Hansen: “The notion that renewable energies and batteries alone will provide all needed energy is fantastical. It is also a grotesque idea, because of the staggering environmental pollution from mining and material disposal, if all energy was derived from renewables and batteries.”
Oil and natural gas aren’t just fuels. They supply building blocks for pharmaceuticals; plastics in vehicle bodies, athletic helmets, and numerous other products; and complex composites in solar panels and wind turbine blades and nacelles. The U.S. was importing 65% of its petroleum in 2005, creating serious national security concerns. But fracking helped cut imports to 40% and the U.S. now exports oil and gas. Today’s vital raw materials foundation also includes exotic minerals like gallium, germanium, rare-earth elements, and platinum-group metals. For the U.S., they are “critical” because they are required in thousands of applications; they become “strategic” when we don’t [...]
Where would Tesla be without subsidies?
Storing solar energy in batteries for nighttime use actually increases both energy consumption and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, the study found.
Batteries for electric cars can be very expensive, but according to the University of California Riverside there is a way to make electric car batteries more efficient.