So the UK gov have bought forward the date where all new cars must be electric or hybrid.
Now forgive my ignorance but I get the damage that oil/petroleum does to the environment but surely there’s a negative impact to this ‘green’ tech too? Am I overlooking how much lithium or cobalt will be needed for this mass change? Surely having a huge need for these resources will mean just as much mining or seabed trawling to the degree that it’s not really ‘green’ any more…
In: Earth Science
When it comes to electricity the greenest form is nuclear. It takes the least amount of fossil fuels to mine the ore that gets refined into fuel, build the power plant, and produce the power. Yes, nuclear storage is an issue and accidents have happened, but the environmental impact and loss of life is tiny compared to coal. There is some very exciting work being done with thorium reactors right now, I strongly suggest looking into that if you’re curious about the future of green energy.
The biggest issue with wind and solar is that the lifespan of the infrastructure is often too short to make much of an impact in carbon offset compared to the amount of release it takes to create. It is also a land-hog method. Look at Ivanpaa in California for an example.
An issue just as important as carbon emissions is resource management, as you mentioned. I haven’t heard/seen very much in the way of alarm bells on this front. For instance, the global supply of indium is set to run out in the next decade at its current level of use vs known deposits. Indium is what makes touchscreens work, hard to keep our modern society without smartphones.
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