Study by Low Carbon Vehicle Partnership, funded by UK gov. and car industry. 'Rare earths' minerals needed to make electric car batteries are so polluting to extract that none are mined in the US. Most come from Communist China. Obama's electric car business pivots on a Communist Chinese product which renders electric car CO2 emissions as high or higher than petrol equivalents.
6/10/11, "Electric cars may not be so green after all, says British study," The Australian, Ben Webster
"ELECTRIC cars could produce higher emissions over their lifetimes than petrol equivalents because of the energy consumed in making their batteries, a study has found.
An electric car owner would have to drive at least 129,000km before producing a net saving in CO2. Many electric cars will not travel that far in their lifetime because they typically have a range of less than 145km on a single charge and are unsuitable for long trips. Even those driven 160,000km would save only about a tonne of CO2 over their lifetimes.
The British study, which is the first analysis of the full lifetime emissions of electric cars covering manufacturing, driving and disposal, undermines the case for tackling climate change by the rapid introduction of electric cars.
The Committee on Climate Change, the UK government watchdog, has called for the number of electric cars on Britain's roads to increase from a few hundred now to 1.7 million by 2020.
Britain's Department for Transport is spending $66 million over the next year giving up to 8,600 buyers of electric cars a grant of $7700 towards the purchase price. Ministers are considering extending the scheme.
The study was commissioned by the Low Carbon Vehicle Partnership, which is jointly funded by the British government and the car industry. It found that a mid-size electric car would produce
- 23.1 tonnes of CO2 over its lifetime, compared with 24 tonnes for a similar petrol car.
Emissions from manufacturing electric cars are at least 50 per cent higher because batteries are made from materials such as lithium, copper and refined silicon, which
- require much energy to be processed.
Many electric cars are expected to need a replacement battery after a few years. Once the emissions from producing the second battery are added in, the total CO2 from producing an electric car rises to 12.6 tonnes, compared with 5.6 tonnes for a petrol car. Disposal also produces double the emissions because of the energy consumed in recovering and recycling metals in the battery. The study also took into account carbon emitted
- to generate the grid electricity consumed.
Greg Archer, director of Low CVP, said the industry should state the full lifecycle emissions of cars rather than just tailpipe emissions, to avoid misleading consumers. He said that drivers wanting to minimise emissions could be better off buying a small, efficient petrol or diesel car. “People have to match the technology to their particular needs,” he said.
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"Rare Earth Metals," UCLA Institute of Environment and Sustainability
US environmental rules and wages make it too expensive to extract rare earths here. We opted out of the "race" for green jobs. Most rare earths come from Communist China now. Rare earth smelting plant in
- Communist China (picture below, reuters, 11/21/10)
12/29/10, "China will cut rare earths export quotas," BBC
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6/5/11, "RARE EARTHS: USA CONCERNS, US CONGRESS ETC…," simonthongwh.com
"3 GTSO Supports New Bipartisan Bill to Improve U.S. Rare Earths Supply Chain
Green Technology Solutions, Inc. (OTCQB: GTSO) today announced its support for the Critical Minerals Policy Act, a bipartisan bill introduced to the Senate last week and aimed at reducing the U.S.’s dependence upon unreliable foreign suppliers such as China for its rare earths and other critical minerals.
The bill was introduced by 17 Senators, both Republicans and Democrats. The legislation directs the U.S. Geological Survey to establish a new list of minerals critical to the U.S. economy and provides a comprehensive set of policies designed to address each economic sector that relies upon critical minerals.
Rare earths and other critical minerals are essential to the manufacture of green technologies including wind turbine generators, advanced solar panels and electric car batteries. They are also used to produce modern military defense systems such as laser-guided missiles. Currently, China supplies more than 95 percent of the world’s rare earths, creating serious economic and security vulnerabilities for the U.S. and its allies. In recent years, China has reduced export quotas, raised mineral taxes and restricted mining licenses in an effort to tighten its stranglehold over the critical elements."...
- Rare earths mine in Communist China from DailyMailOnline, Jan. 10, 2010
via WZ
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