It seems to me lately the number of people pushing anti-EV or anti-battery narratives is increasing.

I keep stumbling upon more and more social media posts where people seem to reach the conclusion that EVs are either a scam or not viable. Mostly they use one or more of the following opinions to justify that:

  1. the energy used to recharge batteries comes from fossil fuels
  2. the metals used to make the batteries are mined by kids in the congo
  3. the total carbon footprint of an EV is higher than an ICE

And other similar stuff that i dont rlly wanna get into.

The thing that I dont understand is how can narratives like these keep gaining traction when the only, ONLY thing we know 100% for certain about all this is that oil is going to eventually run out (and not so late according to current estimates). How can anybody believe it would not be beneficial for us to start working in alternatives to oil NOW instead of… Idk waiting until it almost runs out and then we start killing each other for the last drops of it or smth.

I tried to talk some people into this point of view but somehow I cant convince anybody who already thinks the other way this shit makes me so frustrated sometimes.

  • oldschoolhillgiant@alien.topBEnglish
    1·
    10 months ago

    Oh goody. These are some of my favorite to debunk.

    1. Yes, the energy currently comes (mostly) from fossil fuels. But it doesn’t need to. There exists carbon free electricity and the grid is getting less and less carbon dependent all the time. Gasoline cars will always require gasoline.
    2. Yes. And it is a fucking tragedy. Cobalt is also used in gasoline production. But somehow the critics gloss over this. Child labor is abhorrent and should be opposed on its own, not under a spurious anti-ev fig leaf. Also, cobalt need not be produced with child labor. And many newer battery chemistries limit or even eliminate cobalt all together. A final note, many will deliberately conflate cobalt and lithium. They are not the same and do not have the same child labor concerns.
    3. Yes. But, in addition to the point outlined in (1), above; once you have driven about 20k miles on the current grid the balance swings back to the EV being better. YMMV, some production facilities are greener than others (see Volvo EX30).