Vince Beiser's latest book, "Power Metal: The Race for the Resources That Will Shape the Future," highlights that while electric vehicles (EVs) address carbon emissions, they come with severe environmental consequences. The extraction of vital metals like lithium and cobalt involves ecological devastation, including deforestation and water contamination, and raises ethical issues related to child labor and violence in mining regions. Beiser emphasizes that choosing renewable energy sources requires a critical perspective on our consumption habits and the complex supply chain behind these technologies.
To get the lithium, cobalt, nickel, and other metals required to build electric cars like my Leaf, rainforests are being cut to the ground.
While driving my electric car didn't generate any carbon emissions, manufacturing my car certainly did damage to the planet and to people.
Every promising solution comes with trade-offs, and electric cars are no different.
Reducing consumption is still critical, even when choosing renewable energy.
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