1 Billion cars require about 20% of the known reserves of lithium and recycling can be done with low losses. New types of batteries are developed that use less

1 Billion cars require about 20% of the known reserves of lithium and recycling can be done with low losses. New types of batteries are developed that use less lithium or other materials. At current prices and technology, the raw material price for lithium carbonate is around $600 per car, (60Kg at about $10 per Kg) and that price can give you an idea of the environmental impact, probably on par with the 1 - 1.5 tonnes of steel required to build the car and costing similarly. Of course, "environmental impact" doesn't really mean anything unless you put it in perspective. We could talk about CO2 emissions during mining and refining - and we could reduce that to near zero by using electric mining equipment and clean energy. We could talk about the impact mining companies have on some beautiful South American salty desert, and I really have no answer there because it's all relative to how you value desert landscapes compared to urban mobility. Some people will surely claim it's unacceptable and we should all switch to bikes.