Posted on by Californiacontrarian

Mendacity … EV’s

It has long been my contention that whenever discussing something with a liberal, never try to use logic, as the minds of liberals are not programmed to think logically. [It’s actually a matter of them processing information in the limbic system (emotion) as opposed to the frontal lobe (logic), but that topic is best saved for another day.] Be that as it may, if one wants to win over a liberal in any discussion, an appeal must be made to his/her emotions.

When discussing Electronic Vehicles (EV’s) one can argue with liberals about the impracticality or the cost until the cows come home, but to no avail. I read something today that might prove to be very useful when discussing EV’s, as it should appeal to anyone’s emotions. 

The title of this piece, “Mendacity … EV’s,” implies some form of deceit or lying, but as I have said before, “to me, the purposeful withholding of information is the same as outright lying.”

Most of what follows is from an article in POWERLINE by John Hinderaker on 6/9/22. While I cannot personally vouch for the info in this article, my supposition is that Mr. Hinderaker is not mendacious. 

His article is entitled, “IS IT IMMORAL TO DRIVE AN ELECTRIC VEHICLE?”

Lithium is mined from mines where entire mountains are eliminated. Each mine usually consists of thirty-five to forty humongous 797 Caterpillar haul trucks along with hundreds of other large equipment. Each 797 uses around half a million gallons of diesel a year. An inventory of just thirty-five the haul trucks alone uses 17.5 million gallons of fuel a year for just one lithium site.
***
Today, a typical EV battery weighs one thousand pounds. It contains twenty-five pounds of lithium, sixty pounds of nickel, 44 pounds of manganese, 30 pounds cobalt, 200 pounds of copper, and 400 pounds of aluminium, steel, and plastic. Inside are over 6,000 individual lithium-ion cells.

It should concern you that all those toxic components come from mining. For instance, to manufacture each EV auto battery, you must process 25,000 pounds of brine for the lithium, 30,000 pounds of ore for the cobalt, 5,000 pounds of ore for the nickel, and 25,000 pounds of ore for copper. All told, you dig up 500,000 pounds of the earth’s crust for just one battery.

The extraordinary amounts of mining needed to produce electric vehicles are not only environmentally disastrous, they also carry large human costs. The cobalt that is needed for every electric vehicle comes mostly from the Congo and is produced largely by child labor.

OMG … Child labor and destruction of the earth’s pristine surface are certainly two issues to have in one’s back pocket when discussing EV’s with a liberal!

Somewhat contrary to what I said above, in any discussion it is always wise to actually have some facts ready after the liberal’s emotional side has been appealed to.

The following is still from that same Hilderaker article:

“We should all know that an electric vehicle battery does not “make” electricity – it only stores electricity produced elsewhere, primarily by coal, uranium, natural gas-powered plants, and occasionally by intermittent breezes and sunshine. So, to say an EV is a zero-emission vehicle is not at all valid as 80 percent of the electricity generated to charge the batteries is from coal, natural gas, and nuclear.

Since twenty percent of the electricity generated in the U.S is from coal-fired plants, it follows that twenty percent of the EVs on the road are coal-powered.

Since forty percent of the electricity generated in the U.S is from natural gas, it follows that forty percent of the EVs on the road are natural gas-powered.

Since twenty percent of the electricity generated in the U.S is from nuclear, it follows that twenty percent of the EVs on the road are nuclear-powered.”

While I am personally drawn to this latter type of logical argument, my advice is always to gravitate to “emotions” when discussing EV’s with potentially and possibly mendacious liberals.

8/5/22

californiacontrarian

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