All energy involves risks and the electric car is not pure
Aug 14, 2017, 4:55 PM | Updated: 4:57 pm
A Tesla Model 3 sedan is an electric car with a 215-mile range. (Courtesy of Tesla Motors via AP)
(Courtesy of Tesla Motors via AP)
The interesting thing about energy is that it has energy; it contains power. Wind turbines kill birds and eagles. Solar arrays have almost taken down airplanes. There is no energy that doesn’t bring with it some risk.
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I read in the Daily Mail a fascinating piece about electric cars. In the piece, the Mail explained how electric cars use cobalt — a chemical element found beneath the surface of the Earth. How do they get the cobalt? It’s mined. The Republic of Congo provides 60 percent of the world’s cobalt and it’s mined using child labor.
There are 40,000 kids working in these mines. The cobalt itself is toxic; it is a huge health hazard. It can lead to permanent incapacity and it can kill you.
This applies to how the left needs to to pick their narratives. Democrats need to remember that the energy in your electric car is not magical. It is not the exhalation of angelic unicorns.
What about windmills that contain one ton of rare earth, radioactive material? One windmill equals one ton of radioactive material.
Energy has danger. Fire has danger and so do electric cars. We need to adjust our thinking about the cost/benefit of our choices.
If you’re using energy you’re involving yourself in risks. You’re electric car in not angelic.
As always, please listen to the full audio clip for complete context.
