I know that gas vehicles produce gasses that pollute the atmosphere and electric vehicles don’t emit anything which is good. But even in the perfect scenario where you’re going from solar, to battery, to car the components are still made of parts that can’t be recycled. The batteries have acids that need to be disposed of somehow. At a large scale wouldn’t all this excess chemical waste be just as much a pollutant than gas vehicle emissions?
In: 0
Most of the components in regular and electric cars ARE recyclable. The plastics and carbon fiber parts maybe not so much, but that’s not a gas/electric issue. Recyclable bioplastics are available so when they aren’t used that’s a choice the mfg has made.
Lead acid battery recycling is very nearly a 99% closed loop. Has been for quite a while. Lithium batts aren’t as recyclable yet mostly because it’s a newer technology. Lithium is expensive so it’s safe to say somebody (probably Toyota or Tesla) will figure it out. Probably sooner rather than later.
Having solar on the roof and an electric vehicle (golf cart) in the driveway is a wonderfull feeling. I used to be able to run to the store, take the kids to school, etc, all w/o increasing global warming. The community I’m in now isn’t really set up for that so I’m back to driving a gas vehicle.
Solar on the roof currently means guilt free AC in the Texas summer, and my 25ish year old vehicles are nice so I have no plans on trading anything in for a newer model. Once gas starts getting scarce, or EV conversions get a little cheaper, I’ll swap in electric drivetrains and be driving emission free again.
Fwiw, an EV conversion for my GM vehicles is 12-15k and about 2 weeks work for a shadetree mechanic like myself.
Latest Answers