Even if EV's may not have the 'clean' image that they are often marketed as I still think it's a good idea to get one. Why is that? I could be wrong but I suspect that we may have approached peak oil already or maybe very near it. Many economists 10-15 years ago predicted peak oil would happen around 2030 but we may be approaching it sooner? Seeing as coal, while still dirty, is far more abundant than oil, it's the next logical step to give us a little time/grid energy until adequate energy resources are established. As for battery recycling, recent technology has come a long way and it won't be long before more than 96% of a batteries components can EASILY be recycled, on a commercial scale and economically. Edited 22-Aug-22 11:32am

Electric cars are NO GOOD because they create a higher demand for electricity and our power companies already CAN NOT keep up with the supply-demand therefore electric cars will lead to many more power blackouts and higher electricity prices PLUS will force coal-powered electricity companies to continue operating to keep up with the demand for electricity

We just watched an interesting doc on solar cars racing across Oz- it was on YouTube i think. Engineering students from diff countries built (over 2 years) these crazy looking tiny vehicles that have solar panels on them! Ugly little beasts but they are pretty amazing- apart from in a high wind! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zxBCJNPXUJI

Hydrogen

NZ imports heeps of cheap coal from Indonesia which on arrival then has to be trucked hundreds of kilometres to one of our power stations in order to run and generate electricity for our EV vehicles. Meantime the Waikato river just runs freely out to sea. You have to laugh.Edited 19-Aug-22 20:42pm

My opinion is to stay with gasoline guzzling vehicles

Yeah a lot of people do not think of the background behind the materials, politics involved (because precious resources are concentrated in certain/limited regions of the globe), environmental factors from mining etc. Then of course there is the carbon footprint to get that EV from raw materials to completion/delivery at local dealership. So EV's are still somewhat polluting considering all of the above. On the plus side future battery technology is going to improve pretty quickly now that companies are heavily invested. There are a lot of viable alternatives to lithium that they are trying to find easier ways to manufacture, manufacture large quantities, reduce manufacturing costs, finding more environmentally friendly materials, match and exceed output of lithium batteries etc. Lots of research going on and large scale production should be possible in the not too distant future. One type of battery that I find interesting is the sugar battery - powered from the same stuff you put in your tea. Our bodies are incredibly efficient at converting sugar to energy and a lot of chemists are working on enzyme mixes and employing bacteria as well as other natural chemical processes to try and match the conversion efficiency of living creatures. Will be pretty sweet when they figure it out and manage to make this concept commercially viable. Anyway that's food for thought...

There are safety issues too in the event of crash...I was told that the power supply needs to be disabled before trapped people can be cut out of electric vehicles...and I haven't forgotten the "smart" Tesla whose door failed to open when it hit a tree....everyone present had to watch the poor Doctor inside burn to death....my petrol driven car uses less fuel than a hybrid...might be worth waiting for a hydrogen powered car?...Hyundai already make them....or cold fusion? ...GREAT SCOTT!!! Edited 19-Aug-22 15:21pm

The dirty secret. If one looks under the hood of “clean energy” battery-driven EVs, the dirt found would surprise most. The most important component in the EV is the lithium-ion rechargeable battery which relies on critical mineral commodities such as cobalt, graphite, lithium, and manganese. Tracing the source of these minerals, in what is called “full-cycle economics”, it becomes apparent that EVs create a trail of dirt from the mining and processing of minerals upstream. When a new EV appears in the show-room, it has already caused 30,000 pounds of carbon-dioxide emission. The equivalent amount for manufacturing a conventional car is 14,000 pounds. Electric vehicles are not emissions-free. While these vehicles obviously run on electricity, that electricity typically comes from a mix of emissions-intensive fossil fuels and power from renewables. Driving an electric car is still far more environmentally friendly than driving a gasoline-burning vehicle, which typically produce about 250 grams of CO2 per mile. Electric vehicles are 39% cleaner on average than using internal combustion engines. That gap is expected to widen to 67% by 2040, as renewables such as solar and wind make up a larger share of the global energy mix In the case of EVs, the dirty secrets of “clean energy” should seem apparent to all but, alas, there are none so blind as those who will not see.

just a ploy to make you feel guilty into buying one,while they are being used might be a bit better for the enviroment,the endresult of making that car is a lot worse for it,while these tossers who jet about in private jets telling me i have to save the world by going green,lolol,we are all being conned

used to be the small boy who followed the milk cart with spade and bucket

i have a mule and a cart Brad, the mule pulls the cart, and the crap goes into the garden,,,