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Originally Posted by JohnnyCanuck
RABAUKE there's lots of legitimate questions about the actual impacts of EV's on the environment. There has been way too little study of the A-Z environmental impacts of battery production (including lithium and cobalt mining) to disposal. Worse, nowhere near enough analysis of the impact on carbon emissions of all the additional demands on the power grid. While coal is not the primary source for electric power anymore, I understand it to be the most prevalent source of marginal energy and therefore the primary supply point for all these EV's plugging into the grid. And there is no such thing as "clean coal".
Not only is David Booth right (again), we need to be embracing his viewpoint and using it to fuel (pun intended) a legitimate debate about the merits of EV's. Right now, it seems that everyone is afraid to point out Elon Musk for what he's peddling: a modern incarnation of Clark Stanley's Snake Oil Linament. This week's announcement was nothing more than the latest stop on his medicine show tour.
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Yeah, the creation and destruction of the batteries is where they are very harmful to the environment (I always chuckled at the idea Prius drivers thought they were more environmentally friendly). In terms of powering, it is just another step in Musk's plan.. he has designs and prototypes for building materials that act as solar panels (roads, roofing, sidewalks, etc).