Overview
Providing evidence: Supporting your response with credible evidence, such as GPS readings, landmarks, or photos
Asking questions: Asking open-ended questions that encourage further discussion
Offering illustrations: Providing examples or illustrations to support a key point
Pointing out inconsistencies: Identifying inconsistencies in an argument
Suggesting alternatives: Proposing alternatives to a proposed project and explaining why they should be considered
Use APA style and sources to back up evidence in the response.
No AI or plagiarism
at least 100 words each
1) Three elements used in Electric Vehicles that gas powered do not use are Cobalt, Lithium, and Nickel (Iea.gov,2021). These elements are mined in various locations around the world. Cobalt is mined in a few different places, but the top producer of cobalt is the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), It was estimated in 2021 that in DRC there had been 60% to 70% of cobalt extracted (Murray, 2022). One of the major elements that is used in electric vehicle batteries is Lithium and it is normally mined in Australia, there are a few other places that are used to mine lithium like Chile and China (Kalale, 2024). Australian miners produce 47% of the world's lithium, and it is projected that by 2029 the country can make more than AU$ 10.43 billion from exporting lithium (Pistilli, 2024).As for Nickel it is mined mainly mined in Indonesia and it makes up 20.6% of the total nickel mined in the world (mine.nridigital.com, n.d). As the demand for electric vehicles increases the need for Cobalt, Lithium, and Nickel will also increase.
Like most mining, there is bound to be some sort of ethical issue. Regarding cobalt mining, there are various ethical problems, and the most notable issue is human rights violations. In the DRC there are militia groups that traffic children and force them to work in the cobalt mine. These militants traffic children and force them to work in austere environments because it is a way for them to make money. (Gross, 2023). Not only is child labor and human trafficking a problem with cobalt mining but it also has impacts on the environment. At high levels, cobalt can be toxic, and improper waste disposal damages landscapes, pollutes water, and contaminates local crops (Davey,2023). Normally the air that surrounds Cobalt mines is dangerous to breathe in, some parents who worked in the mines had children born with birth defects and this was linked to cobalt through studies (Davey,2023).“Mining of cobalt is linked to grave human rights abuses, including the exposure of miners to unsafe worksites and reliance on child and forced Congolese labor, as well as environmental degradation. The U.S. Department of Labor estimates that at least 25,000 children are working in cobalt mines in the DRC.” (cecc.gov, 2023). So not only is cobalt mining dangerous and bad for the environment, it is tied to serious issues like human rights violations and exploitation.
Lithium mining also has ethical dilemmas, but they are predominately in the mines located in South American countries. Lithium mining companies are encroaching on the indigenous people's land because most of the lithium is located on indigenous land in South America (Frankel and Whoriskey, 2016). These mining companies are violating the indigenous people’s rights to control their ancestral lands. Lithium mines use a lot of water to operate and since rainfall is so scarce in the mining locations, the locals are worried that the mining operations will consume accessible water, leaving their communities to suffer from water scarcity (Frankel and Whoriskey, 2016). Mining for nickel leads to land deforestation, potential soil contamination, and community displacement (Chandler, 2024). Nickel mining also uses a lot of water just like lithium. Nickel mining is also tied to water pollution and there are also greenhouse gas emissions that are involved with nickel mining (Ief.gov, 2024). There is an ethical cost to sourcing materials for electric vehicles where communities' rights and health often pay the price.
When comparing the energy required to make electric vehicles with gas vehicles. Electric vehicles require more energy for the manufacturing process (Epa.gov,2025). The increased use of energy results in creating more carbon pollution. However, over time the electric vehicle actually produces less Greenhouse gases than a gas vehicle, this is because there is not a tailpipe that releases emissions (Epa.gov,2025). Though electric vehicles need more energy for manufacturing, their long-term environmental impact is significantly lower than gas powered vehicles. According to River James, a writer for Recurrent Auto, “Over the course of its life, a new gasoline car will produce an average of 410 grams of carbon dioxide per mile. A new electric car will produce only 110 grams” (James,2025). I think the numbers speak for themselves when comparing electric vehicles and gas-powered vehicles.
With all things considered, I would have to continue to side with electric vehicles. Upfront in the production stage electric vehicles make an impact on the environment, but as time continues the impact slows down unlike gas powered vehicles, they continue to contribute to global warming emissions (Reichmuth et al., 2022). When it comes to the ethical impact, I was a bit disheartened learning about the awful cobalt mining practices. This really did kind of sway me away from electric vehicles but thinking about the bigger picture protecting the earth is important. I am not saying that the cobalt mining practices are okay, they are far from okay. Fortunately, our government has created a project known as, Combatting Child Labor in the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s Cobalt Industry (COTECCO) it aims to reduce child labor and improve working conditions for the Congolese (dol.gov,2022). Despite the ethical and environmental issues with the production of electric vehicles, I think they are a far more sustainable option for our planet.
Works cited
Chandler, David L., 2024 “3 Questions: Can we secure a sustainable supply of nickel?” Accessed: April 21,2025, https://news.mit.edu/2024/3-questions-can-we-secur...
Davey, Charolette, 2023, “The Environmental Impacts of Cobalt Mining in Congo” Accessed: April 21,2025, https://earth.org/cobalt-mining-in-congo/
Dol.gov,2022, “Final Evaluation of the Project: Combatting Child Labor in the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s Cobalt Industry (COTECCO)” Accessed: April 21,2025,https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/ILAB/evalua...
Epa.gov, 2025, “Electric Vehicle Myths” Accessed: April 22,2025, https://www.epa.gov/greenvehicles/electric-vehicle...
Frankel, Todd C., Whoriskey, Peter, 2016, “Tossed aside in the ‘white gold’ rush Indigenous people are left poor as tech world takes lithium from under their feet” Accessed: April 21,2025, https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/business/b...
Gross, Terry, 2023 “How 'modern-day slavery' in the Congo powers the rechargeable battery economy” Accessed: April 21,2025, https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2023/02/...
Iea.gov,2021, “Minerals used in electric cars compared to conventional cars” Accessed: April 21,2025, https://www.iea.org/data-and-statistics/charts/min...
Ief.gov,2024, “Nickel - a mineral with a challenging role in clean tech” Accessed: April 21,2025, https://www.ief.org/news/nickel-a-mineral-with-a-c...
James, River, 2025 “Carbon Footprint Face-Off: A Full Picture of EVs vs. Gas Cars” Accessed: April 22,2025, https://www.recurrentauto.com/research/just-how-di...
Kalale, Rithwik, 2024 “From global supply chains to concerns for public land, fulfilling U.S. demand for lithium faces challenges”, Accessed: April 21,2025, https://www.apmresearchlab.org/10x/lithium-mining-for-evs-sustainability#:~:text=Lithium%20is%20a%20key%20component,followed%20by%20Chile%2C%20then%20China.
Mine.nridigital.com, n.d, “Top 10 nickel-producing countries in 2023” Accessed: April 21,2025, https://mine.nridigital.com/mine_apr24/top-10-nick...
Murray, Aphra, 2022, “Cobalt Mining: The Dark Side of the Renewable Energy Transition”, Accessed: April 21,2025 https://earth.org/cobalt-mining/
Pistilli, Melissa, 2024, “Lithium Mines in Australia” Accessed: April 21,2025, https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/lithium-mines-australia-updated-2024#:~:text=An%20impressive%2047%20percent%20of,more%20than%20AU%2410.43%20billion.
Reichmuth, David, Dunn, Jessica, Anair, Don, 2022 “Driving Cleaner, How Electric Cars and Pick-Ups Beat Gasoline on Lifetime Global Warming Emissions” Accessed: April 22,2025, https://www.ucs.org/resources/driving-cleaner?_gl=...
2) Electric Vehicles…is the juice worth the squeeze?
I have driven gas vehicles since I first got a drivers license in 2014, and regrettably not the most fuel efficient vehicles. Through the years, I’ve seen firsthand the reliability and simplicity of gasoline-powered vehicles. As discussed in the previous discussion post, there is always a gas station nearby, and it takes only about 5 minutes MAXIMUM to “recharge” at a gas station. Growing up in Houston and now living in San Diego, I’m surrounded by different views on electric vehicles (EVs). Funny enough, in 2022, California passed legislation requiring all new cars sold to be zero emission vehicles by 2035. They’re definitely more common here in San Diego, and some people swear they’re the future. Others, like me after taking this class, are more skeptical, especially when you start digging into what really goes into making one, no pun intended. Once you turn off the TV, and open up the “laptop”, you will see them differently.
There are several elements that are used in EVs that you won’t find in gas vehicles like my old 2001 Toyota Avalon. Three big ones are lithium, cobalt, and neodymium. These materials are essential for making EV batteries and motors. ‘The three largest producers of lithium are Australia, Chile, and China” (Bhutada, 2023) Sadly, it is predicted that the Lithium surge will only increase in the years to come. “As the world produces more batteries and EVs, the demand for lithium is projected to reach 1.5 million tonnes of lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE) by 2025 and over 3 million tonnes by 2030. (Bhutada, 2023) Despite what we know about EV’s, it seems the world will continue producing the materials necessary for them, at a rapid rate. Moving from Lithium to cobalt, consider this, “The leading supplier of cobalt is the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which has a long record of internal unrest, international conflict, human rights violations, and environmental pollution” (Spiller, Kannan, Toman, 2024). Given the history of the Congo, this leads us into the ethical issues behind the EV surge. If they have been willing to violate human rights in the past for financial gain, what is to make me believe they won't do it again for Cobalt?
Once you gain some exposure to them, the ethical issues behind these materials are hard to ignore. Cobalt mining in the Congo, for example, has been linked to child labor and unsafe working conditions (Amnesty International, 2016). Lithium mining in Africa has been essentially monopolized by the Chinese. “But what a lot of small Chinese companies are doing is just showing up, taking explosives, blowing up a bunch of rock, throwing it in the back of a truck and leaving. They’re not considering where the water is going. They’re not considering contamination in the communities; there’s none of that. They’re just there to take away the rock and pillage it and then ship it back to China” (Kalyan, 2023). Zayn Kalyan is the CEO of Infinity Stone ventures, and he notes the potential ethical concerns go Chinese mining. This statement is derived from an interview with Kit Millon Ross in 2023. These aren’t just small problems, or “victimless crimes”, they’re human rights and environmental concerns that get overlooked in the rush to go green. It is a genius marketing plan honestly, just get everybody to focus on “eliminating exhaust” and they won’t focus on everything else that goes into making the EV.
Another thing that doesn’t get talked about enough is how much energy it actually takes to build an EV. “One source of EV emissions is the creation of their large lithium-ion batteries. The use of minerals including lithium, cobalt, and nickel, which are crucial for modern EV batteries, requires using fossil fuels to mine those materials and heat them to high temperatures. As a result, building the 80 kWh lithium-ion battery found in a Tesla Model 3 creates between 2.5 and 16 metric tons of CO2 (exactly how much depends greatly on what energy source is used to do the heating).1 This intensive battery manufacturing means that building a new EV can produce around 80% more emissions than building a comparable gas-powered car” (Moseman, 2022). So even though EVs might save emissions later on, they start off with a bigger carbon footprint, 80% more to be exact.
After looking into all this, my opinion from last week stands, I’m not fully sold on electric vehicles. I’m not against progress in the name of environment sake, but right now EVs seem more like a band-aid on a bullet hole, than a solution. They shift the pollution from an exhaust pipe, to a mining machine, and ethical problems from “in your face” to other parts of the world instead of truly solving them. It reminds me of taking medicine when you have a cold, you may not see the symptoms anymore, but they have not just gone away, you are not “healthy”. Until the mining becomes safer, more sustainable, and fair, and until the energy required to build EVs is lower, we still have a long way to go. Maybe one day EVs will be the answer, but today is not that day, in my humble opinion.
Works Cited:
Amnesty International. This Is What We Die For: Human Rights Abuses in the Democratic Republic of the Congo Power the Global Trade in Cobalt. 2016, www.amnesty.org/en/documents/afr62/3183/2016/en/
Bhutada, Govind. “This Chart Shows Which Countries Produce the Most Lithium.” World Economic Forum, 5 Jan. 2023, www.weforum.org/stories/2023/01/chart-countries-produce-lithium-world/. Accessed 23 Apr. 2025.
Ross, Kit Million. “Ethics, Geopolitics and Lithium Mining: In Conversation with Zayn Kaylan of Infinity Stone.” Mining Technology, 18 May 2023, www.mining-technology.com/features/ethics-geopolitics-lithium-mining/?cf-view. Accessed 23 Apr. 2025.
Spiller, Beia, Kannan, Sangita, Toman, Michael. “Critical Minerals for Electric Vehicles: What You Need to Know.” Resources for the Future, 7 Mar. 2024, www.resources.org/common-resources/critical-minerals-for-electric-vehicles-what-you-need-to-know/. Accessed 23 Apr. 2025.
Moseman, Andrew. “Are Electric Vehicles Definitely Better for the Climate than Gas-Powered Cars?” MIT Climate Portal, 13 Oct. 2022, climate.mit.edu/ask-mit/are-electric-vehicles-definitely-better-climate-gas-powered-cars. Accessed 23 Apr. 2025.