Harrington said it was inevitable that there would an expansion in mining and in providing energy for refining ores which, combined, would have real environmental impacts. That is an unrealistic demand, given that we are hoping to be making electric cars only within a decade.” “That means, if you want to turn all the UK’s 31m cars into electric vehicles you would require about 12% of the world’s entire copper output – just for Britain. “You need tens of kilograms more copper for an electric car compared with one with a petrol engine,” said Herrington. ![]() As a result, the world’s appetite for copper is likely to jump by more than 300% by 2050, according to one recent report. Thousands of tonnes are needed to create wind or solar power devices while electric vehicles use two or three times more copper than those powered by a diesel or petrol engine. Our growing appetite for copper provides a striking illustration of the issues. They say that rising demands for traditional materials such as cement – for building hydro-electric dams – or for copper, to provide cables to link wind and solar farms to cities and to build electric cars, could also cause widespread environmental damage unless care is taken. ![]() Nor will these ecological problems be confined to specialist metals, analysts have pointed out. Similarly in Tibet, a toxic chemical leak from the Ganzizhou Rongda Lithium mine poisoned the local Lichu river in 2016 and triggered widespread protests in the region. In the so-called Lithium Triangle of South America – made up of Chile, Argentina and Bolivia – vast quantities of water are pumped from underground sources to help extract lithium from ores, and this has been linked to the lowering of ground water levels and the spread of deserts. Yet mining is linked to all sorts of environmental headaches. World production is set to soar over the next decade. Then there is the issue of lithium mining. “In one village we visited, people showed us how the water in the local stream that they drank was contaminated by the discharge of waste from a mineral processing plant.” “Men, women and children are working without even the most basic protective equipment such as gloves and face masks,” said Mark Dummett of Amnesty International, which has investigated the cobalt-mining crisis in DRC. Photograph: Sebastian Meyer/Corbis/Getty Images ![]() ![]() Miners in the DRC pull up a bag of cobalt – vital for the production of rechargeable batteries. There they breathe in cobalt-laden dust that can cause fatal lung ailments while working tunnels that are liable to collapse. In the case of cobalt, 60% of the world’s supply comes from the Democratic Republic of the Congo where large numbers of unregulated mines use children as young as seven as miners. Their production is likely to increase significantly over the next decade – and that could cause serious ecological problems. Both elements are needed to make lightweight rechargeable batteries for electric cars and for storing power from wind and solar plants. Metals such as lithium and cobalt provide examples of the awkward issues that lie ahead, said Herrington. “We are going to have to learn how to consider profit and loss with regard to ecosystems just as we do now when we are considering economic issues.” “The move towards net zero carbon emissions is going to create new stresses on our planet, at least in the short term,” said Prof Richard Herrington, head of earth sciences at the Natural History Museum, London.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Details
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |