It's a debate that's happening all around us when it comes to electric cars. Some people argue that these vehicles are far better than internal combustion engines for the environment. Others say they are just as bad. Car manufacturers are presenting their electric vehicles as the future, some of which have plans to stop the production of internal combustion engines by 2030.

So, we’re going to try to explain some of the factual data that we have on electric cars and hybrids.

Related: This Country Has The Most Electric Cars In The World

Facts, Numbers, And Footprint

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Via: forconstructionpros.com

There are a few arguments against electric vehicles that are just as detrimental to the environment as traditional combustion engines. The mining process for lithium-ion batteries is very energy-intensive and produces a high amount of greenhouse gases. It's going to get worse as more people buy EVs. It takes about 8 to 10 metric tons of CO2 to produce one electric vehicle. The more EV’s we will have in circulation the higher the amount of greenhouse gases needed to extract the raw materials to produce batteries. Some smaller batteries can take as few as two tons while larger ones could generate up to 17 tons of CO2. When it comes to CO2, the average production of an EV produces around 7 metric tons of CO2. This is equivalent to the carbon footprint of around a million cars.

Related: 10 Low Emission Cars Great For The Environment

Mining Process And Material Handling

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Via: batteryindustry.tech

More than half of the world's lithium supply comes from the lithium triangle, an area between Chile, Bolivia, and Argentina. In the arid salt-plains of the Atacama desert, high up in the Andes Mountains, workers drill through the crust of the salt to get to the mineral-rich brine below the surface.  It's causing a decrease in the water supply for the local farmers, causing the locals to survive only on lithium mining. The mining process has taken around 65% of the region's water, leaving less water for the local agriculture to grow fresh vegetables and fruits.

Furthermore, the production of a ton of lithium requires 750-tons of brine, but it doesn't stop here. Batteries are not made out of lithium only, actually, a battery is made out of only 6% lithium, to produce a battery cobalt is also required. The leading country in worldwide cobalt mine production in 2020 was the Democratic Republic of Congo, having produced an estimated 95,000 metric tons that year. The sourcing problem with cobalt mining in the Democratic Republic of Congo is the use of child-labour, with reported deaths big tech companies like Google, Tesla, Dell are named in the US lawsuit by families of children killed or injured while mining in DRC.

Related: US Wants Mining And Battery Companies To Expand Into Canada To Source EV Materials

Storage And Recycling

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Via: renewablesnow.com

As we mentioned above, it is estimated that the high amount of greenhouse gases to extract the raw materials that make up a battery is greater than the number of greenhouse gases produced by internal combustion cars. Electronics have a lifecycle, some get too old and go outdated, some fail yet some never hit the household doors. Recycling old batteries is a great solution, once all the lithium human labor can extract is over we will have to keep recycling what we already have, but that comes with a cost.

Different from plastic, battery storage is more onerous. Batteries tend to catch fire because of the volatility of elements it contains. Similar cases have happened to the general public as well. For example, the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 was discontinued because of this. Recycling will take more effort, but as of right now the industries seem more focused on getting rid of the internal combustions and replacing them with electric vehicles.

Related: 8 Upcoming EVs That Might Dethrone Tesla

Coal For Electricity

Coal For Electricity
Via: theconversation.com

Electric vehicles have a long-run environmental footprint. Based on research from the Federal Highway Administration, the average American travels nearly 13,500 miles per year. If the scenario were to drive an electric vehicle the total amount of electricity to run the car would be 4,000 kWh of electricity per year to operate. Does the US have all the resources to go fully electric? Countries with lots of wind and efficient solar systems can generate enough electricity to run electric cars in their country. Larger unions, like the U.S, rely upon coal, which is set to be the third-largest energy source for U.S. electricity generation in 2020—about 19%.

The disadvantages of using coal also include the fact that coal is a non-renewable source of energy, is potentially radioactive, destroys natural habitats and lastly it creates high levels of carbon emissions.

Related: This Is How Much It Costs To Charge a Tesla

Greenhouse Gases In The Long Run

Ev Are Eco-Friendly In The Long Run
Via: cleantechnica.com

Now speaking in the long run, an electric vehicle will produce fewer emission gases and be more eco-friendly to the environment compared to fuel-powered cars. As of right now, we are still moving up the slope to hit the break-even point where the production of electric cars equals the same amount of gases released in the atmosphere as the production of gas-powered engines does.

With technology moving forward we might see development and better efficiency in the production of electric vehicles, until then we have to slowly walk up the slope.

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