I just watched a programme on C4 called Unreported World. They were highlighting mining for Cobalt and other heavy metals used in things like electric car batteries, in the Democratic Republic of Congo .It's almost completely unregulated, with no safety for the workers. The toxic dust all around the community is not only affecting the miners but all who live there. The rates of children born with birth defects has sky rocketed. So much for a green future when we are killing people so we can pat ourselves on the back, for driving electric cars etc. Needs a rethink.
Some of us have been saying for a long time that the human and environmental cost of batteries and their components is too great so no electric cars for us while this continues.
Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
"The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
I'm no expert .... but I understand that cobalt is also used in refining crude oil to make petrol / diesel. I think it is used to remove the sulphur from the crude oil.
It seems it's not easy to make choices which have no adverse impacts .... but I totally agree that the working conditions / safety issues in cobalt mining should be sorted as a priority.
Bee x
Gardener and beekeeper in beautiful Scottish Borders
A single bee creates just one twelfth of a teaspoon of honey in her lifetime
It's true, it seems Cobalt has many and varied uses, but they are saying its the use in car rechargeable batteries is what has driven the huge increase in demand in recent years. There are alternatives being explored, but, as always its poor communities, that are being exploited for whatever products are required by the developed nations.
Some of us have been saying for a long time that the human and environmental cost of batteries and their components is too great so no electric cars for us while this continues.
How dare you make such a comment! Anything which can cast doubt on the 'eco' argument for electric vehicles is obviously fake news.
I said about the young children and teenagers dying a few years ago, I won’t have anything with those big rechargeable batteries until there’s some regulations. got jumped on by someone saying I used an iPad! . Although contributing to the bad situation, I don’t think it’s on quite a scale as car and garden implements.
Gardening on the wild, windy west side of Dartmoor.
Cobalt is used in virtually every electric or technology device you own.
As for EV's
"EV batteries don’t need cobalt to work. In fact, other battery technologies that don’t use cobalt – such as nickel-iron-aluminum cathodes or lithium-iron-phosphate ones – not only exist, but are actively being developed for use in new EVs. As a result, electric vehicle manufacturers are transitioning away from cobalt. For instance, Tesla’s current vehicle batteries contain less than five percent cobalt and the company announced in September 2020 that they are developing their own batteries that will be cobalt-free."
"So much for a green future when we are killing people so we can pat ourselves on the back, for using a mobile phone driving electric cars etc. Needs a rethink."
Weather you own an EV or not your contributing to the problem of exploitation of vulnerable communities..
'The power of accurate observation .... is commonly called cynicism by those that have not got it.
It’s the Lithium extraction that’s the worst, Children from 4 years old carrying sacks of rock, They rarely live past teenagers. I have to own up to having a television though.
Gardening on the wild, windy west side of Dartmoor.
Some of us have been saying for a long time that the human and environmental cost of batteries and their components is too great so no electric cars for us while this continues.
How dare you make such a comment! Anything which can cast doubt on the 'eco' argument for electric vehicles is obviously fake news.
Ditto the 'eco' arugment for the environmental benefits of peat free compost.
@Kili, how dare you edit my comments to use for your own agenda 🤣 Seriously though I was just reporting the main thrust of the programme and I am sure they were using this a an example of exploitation of poor communities in general. Where does it all end though, should we not be on here, using Internet resources, probably housed in some vast data warehouse pumping out heat and using energy at a high rate, built using rare minerals etc etc. Perhaps we should all go back to subsistence living or even Hunter gathering . Tell you what you start let us know how you get on and maybe we'll follow in 20 or 30 years. Sound familiar? Just what they are grappling with at COP26.
Posts
I'm no expert .... but I understand that cobalt is also used in refining crude oil to make petrol / diesel. I think it is used to remove the sulphur from the crude oil.
It seems it's not easy to make choices which have no adverse impacts .... but I totally agree that the working conditions / safety issues in cobalt mining should be sorted as a priority.
Bee x
A single bee creates just one twelfth of a teaspoon of honey in her lifetime
How dare you make such a comment! Anything which can cast doubt on the 'eco' argument for electric vehicles is obviously fake news.
got jumped on by someone saying I used an iPad! . Although contributing to the bad situation, I don’t think it’s on quite a scale as car and garden implements.
As for EV's
"EV batteries don’t need cobalt to work. In fact, other battery technologies that don’t use cobalt – such as nickel-iron-aluminum cathodes or lithium-iron-phosphate ones – not only exist, but are actively being developed for use in new EVs. As a result, electric vehicle manufacturers are transitioning away from cobalt. For instance, Tesla’s current vehicle batteries contain less than five percent cobalt and the company announced in September 2020 that they are developing their own batteries that will be cobalt-free."
Source: https://fresh-energy.org/whats-up-with-the-cobalt-used-in-ev-batteries
"So much for a green future when we are killing people so we can pat ourselves on the back, for using a mobile phone driving electric cars etc. Needs a rethink."
Weather you own an EV or not your contributing to the problem of exploitation of vulnerable communities..
'The power of accurate observation .... is commonly called cynicism by those that have not got it.
George Bernard Shaw'
I have to own up to having a television though.
Seriously though I was just reporting the main thrust of the programme and I am sure they were using this a an example of exploitation of poor communities in general. Where does it all end though, should we not be on here, using Internet resources, probably housed in some vast data warehouse pumping out heat and using energy at a high rate, built using rare minerals etc etc. Perhaps we should all go back to subsistence living or even Hunter gathering . Tell you what you start let us know how you get on and maybe we'll follow in 20 or 30 years. Sound familiar? Just what they are grappling with at COP26.