• UristMcHolland@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    Cars are unsustainable for our planet. Even EV’s. It’s already too late to stop the damage they have caused already. The best time to transition to alternative modes of transportation was during the 70’s. The second best time is now.

      • GissaMittJobb@lemmy.ml
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        1 year ago

        What do you base that on? EVs are certainly not the solution, but way worse is arguably not accurate.

          • WetBeardHairs@lemmy.ml
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            1 year ago

            There is far, far more lithium in the earth’s crust than we will ever need for energy storage. We’re only just now hurting for it because Tesla showed that electric cars are feasible as daily drivers which caused a huge surge in demand. We’ll catch back up in a few more years. And the third world countries that let shitty mining practices take place are what give it a bad name right now. No one wants child slaves in the Congo to mine cobalt for us so we can drive to work. US mines are being built, new processes are being invented, and new battery chemistries that rely less on rare minerals are constantly being invented and implemented.

            You’re just being a sourpuss.

              • notapantsday@feddit.de
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                1 year ago

                There are lots of lithium battery types that do not contain any cobalt, such as LFP that is used more and more for electric cars.

                • rm_dash_r_star
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                  1 year ago

                  Also Sodium Ion (Na-Ion) batteries are currently in production and could be a viable alternative as the technology advances and production ramps up.

                  Right now Na-Ion batteries rival only the LFP type of Li-Ion battery (lithium-iron-phosphate) having a lower energy density than other Lithium chemistries. LFP is used commonly in utility power storage for its much greater safety and longevity, but it carries about 20% less power for size and weight compared to other lithium chemistries.

                  At present the favored battery type for EVs are Lithium types with the highest energy density. Some combine several advantages of the various Li-Ion chemistries having the highest energy density with somewhat greater safety and longevity.

                  Na-Ion is a new type of battery chemistry with lots of potential for improvement. They use more sustainable materials being cheaper and more abundant. If they could get the Na-Ion battery type within range of presently used Lithium technologies it would be a hugely better solution, a lot cheaper, a lot safer, and much easier on the environment.

                  • MatthewToad43@climatejustice.social
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                    1 year ago

                    @rm_dash_r_star @notapantsday Is LMFP actually available in quantity? Wikipedia suggests not.

                    The problem with sodium ion batteries, apart from lower density, is that they have a shorter lifespan. On the upside they’re easier to recycle. IIRC there was some recent research that might fix the lifespan problem.

                • mr_washee_washee@discuss.tchncs.de
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                  1 year ago

                  more and more

                  hopefully. still, evs are quite expensive. also the charging infrastrucutre would require a metric fuckton of copper, and that would raise copper prices to silly levels, and its already pricey.

                  • ramenbellic@midwest.social
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                    1 year ago

                    The charging infrastructure needed for the vast majority of BEV drivers, the vast majority of the time, is a power outlet in their garage.

          • GissaMittJobb@lemmy.ml
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            1 year ago

            Would you say that burning fossil fuels is a sustainable solution?

            When stacked against each other, I find it kind of baffling that you would lean towards the combustion-based variant.

            • mr_washee_washee@discuss.tchncs.de
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              1 year ago

              well dont necessarily use diesel, use high octane fuel instead, methanol, biofuel, anything, ice cars are now way efficient than ever…but mining cobalt and lithium is way harmful…also cars arent the most harmful transportation invention in this world: how about airlines? have u ever considered taking a train instead of flying (especially country bound ?) (i always forget that i am commenting in c/fuckcars… i should consider unsubscribing from here; hating solely on cars is pointless)

              • GissaMittJobb@lemmy.ml
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                1 year ago

                A lot to unpack here.

                well dont necessarily use diesel, use high octane fuel instead, methanol, biofuel, anything,

                They are all pretty bad ways of powering motors, to be honest.

                ice cars are now way efficient than ever…

                And yet they are far inferior to electric motors. Combustion necessarily comes with the lions share of the energy being wasted as heat.

                but mining cobalt and lithium is way harmful…

                It’s not great, but then again, neither is the extraction of fossil fuels from the ground. From what I can tell, it’s actually far worse than the metal extraction we’re doing.

                Consider that you may have fallen for fossil fuel industry propaganda that is trying their very best to cling on to their last years of high profits.

                also cars arent the most harmful transportation invention in this world: how about airlines?

                Apples and oranges. I’m not even really sure why you’re bringing it up.

                have u ever considered taking a train instead of flying (especially country bound ?)

                The vast majority of my long-distance traveling is done by train. My last international trip was by train, in fact! If only we invested more in trains, and stopped subsidizing flying. I love traveling by train, and I’m not exactly a fan of flying.

                always forget that i am commenting in c/ fuckcars… i should consider unsubscribing from here; hating solely on cars is pointless)

                I don’t think most people in here are solely hating on cars. They are bad, though, and that’s kind of the topic. There are other communities for hating on other harmful things in our world.

              • ssorbom@lemmy.world
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                1 year ago

                Unfortunately, I say this as a train lover. They require a lot more infrastructure than planes and will always be at a disadvantage because of that. You can set up an airport pretty much anywhere and make it reachable by pretty much anyone. Whereas with the train, you need a dedicated line from point to point that you will commit to maintaining through hell and high water.

                There’s also the problem that in many countries, we are deliberately neglecting our train infrastructure and not investing in high speed alternatives that could compete with an airline over shorter distances.

                All of these factors combine to make individual trips less efficient over train. I had to cross the United States this week. To do so by train would have taken me 4 days. Doing so by plane took me 6 hours. Nobody would choose a 4-day trip over a 6-hour one unless their goal is to look out the window a lot. Which is perfectly valid. But most people don’t look at traveling itself as the experience. And in this case, I had a particular event that I had to attend.

                • mr_washee_washee@discuss.tchncs.de
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                  1 year ago

                  4 day trips need to be normalized: our capitalistic lords have made us more accepting of fast living: an average flight consommes about 7 tons of kerosene per flight, and release 3 times as much of co2 in mass, ie 20 tons, per single flight. travel by train albeit slow, but releases way less greenhouse gas. train or airplane infrastrucuture cost comparison: only an expert consultant could wager which one of both is less costly. ever wondered why we retire at 65 on average? u would say with all the efficiencies implemented in transport and the extra work time we put we would retire earlier, yet, we only work more in older age. something is missing in the loop