluminium for the body, etc. There's as well the break and tyre particles that are still major pollutants regardless... despite all that it's still better then using a gas engine.
It's also not easy to convince someone to change their preferred mode of transport and EV's provide an acceptable (and in many ways superior) alternative. Not to mention taking the bus or riding a bike just isn't feasible for some people, similarly some places (like Japan with three separate voltage standards) don't have the necessary infrastructure and capacity to support EV's.
it's actually a pretty simple to figure out carbon footprint for gas powered cars. Gasoline is just a bunch of carbon atoms loosely linked together. You add heat, you add oxygen, and the carbon molecule bonds break in favor of bonding with oxygen to form carbon dioxide/monoxide, and release energy in the process. That's how combustion works. None of the carbon is destroyed in the process, all of the gasoline just gets converted into a gas; a greenhouse gas. Its why cars are the largest source of emissions in the US.
All of that is cut in an EV. With renewable energy sources there doesnt have to be any greenhouse emissions with EV's.
It is cut locally at the point of use by offloading the pollution and energy generation elsewhere. EV battery production as it is currently practiced is terrible, but also very far from where people actually use them.
They are net positive for sure, but only because of the potential for using less pollution energy generation instead of burning fossil fuels to move.
EV battery production as it is currently practiced is terrible
Nah. Fossil fuel industry want people to think it is, and most people assume it is thinking there has to be a catch. Lithium "mining" is pretty low impact compared to traditional metal mining, and theres not that much lithium per battery anyway.
Where I live eaectric is 100% wind. with that and solar many places have a significat renewable Part. Even in the worst case fossil fuels are 2 or 3 times more efficent than a car engine.
Exhaust and noise are still a problem. It won't do much on a climate level, but even if we manage to reduce car usage having the remaining cars be electric is useful. Both noise pollution and particulate pollution have negative effects on human health.
Maybe it's just my bubble but most climate activists I see are primarily pushing for renewable electricity generation, and consumption reduction across the board in all aspects of life. They are usually also against cars generally but it's a secondary subject.
They're marginally better but we don't need marginally better, we need to get our shit together right now.
Lithium mining is not good for the environment.
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