Its natural and easy to find the bad parts of a new solution. EVs are not perfect. EVs definitely have problems. There are better solutions if you maximize for energy efficiency. People didn't buy ICE cars to be energy efficient, and they won't buy EVs to be energy efficient. They buy them because having a car is an integral part of a certain lifestyle. That lifestyle may not be equitable or sustainable; handling that problem is a different challenge.
- but -
We lack an intimate and personal understanding of the byproducts of ICE cars. We use a liquid fuel that we rarely actually see. The emissions are almost completely in gas form that we don't see. You don't have to "unload" bricks of CO2 and particulate from your vehicle.
But imagine what it would be like if you did. Imagine if CO2 was sludge that you had to handle. For every 10 gallons of gas you put into a car (approximately 70 pounds) you would have to unload approximately 200 pounds of CO2 (not counting water or other byproducts). You would have to find a place to put that. Do you drop it off at the filling station? What do they do with it? How many trips would you have to make to unload it? A 5 gallon bucket of water weighs about 40 pounds, if our sludge had that density, it would be 5 of those 5 gallon buckets. Many people struggle to carry a 5 gallon bucket (not you dear reader, other weaker people).
I don't think CO2 is actually toxic sludge, this is a mental exercise. I do think CO2 is a pollutant. I think if we had to personally and physically deal with CO2, no one would bitch about the minerals used in EV production.
Judging by the fact that so far, we've been on the worst trajectory considered by the IPCC [1], CO2 has a good chance of ending humankind within a century. That is not directly "toxic", but it is dangerous.
I think the nuance is important here. If CO2 was toxic we would have handled it already. Obviously CO2 is an asphyxiant, but so is nitrogen and that's 70% of our atmosphere. No one complains about atmospheric nitrogen. Our bodies handle CO2 continuously as a product of metabolism.
I view CO2 like I view processed sugar - if you have an energy deficit or energy balance, it's probably fine in small amounts; if you have a surplus, it's not ok.
I've been thinking about the industrial miracles of the 19th and 20th century. Steel, Aluminum, Concrete, Gasoline, Natural Gas, Plastic, Glass, Integrated Circuits, Artificial Fertilizers, Air Conditioning, Automobiles. If you only look at the positive side, all of these are truly miraculous - they've provided humanity with incredible increases in productivity and happiness. They've let people live longer and in less hospitable places. They've supported a higher population level than people expected was possible.
But those miracles have terrible side effects. I won't list them, it's too depressing.
- but -
We lack an intimate and personal understanding of the byproducts of ICE cars. We use a liquid fuel that we rarely actually see. The emissions are almost completely in gas form that we don't see. You don't have to "unload" bricks of CO2 and particulate from your vehicle.
But imagine what it would be like if you did. Imagine if CO2 was sludge that you had to handle. For every 10 gallons of gas you put into a car (approximately 70 pounds) you would have to unload approximately 200 pounds of CO2 (not counting water or other byproducts). You would have to find a place to put that. Do you drop it off at the filling station? What do they do with it? How many trips would you have to make to unload it? A 5 gallon bucket of water weighs about 40 pounds, if our sludge had that density, it would be 5 of those 5 gallon buckets. Many people struggle to carry a 5 gallon bucket (not you dear reader, other weaker people).
I don't think CO2 is actually toxic sludge, this is a mental exercise. I do think CO2 is a pollutant. I think if we had to personally and physically deal with CO2, no one would bitch about the minerals used in EV production.