Electric Vehicles: Are They Good, Bad, or Ugly?

Epoch Times

23-05-2025

Commentary
The recently released '
It raises serious concerns that policymakers—in wealthy countries only—are setting 'green' policies that continue to support human-rights atrocities and environmental degradation in poorer, developing countries where the exotic minerals and metals needed for EVs are mined.
Some challenges remain with wind and solar power, which can only generate occasional electricity and are unreliable. This issue has drawn federal legislative attention, with the U.S. Senate voting to discuss a resolution to roll back
'Electric Vehicles: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly,' directed and narrated by political commentator and author Larry Elder, demonstrates the environmental degradation and human-rights atrocities caused by mining the components needed for EVs, while presenting a thorough analysis of the pros and cons of the vehicles.
Planet Earth's Resources Are Limited
Elder's documentary educates viewers about how the critical minerals and metals needed to support the much-touted 'energy transition' to EVs, wind turbines, solar panels, and batteries come from unreliable countries such as China, some poorer African nations, and others. Those countries have minimal labor laws and poor environmental controls, so that their production of the critical minerals and metals needed for going 'green' results in serious environmental degradation and dire social consequences.
All this, just to support 'clean' electricity in wealthier countries.
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The extraction rates and R/P (reserves to production) ratio for many of the critical minerals and metals needed for going 'green' are alarming, and most of these natural resources are not being replenished. This suggests a worrisome possibility of an unsustainable approach to the current policies of subsidies for 'green' energies. Furthermore, even countries
Lithium: In 2024, the world mined about
Cobalt: In 2024, the world produced an estimated
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The documentary raises concerns about these 'blood minerals,' which come mostly from developing countries—mined at locations in the world that are never inspected or seen by policymakers and EV buyers.
The mining and refining to support the demands for EV batteries, wind, and solar involve large quantities of raw materials. The estimated total mass of raw materials mined and processed for an EV battery, including overburden and waste rock, can range from 50,000 to 100,000 pounds, depending on battery size, chemistry, and mining efficiency.
Elder's documentary should be viewed by so-called zero-emission policymakers in the few wealthy countries that have disrupted the delivery of continuous and uninterruptible electricity with strict regulations, preferential subsidies, and cancellation of proven baseload sources like coal, nuclear, and natural gas.
Those who watch 'Electric Vehicles: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly' will learn about the shell game some are using to exploit developing countries to support so-called clean and green electric vehicles, and can evaluate for themselves whether global economies and the environment can sustain EVs to meet transportation needs for all, not just for a select few.
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Views expressed in this article are opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.