"The Michigan study highlights the fact that an EV requires three to five times more copper than traditional gas or diesel cars, not to mention the additional copper needed for upgrades to the electricity grid. As Professor Adam Simon from the University of Michigan points out, “A normal Honda Accord needs about 40 pounds of copper. The same battery electric Honda Accord needs almost 200 pounds of copper.” The researchers analyzed 120 years of global data on copper production, dating back to 1900, and modeled the likely copper production for the remainder of the century. They compared this with the projected copper requirements for the US electricity infrastructure and vehicle fleet to transition to renewable energy. The study concluded that renewable energy’s copper needs would exceed the current production capacity of copper mines.Between now and 2050, the world will need to mine 115 percent more copper than has been mined in all of human history up until 2018, just to meet current copper needs without considering the green energy transition. To meet the copper demands of electrifying the global vehicle fleet, as many as six new large copper mines must be brought online annually over the next several decades, with about 40 percent of the production from these new mines being required for EV-related grid upgrades."
I guess to save the planet we'll just have to bulldoze a lot more native forest or disinherit more & more tribes of indigenous people.
