CARS VS ELECTRIC VEHICLES: AN INTERESTING TRUTH

MAE STAFF WRITER, ALLYS RAMIREZ AND ASHLY PINEDA, 11/21/24

A recent survey of a few Lincoln High students revealed the general misconception about electric vehicles like Tesla and Rivian. Electric vehicles have become a big concern considering the environmental degradation and climate issues we're currently facing. Many consumers believe that owning an electric vehicle will some how dramatically and positively impact the environment. That may not be true.

Electric vehicles (EVs) have been around since 1828 but became popular in 1997 when the Toyota Prius emerged. Since, several variations of EVs have emerged; hybrids and fully electric are trending heavily. Instead of the petroleum gas vehicles use, electric vehicles use batteries made out of lithium. Because these batteries are rechargeable they are believed to be a better option for a cleaner environment. Lithium mining and exporting from countries like Australia, Chile, and China has become big business. Lithium mines arre even being considered locally near the Salton Sea.

The lithium for electric vehicle batteries, among other appliances and gadgets requiring batteries, is mined from salt flat brines or geothermal pools. By pumping the brine to the surface and letting the water evaporate, companies are able to collect lithium, clean it and concentrate it chemically, and process it. The process is cost effective in that it doesn't cost much but it is highly inefficient and time consuming. The body of water that undergoes this process must be devoid of life and it ends up dirty from all the brine and chemicals. For that reason, many states like California, Nevada, and Minnesota are pushing back on this process to not damage and pollute the environment, especially sources of water. Also consider, all the vehicles, machines, and processing plants used to make these lithium batteries are gas powered and continue to pollute.

The batteries made from lithium also degrade slowly making them unusable and dangerous over time. According to the National Library of Medicine, “The lack of uniform regulatory policy on their disposal means that lithium batteries may contribute substantially to environmental pollution and adverse human health impacts due to potentially toxic materials.” Contrary to the popular belief that lithium batteries create less gas emissions, is the reality that environmental trauma the creation of new batteries and disposal of old batteries causes is even more harmful. This is especially alarming considering that there is no current plan for the safe disposal of the millions of batteries currently in use.

If a proper way to discard the batteries, besides taking them to a salvage yard, isn’t found that will produce even more waste—amplifying our environmental issue and making no positive difference. If the batteries aren't created and disposed of sustainably, electirc vehicles might actually become worse for the environment.