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> embodied CO2 from manufacturing, indirect impacts from increased demand for parking, demand for larger parking spaces Why would electric cars be any worse th

> embodied CO2 from manufacturing, indirect impacts from increased demand for parking, demand for larger parking spaces Why would electric cars be any worse than combustion cars for these?

baq 3y ago
Batteries, mostly. Copper and lithium mining. Sprinkle with rare ears for magnets etc.
- jeffbee 3y ago
  It doesn't really have much to do with the mining. The embodied carbon of the battery comes mostly from the fact that it has to be baked to dehydrate the materials. Carbon, because there is not enough renewable energy in the places where these batteries are made. As time goes on the carbon embodiment will decrease. The overwhelming problem with giant electric SUVs is the opportunity cost. Given limited capacity for battery making, and considering that we are using the last bit of our emissions budget to make them, it is obviously better to make them as small as possible. Slapping a 180kWh battery pack in a Rivian is ridiculous. With the same materials you could make 500 electric bicycles.
  - slashdev 3y ago
    Bicycles are not a replacement for cars in all situations, uses, or weather. You could make lighter vehicles, but that’s equally true for combustion vehicles.
- jackmott42 3y ago
  you mine for battery materials once. with an ICE engine you mine for oil over and over and over again, and you burn more fossil fuels to refine it, and burn more to transport it to you, over and over and over again.
  - slashdev 3y ago
    [flagged]
- slashdev 3y ago
  How’s that worse than continuous fossil fuel extraction, refining, and combustion over the lifetime of the vehicle?
bell-cot 3y ago
Guess: The "with a charger" aspect increases the total physical footprint of a parking space. (Ditto cost, infrastructure, etc.)
- throwaway894345 3y ago
  Obviously you can park an electric SUV in a parking space without a charger, just like you can park an ICE SUV in a parking space without a gasoline/diesel pump.
  - bell-cot 3y ago
    I know of zero parking lots/structures, however new or trendy, which feature fuel pumps. But - at least around me - EV chargers seem to be mandated (for at least for some of the spots) when any large or image-conscious organization builds or renovates parking infrastructure. For the purpose at hand, it doesn't matter whether the mandate is legal, or just "or what will they say about us on social media???".

> embodied CO2 from manufacturing, indirect impacts from increased demand for parking, demand for larger parking spaces Why would electric cars be any worse than combustion cars for these?

baq 3y ago

Batteries, mostly. Copper and lithium mining. Sprinkle with rare ears for magnets etc.

jeffbee 3y ago
It doesn't really have much to do with the mining. The embodied carbon of the battery comes mostly from the fact that it has to be baked to dehydrate the materials. Carbon, because there is not enough renewable energy in the places where these batteries are made. As time goes on the carbon embodiment will decrease. The overwhelming problem with giant electric SUVs is the opportunity cost. Given limited capacity for battery making, and considering that we are using the last bit of our emissions budget to make them, it is obviously better to make them as small as possible. Slapping a 180kWh battery pack in a Rivian is ridiculous. With the same materials you could make 500 electric bicycles.
- slashdev 3y ago
  Bicycles are not a replacement for cars in all situations, uses, or weather. You could make lighter vehicles, but that’s equally true for combustion vehicles.
jackmott42 3y ago
you mine for battery materials once. with an ICE engine you mine for oil over and over and over again, and you burn more fossil fuels to refine it, and burn more to transport it to you, over and over and over again.
- slashdev 3y ago
  [flagged]
slashdev 3y ago
How’s that worse than continuous fossil fuel extraction, refining, and combustion over the lifetime of the vehicle?

bell-cot 3y ago

Guess: The "with a charger" aspect increases the total physical footprint of a parking space. (Ditto cost, infrastructure, etc.)

throwaway894345 3y ago
Obviously you can park an electric SUV in a parking space without a charger, just like you can park an ICE SUV in a parking space without a gasoline/diesel pump.
- bell-cot 3y ago
  I know of zero parking lots/structures, however new or trendy, which feature fuel pumps. But - at least around me - EV chargers seem to be mandated (for at least for some of the spots) when any large or image-conscious organization builds or renovates parking infrastructure. For the purpose at hand, it doesn't matter whether the mandate is legal, or just "or what will they say about us on social media???".