Re: To EV or not to EV
Dear Melody, my friend insists that EVs are bad for the environment, are they right?
Please tell your friend that the phrase “bad for the environment” would be marked down in a Science GCSE for not being specific enough. But that’s enough of my teacher pedantry, I’ll assume they’re suggesting electric vehicles (EVs) are worse than the equivalent sized petrol or diesel car in terms of environmental impact.
In fact, all cars are detrimental to our planetary life support systems. The saying “if it can’t be grown, it must be mined” highlights that all resources we use in manufacturing products either come from biological sources, such as plants or animals, or are extracted from the Earth through mining. Crops, timber, and cotton, are grown, while metals, minerals, and fossil fuels, including oil, are mined from the ground.
The bulk of both petrol cars and EVs is composed of a variety of mined materials. Metal, usually steel, is used for the body, engine or motor components, and suspension due to its strength and durability, while aluminum is incorporated into lightweight parts like panels and wheels to improve fuel efficiency. Copper is essential for electrical wiring. Plastics, from oil, are used for dashboards, internal panels, and bumpers. Glass is used for windows, windshields, and mirrors. Rubber, often containing synthetic polymers, is in tyres, seals, and gaskets. Finally, there are the fabrics and occasionally leather found in car interiors, such as seats and carpets, which may be from biological sources but are more often synthetic oil-based materials.
So, almost all car production materials have come from the ground, causing associated problems with their extraction including habitat destruction, water pollution, noise pollution and high energy use (i.e., ‘bad for the environment’) let alone other social issues such as worker exploitation.
Your friend has probably heard about the mining associated with the lithium-ion batteries used in EVs. This does indeed add to the impact associated with production and can significantly harm the area proximal to the mine. However, post-production, once the car is on the road, the impacts reverse. If an EV is charged with energy from renewable electricity providers (several are available) they reduce air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions caused during driving. In contrast, petrol cars rely entirely on fossil fuels which lead to atmospheric pollution through their exhausts.
Let’s look at the word equation for burning octane, a hydrocarbon: octane + oxygen → carbon dioxide + water. Carbon dioxide is one of the main greenhouse gases. Alongside this carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, asthma-inducing particulate matter are emitted. Petrol produces a massive 2.30 kgs of CO2 per litre burned. Don’t worry, I’m proud to be a science geek.
The environmental benefits of EVs will increase as more of the energy grid transitions to renewables, they have the added benefit of providing battery storage when cheap energy is available on particularly sunny or windy days. By contrast, petrol cars emit harmful greenhouse gases throughout their lifespan. Obviously, if the electricity used to charge EVs comes from fossil fuels, the environmental benefits are diminished. The sustainability of EVs also depends on better recycling of their batteries and the impossibility of ‘ethical sourcing’ of materials such as lithium and cobalt. Methods for recycling battery materials are improving all the time.
EVs may cause more tyre pollution due to their heavier weight but produce less brake pollution with regenerative braking, and specialised tyres reduce wear, so they’re equivalent(ish) to a petrol car. However, the general scientific consensus is that, over the lifetime of a vehicle, EVs typically have a smaller overall impact. The latest from the Government states the sale of new petrol and diesel cars is expected to stop in 2030, and all new cars need to be zero emission by 2035. It’s going to be a challenge but we must reduce emissions, let’s hope they don’t U-turn.
In short, your friend isn’t entirely wrong. EVs are definitely harmful, they’re just less harmful that an equivalent sized petrol car. But a huge electric Mercedes-Benz EQS SUV has a far higher impact, and price tag, than a Fiat 500e, it’s chalk and cheese. Then again, it’s good to see the Xodus doesn’t just apply to X/ Twitter; many owners are now understandably looking to ditch their Teslas, secondhand they might be a bargain if you can cope with the embarrassment.
If you really need access to a vehicle, purchase the smallest EV you can get away with, car share or, even better, get a second-hand electric bike. EVs are the lesser of two evils but there’s a better option; reducing car usage altogether and supporting our chronically underinvested public transport system has an even greater positive impact.
I would reply to your friend that she needs to avoid the phrase ‘bad for the environment’. Then over a cup of tea or a pint, have a lovely chat about the circular economy and get yourselves a bus pass or railcard to travel together without leaving a big trail of environmental destruction in your wake. Celebrate the journey and try hard to “take only memories, leave only footprints” as the saying goes.
Sustainably yours,
Meryl
Ask Melody a question by contacting editor@northeastbylines.co.uk
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