A conundrum is a confusing and difficult puzzle that may, or may not be possible to resolve. The relationship between batteries and the environment is an enigma according to World Economic Forumbecause they are concerned we are using technology to ‘solve the problem’, as opposed to finding the answers in the way that we behave.
Batteries and the Environment: The Case of Electric Cars
The Forum believes an electric car ‘powered by average European electricity production is likely to reduce a vehicle’s global warming potential by about 20% over its life cycle’. This is a high-end projection, since Europe is arguably the most carbon-conscious region in the world.
The other 80% of benefits go up in smoke owing to the extraction of minerals such as lithium, graphite, copper, and sulfur. Moreover, battery production is energy intensive and we have not solved the conundrum of recycling batteries either. But, there is more to come. Batteries and the environment are in tension across social dimensions too.
The Impact of Batteries on People
Cobalt, lithium, and graphite mining all harmfully affect the health of miners, and people living in surrounding areas. Moreover, lithium battery manufacture may produce adverse respiratory, pulmonary and neurological health impacts, according to the Forum. While ‘graphite rain’ from mining is negatively affecting air and water quality in China.
Therefore, we are creating new problems with technological solutions for global warming, the World Economic Forum warns. As far back as June 2015, it called for a shift to the green economy involving a paradigm change in attitudes. The tension between batteries and the environment can only be solved through participation by the whole of society, not just industry and government regulators.
We must avoid a repetition of what happened in Baoding, China. The city produces vast quantities of solar panels, and wind turbines for the United States and Europe. Yet it is also the most polluted city in China, a country where air quality contributes to over a million deaths each year.
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