Child slaves working for the cobalt in your batteries

by Michael Smith (Veshengro)

Some just might like to refer to them as child laborers but when four, eight and eleven year old children being beaten and whipped if they don't produce enough, spill some of the ore, and such like, then they are not laborers but slaves.

In the photo eight-year-old Dorsen is pictured cowering beneath the raised hand of an overseer who warns him not to spill a rock.

And what are they slaving for? So that you can drive an electric car, have a new smartphone every six months, and so forth. They are working for the western world's green energy crusade.

I have said more than once but will say it again and that is that the electric car, and especially its batteries, is not sustainable and it certainly is not ethical, and that includes the Tesla storage batteries for solar and wind home use.

Also with the demand and the cost of cobalt rising astronomically the price of the batteries is not going to come down making for electric cars as cheap as ICE-powered cars; the opposite rather and at what cost other than just the price.

But it is not only cobalt that child slaves are extracting from the earth. Other elements too, and in addition to that child slaves are also involved in large numbers in the “recycling” of E-waste to extract materials for use in smartphones and other electronic devices. The latter is also a very dirty and unhealthy business. But, hey, it's cheaper to use child slaves in foreign countries than to have the recycling, for instance, done at home under stricter conditions.

An army of children, some just four years old, working in the vast polluted mines of the Democratic Republic of Congo, where toxic red dust burns their eyes, and they run the risk of skin disease and a deadly lung condition. Here, for a wage of just 8p a day, the children are made to check the rocks for the tell-tale chocolate- brown streaks of cobalt – the prized ingredient essential for the batteries that power electric cars.

It is feared that thousands more children could be about to be dragged into this hellish daily existence after the historic pledge made by Britain – and other countries – to ban the sale of petrol and diesel cars from 2040 (or even before, as in the case of some other nations) and switch to electric vehicles.

Almost every big motor manufacturer striving to produce millions of electric vehicles buys its cobalt from the impoverished central African state. It is the world's biggest producer, with 60 per cent of the Planet's reserves.

The cobalt is mined by unregulated labor and transported to Asia where battery manufacturers use it to make their products lighter, longer-lasting and rechargeable.

The planned switch to clean energy vehicles has led to an extraordinary surge in demand. While a smartphone battery uses no more than 10 grams of refined cobalt, an electric car needs 15kg (33lb).

While the race to change from ICE-powered vehicles to electric ones may herald a future of clean energy, free from pollution but such ideals mean nothing for the children condemned to a life of hellish misery in the race to achieve his target.

We need to rethink how we drive and so on and also how we use energy and in which form.

© 2018

Cobalt production will have to quadruple by 2030 if demand is to be met

by Michael Smith (Veshengro)

Mining giant Celcore (LSE: GLEN) recently has announced in a study that in order to meet demand of “electro-mobility” the production of cobalt would have to be quadrupled by 2030 if demand is to be met. While not stated the same will more than likely be also true for other minerals and so-called rare earths. Whether this is feasible, however, is an entirely different question and scenario.

The experts from Glencore have not just considered the electric vehicles themselves but have included the entire infrastructure needed for a growth in EVs, from energy production, over energy transportation to the charging stations. The conclusion of the study is in shorthand that electro-mobility is a driver par excellence for growth with regards to raw materials.

In figures expressed it looks a little like this: For the year 2013 Glencore expects in the EV-sector an additional need for 4.1 million tonnes of copper, which would be equal to 18% of the entire copper production of 2016. As for nickel and cobalt the developments are rather dramatic. According to Glencore estimates in 2030 and additional 1.1 million tonnes of nickel will be required, which is 56% of the nickel on offer in 2016. In the cobalt department it is even worse. The additional need in 2030 is estimated to be an increase of 314% above the entire 2016 offer.

Cobalt is not as rare as many of the so-called rare earths which are needed in addition to all of this and which do not seem to fall into Glencore's remit and thus have not, apparently, been part of this study. It shows, in my opinion, once again how precarious the situation is as regards to our belief that electric vehicles and such are really able to replace the car, van, truck, etc., that today still, in the majority, are being powered by fossil fuels.

Anyone who believes that electric vehicles will be replacing all those gas and diesel-powered cars, trucks, tractors, combines, and so forth, better starts taking a very good and long look at the figures. It is not going to happen.

© 2017

UK government pledges bold ambition for electric cars

Government reaffirms UK’s commitment for almost all cars and vans to be zero emission by 2050 at Paris COP21 conference.

by Michael Smith (Veshengro)

On December 3, 2015, the UK government has continued to lead global efforts to cut vehicle emissions at the international climate conference in Paris.

The UK was one of 13 international members of the Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) Alliance to sign a commitment to promote cleaner motoring and slash transport emissions, alongside Germany, Holland, Norway and California. It includes an agreement to make all passenger vehicle sales zero emission vehicles by 2050.

Transport Minister Andrew Jones said: “The UK already has the largest market for ultra-low emission vehicles in the EU, and the fourth largest in the world and today’s pledge reaffirms our commitment to ensuring almost every car and van is a zero emission vehicle by 2050.

“Electric cars are greener and cheaper to run and we are making them more affordable, spending more than £600 million between 2015 and 2020 to support the uptake and manufacturing of ultra-low emission vehicles here in the UK.

“By leading international efforts on this issue, we are playing our part in helping achieve greenhouse gas emission reductions of more than 1 billion tonnes per year across the world by 2050.”

The ZEV Alliance formed in September this year with the ambition to increase the global uptake of greener vehicles through international co-operation.

As well as the UK, members include Germany, the Netherlands and Norway in Europe; California, Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island and Vermont in the United States; and Quebec in Canada.

All very nice words and ambitions but no one seems to even look at the problems actually facing electric vehicles. One of them is the rarity of the materials from which the batteries are made and two the fact that fossil fuels will still be needed for the manufacture of the vehicles, as well and especially for the extraction of the rare earths and other raw materials. Thus to actually call them zero-emission vehicles is also rather misleading in the extreme.

None of the governments, NGOs, and what-have-you are, unfortunately, willing to state that motoring, especially the personal motoring with the private motorcar, whether infernal combustion engine or electric motor, is not going to be able to continue and also that electric vehicle technology will not make tractors, combine harvesters, and road haulage trucks feasible. While it does work for small delivery trucks running around our towns and cities the large road haulage of 35 or even 50 tonnes as now envisaged for trucks just is not possible with electric battery-powered motors.

The future of transportation, private, agricultural, and haulage will actually be a re-visitation of the past and I am sure the reader will well know what I mean. However, maybe I must spell it out for the government agencies and NGOs... it is the horse and the bicycle.

If it would not be that sad the way governments and NGOs are being affected by the ostrich syndrome and trying to keep the masses in the dark it would actually be funny and laughable but, alas, it is not.

© 2015

EU’s ‘engine’ stalls in Volkswagen scandal

UEA expert alert – Dr Konstantinos Chalvatzis: EU’s ‘engine’ stalls in Volkswagen scandal

by Michael Smith (Veshengro)

Plummeting consumer confidence in diesel cars will benefit hybrid and electric vehicle sales, according to an expert in energy technology at the University of East Anglia (UEA).

Dr Konstantinos Chalvatzis, a senior lecturer in business and climate change at UEA’s Norwich Business School, said the fallout from the Volkswagen emissions testing scandal will cause a lack of faith in diesel engines, “which has been earned over the past decade in Europe.”

Dr Chalvatzis said: “It is important to consider the environmental angle since this is really a scandal about vehicle emissions that will impact the debates about diesel/petrol and electric mobility.

“While in the past diesel engines were valued for their dependability and modest consumption, during the last decade they have grown to be very powerful and at the same time very efficient. This claim is now in doubt and this will be a huge advantage for manufacturers that have invested in hybrid and electric vehicles.

“The timing is also quite crucial at a time when numerous European cities, including many in the UK, have started looking into ways to discourage diesel vehicles. The VW scandal will only give them new arguments.

“VW has secured sales in a very aggressive market by providing false emissions and consumption data and putting its vehicles at an unfair advantage over those of competitor manufacturers. It is safe to say that other manufacturers will be looking into their legal options on this issue, including requesting compensation for lost profits.”

With other German auto makers – including VW Group’s Audi, Porsche, Seat and Skoda – feeling the knock-on effect, Dr Chalvatzis said the scandal could dent the country’s reputation for reliability and dependability.

“The German automotive industry provides directly and indirectly no less than 20 per cent of the German industrial income. Germany is arguably the ‘engine’ of the EU economy and any impact on Germany exports can damage the EU economy as well. For the UK, there will possibly be winners in competitive manufacturers.”

Dr Chalvatzis said VW will need to pay approximately $18 billion in fines – and that’s “without estimating compensation costs for consumers and other litigation costs from other manufacturers.

“The automotive industry should for sure be braced for heavier regulations, especially with regards to the way issues of air pollution and fuel consumption are being monitored and controlled. Some manufacturers, particularly Japanese, may stand to win customers, especially if they have not relied as heavily in diesel sales.”

Dr Chalvatzis, who is UEA’s representative to the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research, is also a visiting scholar at the University of Maryland, USA. He is interested in energy technology and industrial innovation, including transport, and the impact on business and the environment.

I must say that I do not share the take on electric and hybrid cars being the future, in any way, shape or form, and also the fact that this “cheating” by VW has come to light only just at this time – while it, apparently, has been going on for some time – when VW, against the US' insistence, nay demand, for EU sanctions against Russia, has just opened a new engine factory in Russia points to a far different reason for this. And this reason being a kind of punishment for the German economy by the regime in Washington, especially that, apparently, BMW is also being implicated now, which looks as if some more candidates are actually being used.

Back to the electric (and hybrid) cars, however, and my reason for believing that they will not represent the answer in regards to personal transportation – and yes, I have mentioned this many times before but it would appear that it needs repeating – is the fact that the batteries require rare earth for the production which, well, as the name suggests, are rare and their extraction causes serious environmental damage. And that is aside from the price of those batteries. The story might be a different one if one would use, but the weight is a problem here, lead acid deep cycle batteries.

The car, in whichever engine form, is about to become history, do not be deceived, and we will have to look at other, older ways, again, for personal transportation, and this will be good for our health and that of the Planet, and in more ways than just eliminating any pollution caused by them, whether in driving or manufacture of the cars or their components. Admittedly the manufacture of bicycles also comes with an environmental footprint but it is far smaller than that of making cars, especially those whose batteries require rare earths and metals. In addition to that human-powered transportation in use, such as the bicycle, does not generate emissions and pollutants.

The dream of personal motoring which we have lived for almost a century now is coming to an end and not just because of the unsustainability of the the car, whether powered by an internal combustion engine or other means. Electric cars, due to their components, the raw materials for which are becoming rarer and rarer, will not become cheaper but dearer and, let's face it, also in many countries where on-street parking is the norm the charging of them overnight is not going to be a feasibility and thus those cars simply cannot replace the way we do things now.

The simple though for many unpalatable truth is that personal transportation of the future will be very much that of the past and we better get used to that idea and that rather quickly and adapt to it accordingly.

© 2015

Research reveals insights into the take-up of Electric Vehicles

by Michael Smith (Veshengro)

TRL and TNS-BMRB were commissioned by the Department for Transport (DfT) to undertake an investigation into the responses of early adopters of electric vehicles (EVs) to both the Plug-in Car Grant (PiCG) and Plugged-in Places (PiP) schemes. The research was published this week as part of the Government’s Ultra Low Emission Vehicle Strategy which can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/driving-the-future-today-a-strategy-for-ultra-low-emission-vehicles-in-the-uk

The work explored the contribution of these two schemes to the uptake of EVs. Views and experiences were sought from both individuals and organizations as to their experience of buying, owning and using EVs. In addition, the barriers to adoption were also investigated, by obtaining the views of those who had recently bought a vehicle other than an EV.

The research was conducted in two strands: firstly, a quantitative survey to provide new data on the characteristics and charging behavior of private and organizational EV users. Secondly, qualitative research aimed at providing an in-depth understanding of the influence of the PiCG and the PiP scheme on the car purchasing decisions of both groups; the barriers to EV purchase, and factors that influence the driving and charging behavior of EV users.

The study identified that the PiCG was important in EV purchase decision; with over 85% of respondents deeming it important. Those who has purchased EVs felt the amount (£5,000 or 25% of the vehicle price, whichever is the lower) to be appropriate, and improved the affordability of EVs. Most non-EV owners were, however, unaware of the PiCG and it was recommended that a marketing strategy be developed to publicize the PiCG more widely.

Around 40% felt that public charging infrastructure was important in their decision to purchase an EV and many expressed a desire for there to be a more useable network of public charge points. They pointed to a lack of compatibility between different charge point providers as being confusing and frustrating for EV purchasers and users.

One of the main barriers to EV take-up was identified as lack of knowledge relating to many aspects of purchasing and using EVs, as well as the current range of the vehicles. Non-EV purchasers were concerned about the range that an EV could achieve, whilst EV owners did acknowledge that concerns over the range the vehicles could achieve had presented them with challenges as users. Finally, amongst non-EV owners, the purchase cost of the EV was also considered to be a barrier. Even with the reduction offered by the PiCG, EVs were often deemed unaffordable.

The full TRL report is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/236748/research-report.pdf

The problems with electric vehicles (EVs) is and remain the same regardless of what research and governments and that is that:

1. The are expensive to buy and the costs for them will only go up and not down as rare earth, etc. become more expensive and also energy for production.

2. Batteries have a very limited lifespan as do all and are about two-thirds to three-quarters of the cost of a vehicle for replacement and will need replacing about every three or so years.

3. The emissions created in manufacture and use may actually be higher even – despite of the fact that none being emitted by the vehicle itself during use – than those of cars and trucks with internal combustion engines.

4. The mining of the rare earth, rare and other metals, etc. for the building of EVs puts a serious strain on the environment.

And neither of those factors are considered and put into the equation when EVs are being promoted by industry, governments and even green groups as the answer to climate change. Electric vehicles are not going to save us. Only a total change in our use of personal transportation will, combined with other changes.

One can, therefore, but wonder whether the manufacturers of brown envelopes have had a field day once again. EVs are not carbon neutral, not even ultra low emission, if all factors are taken into account. Far from it, actually. So, why the lies. Think about it!

© 2013

Not so many cars

by Michael Smith (Veshengro)

The proponents of the electric car are trying to convince us that if we could but replace all vehicles with internal combustion engines with electric vehicles that everything would be fantastic. But is that really so?

The truth is – looking at their full life cycle – elec tric cars and other vehicles are not a marked improvement over internal combustion engines in terms of environmental impact.

In order to understand and compare environmental impacts we much look at the full system. Something that, all too often, is not being done.

It is when we do that, however, that we discover surprising things like that natural gas electricity production from shale gas is not necessarily any better for the climate, and in the end the Planet, than coal power.

The best strategy, as with so many things, is to use less.

Replacing ICE vehicles with electric ones is NOT the answer (and the same goes for replacing gas engine power tools with electric and especially battery-powered ones). The answer is not needing to use so many cars and trucks in the first place.

Yes, this does mean a new and different approach to (personal) transportation to that which we have become accustomed to over the last five or so decades and a return to more human-powered transportation (machines and tools) and, also, animal-powered transportation.

The electric car is NOT the savior of the Planet that it is being made out to be especially as for the making of the battery alone, which will need replacing after a couple of years, rare earths and rare metals are required the extraction of which takes a great toll on the environment.

Neither the powers-that-be nor car makers – and even some green groups – are willing and prepared to tell the people the truth as to EVs and such and that we really will have to rethink how we travel.

One group – the first – fears a backlash from the people who have become so used to personal motoring and have been led to believe that that motoring is their (human) right and the second group fears for profits.

As far as some of the green groups are concerned who are reluctant to speak the truth about the electric car one can but guess as to the reasons for this; vested interest in EVs could, obviously, be one.

The time of personal motoring, as I have said before, is well and truly over and the sooner we all got used to it the better, and that includes the electric car. The latter is as unsustainable as the one with the internal combustion engine, and are no better either, despite what is being suggested to us.

© 2013

Just 2% plan to buy electric car in next five years

by Michael Smith (Veshengro)

While a great number of people seem to think that electric vehicles may represent our motoring future, only two per cent of people are likely to buy an electric vehicle (EV) in the next five years according to a new survey.

Personally, I must say that I do not blame the people one little bit and that for more than one reason. The main one being the price of those things and the second one the fact that charging stations are still few and far between and that they just take still far too long to charge.

Despite Department of Transport claims that 2011 would be ‘the year of the electric car’ – offering hefty subsidies and advising councils to plan for an electric future – just 1,000 of the battery-powered vehicles were sold in the Britain in 2011. One thousand EVs is but a drop in the ocean and that way those vehicles will never go down in price as, putting it simply, the demand is not there.

And when specialist car insurance broker Adrian Flux asked 1,000 of its customers how likely they were to buy an EV in the next five years, just two per cent were seriously considering swapping the petrol pump for the charging point.

Nearly 70 per cent ruled out a switch entirely, with the remaining 28 per cent firmly in the wait and see camp.

While most of us agree that petrol and diesel-powered cars are unsustainable in the long term, it seems few of us are prepared to buy a car we feel has a high purchase price, limited range, long recharge times and questionable resale value.

However, the electric revolution is still charging forward despite the lukewarm appetite of the British people. In May 2012 alone, 60 charging points were opened in Oxford, making the city the EV capital of Europe with one charging point for every 2,400 people, the best ratio in the EU.

London has 654 charging points – the most in Europe – and British cities dominate the top 10 list of electric-friendly locations in the continent.
New charging stations will recharge an electric car battery in four hours, slashing previous charging times by 50 per cent, and future charging points could cut this time to just 20 minutes.

Presently, a domestic charge at 240 volts on a 13 amp socket could take between six and 10 hours to fully charge an electric car, although this will change significantly as technology improves, if we are lucky.

Although the majority of people’s car journeys are short, they still want to know that – if they choose – they could travel long distances in their car without having to worry about finding a charging station.

There are options available, such as range-extended electric cars with petrol or diesel generators to provide extra electricity and hybrid cars which recover energy from the movement and braking of the car.

While there are ever more new EVs coming to the market one car maker, the German firm AUDI, which is part of Volkswagen, has decided to ditch the idea entirely and concentrate on hydrogen fuel cell. The fuel cell that is yet another stupid idea and will only make money for certain people again.

So, could someone tell me again about the electric car being the future. The fact is that it is not. The future is human and animal powered transportation and the sooner everyone got that message the better.

The truth is that the age of personal motoring is all but over and will be as soon as oil become more and more expensive as we are coming to the end of its viable production. As a result of that also the electric cars and vans will become more expensive.

The only option that we have is a total rethink of the way we travel and where we live and work.

Human and animal power are the future and not the electric car or the car with hydrogen fuel cell. What that will mean for farming and food production I am sure everyone will understand by now as well.

Farming too, and everything else, will have to change and that means that the large machines also will be history as they are no longer usable; sustainable they never were in the first place.

We must rethink our ways and we must do it now...

© 2012

British politicians advocate electric cars

by Michael Smith (Veshengro)

Top figures from both side of the political spectrum in Britain have spoken out in favor of electric vehicles this week, saying consumers need to be encouraged to switch to low carbon cars.

The Prime Minister Gordon Brown hinted at a potential 2,000 GBP subsidy for those choosing to exchange their current car for an electric equivalent while London Mayor Boris Johnson said he wants to make the city the European capital for electric vehicles.

Government is currently considering the grants for those purchasing electric cars, as well as a 'scrappage' scheme which would pay out to those scrapping their old cars in favor of more environmentally efficient models.

Mayor Johnson has said he wants to see 100,000 electric vehicles on the streets of London.

Both announcements are slightly vague - details on the government scheme are thin on the ground while Mr Johnson has simply said he wants to see more electric vehicles out there 'as soon as possible' - but both also promise political support for low carbon vehicles.

This is not surprising, the vagueness I mean, for it would appear that the British government, on all levels, just is rather vague when it comes to green issues. Strong on rhetoric but very little specific and definitely even less action. That is something that We The People should be able to address though if we but would dare to do so. Think elections, folks.

Reaction to Mr Brown's announcement has been mixed, with the car manufacturers saying that a similar scrappage system in measures in Germany have simply led to people trading up to bigger cars and claiming that the incentive will not encourage many motorists to go electric due to the current lack of choice in the market.

This claim by the car industry is also not really correct. They apparently think that the general public do not read or listen to news. In Germany the problem is more that the people trading in their cars, primarily, went for foreign made cars rather than German made ones and that has upset the makers there. Mostly for cars that has a better gas mileage and such. So, not as much bigger cars but foreign cars and often more efficient cars is the state of affairs in Germany, it would appear.

Green energy groups have pointed out that electric vehicles are only as environmentally friendly as their power source.

"This move is only as green as the electricity that charges the batteries," said Gaynor Hartnell the Renwable Energy Association's director of policy.

"It is vital that the electric vehicles push ties in directly with an even greater expansion of renewable electricity at all scales, otherwise we will be building yet more dirty power stations.

"The government will need to bring renewables, the network infrastructure and car industries together to ensure that this happens."

This, on the other hand is a load a garbage as well. While it is true the power source must be taken into consideration that is being use to charge the vehicles electric cars and vans at least cause little or no pollution while they are being driven.

Another environmental consideration that seems to be missed, however, is the battery or batteries and their components. How environmentally friendly are they and their manufacturing processes?

The question, therefore, is as to how green electric cars can be in this equation, especially if and when we consider their components. Plastics for the bodywork – to make the cars lighter – the batteries, the motors, etc. Many of those are toxic components too. Here we encounter the great “hmm???”, don't we.

Meanwhile Boris Johnson has said he will work with businesses, boroughs and other public sector organizations to deliver 25,000 charging points in London's workplaces, retail outlets, streets, public car parks and station car parks by 2015 and attempt to alter planning guidance in the capital so that 20% of parking places in new developments should be equipped with charging points.

Mayor Johnson said: "The time for simply talking about electric vehicles is over - we need real action on the ground to make the electric vehicle an easy choice for Londoners.

"I am today committing millions to install the infrastructure needed for when, in just a few years time, these vehicles become much more widely available.

"This is an unprecedented package of measures to make London the electric car capital of Europe.

"By taking these steps, we will not only create green collar jobs, but also smooth the way for less polluting transport choices which will improve our air quality, reduce traffic noise and contribute significantly to my carbon emissions reduction target."

The estimated cost of the 25,000 charging points and conversion of the Greater London Authority fleet is £60million - the Mayor has pledged to fund a third of this and is calling for the Government and the private sector to commit the remainder.

This all sounds very grand indeed but... and here comes the but... the technology has not been given enough boost to be developed to a standard that will make electric cars and vans viable for longer distances and for rural areas and such.

The electric car the size of, say, the Smart Car from Mercedes Benz (I know it presently is still gasoline powered) is fine and good for a runabout and for going into the cities and living and driving in the cities as a single person or a couple. As soon as you add a few kids there is a problem in the offing which has not, as yet, been sufficiently addressed.

On the other hand we should, especially in towns and cities promote the use of bicycles a lot more – the way it is done in Denmark, the Netherlands and Germany – rather than always the car, whether electric, biofuel or still gas and diesel.

However, the great love affair that we all, and especially the governments, and they very much so as the taxes on the gas and diesel give them a nice little earner, have with motorcar and the internal combustion engine that runs gas or diesel that powers it, I think it highly unlikely that alternative means of transport will be pushed, especially that of the human-powered variety. Shame rather.

The only way this will ever change if we, the people, change our approach and tell our elected representatives to do as we ask or else.

© 2009
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