this post was submitted on 19 Jun 2026

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Burning Gas Pollutes So Much, Dirty EV Battery Manufacturing Evens Out In About 2 Years (www.jalopnik.com)

submitted 1 week ago by sanitation@lemmy.today to c/technology@lemmy.world

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[–] mysteryhumpf@feddit.org 190 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (49 children)

Burning gas is so extremely bad that even throwing away your old ICE car and buying a new electric car is better than driving the ICE car until it „falls apart“. This was the research finding in Switzerland, but this result was so unwelcome that the research got hidden away. https://www.republik.ch/2025/06/11/amtliche-selbstzensur

[–] FiskFisk33@startrek.website 33 points 1 week ago (26 children)

oh wow I didn't know that!

would make sense to give more a lot incentives for EV buying if so!

[–] fulg@lemmy.world 37 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (11 children)

I wish they weren’t so expensive though.

IMO the biggest incentive of all is that the battery exists for the life of the vehicle and can be recycled at the end (the lithium inside does not disappear!), vs the gas which is literally burning money away.

[–] GalacticRobot@lemmy.world 9 points 1 week ago

They are getting a lot cheaper overall. The EV Bolt is less than $4k more than a Camry. In expensive places like California, or with gas as high as it is, you can quickly make back that additional cost and get ahead over time, especially if you are able to charge from home. And TBH the Bolt isn't that bad of a car, and get's great distance per charge.

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[–] GalacticRobot@lemmy.world 22 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Everytime you bring it up, you get a whole lot of people with gasoline powered cars getting very angry. Sure batteries are not 'perfect', but they are a whole lot better in almost every way compared to gasoline powered vehicles.

[–] CADmonkey@lemmy.world 21 points 1 week ago (16 children)

The anger is less about how bad EV's are and more about being expected to buy a hilariously expensive EV when someone has a perfectly functional car. Make them cheaper and people will buy them, because other than the environmental aspect EV's just require less maintenance overall, making them cheaper to run.

[–] Sineljora@sh.itjust.works 7 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (5 children)

I’d rather spend $100k converting an old ICE car to electric than give the auto industry another dime. The surveillance crap is literally a life or death decision for me. I have a 20y/o ice car I’ll likely have to convert, so no one try your dumb “new car math” with me.

If any fuckers want to make what I’m doing illegal, people will die.

[–] CADmonkey@lemmy.world 9 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Yes THERE is the issue that everyone seems to forget about new cars. I have a project car that I'm thinking will become an EV when it needs an engine because it will be so much easier to deal with. And it won't call home to the feds every day.

[–] JamesTBagg@lemmy.world 8 points 1 week ago (4 children)

Old muscle cars converted to EV I think are so cool. There was a show that converted an old K10 truck and hid the batteries in the bed tool box.
A 80s station wagon, a Country Squire, or 70s luxury cruiser like a Cadillac or Lincoln would be awesome.

EVs, or just newer cars in general, are just so boring and cramped. Not to mention all the connection and surveillance concerns.

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[–] Tollana1234567@lemmy.today 6 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

but this result was so unwelcome that the research got hidden away.

the climate, oil industry did not like it was being contradicted.

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[–] Grimy@lemmy.world 68 points 1 week ago (8 children)

Oh wow, another EV thread with a bunch of oil industry mouthpieces telling us how the studies are wrong and what we didn't think of. Thank you Mr. Shell, I almost forgot not everyone has a charging point at their house and it takes time to charge an EV.

Color me surprised.

[–] Zink@programming.dev 37 points 1 week ago (1 children)

It's fun to imagine an opposite world where everybody has EVs and other more efficient forms of transit, and then industry wants to introduce ICE vehicles to the market.

You fill it with flammable liquid poison and it shoots gaseous poison out the back while it's running, and nobody can refuel at home, and it's immensely more mechanically complex, but at least it's quick to fill with fuel at the fuel store! Just try not to inhale the poisonous explosive fumes or spill the poisonous volatile liquid on yourself while you do it.

[–] NotMyOldRedditName@lemmy.world 6 points 1 week ago

I'd be so sad though because we'd never get a glorious movie scene like this

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4u3nwATfXsY

[–] nullspace@lemmy.world 20 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Bro, didn't you know solar panels get hot when in the sun? Global warming!!

Clearly everyone should run a diesel generator in their living room just to be safe.

[–] SoleInvictus@lemmy.blahaj.zone 8 points 1 week ago

Dude, it's the opposite problem. Where do you think the sunlight goes when it hits a solar panel? It sucks it all up! If we set up too many solar panels, they're going to use up all the sunshine and cool the globe until we have another ice age. Big brother petroleum has been saving us!

[–] scrubbles@poptalk.scrubbles.tech 18 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Most issues require nuance, and the internet does not have the concept of nuance at all. I did my research and bought my EV, no regrets at all. Not only do I know it's better because I haven't consumed gas now in over 2 years, it's also simply the best and easiest car I've ever owned. It's a no brainer to get one. Anyone who says otherwise I think firmly needs to think about their connection with propaganda.

[–] davidagain@lemmy.world 6 points 1 week ago (1 children)

My EV is easily and by far the best and most fun to drive (and cheapest to run) car I've ever owned.

Absolutely my favourite vehicle to drive ever, easily more fun to drive than a lovely automatic petrol BMW I borrowed a couple of times.

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[–] echodot@feddit.uk 11 points 1 week ago (1 children)

I'm sure we'll eventually get to the point where they invent rapid charging batteries that can fully charge in 5 minutes. But realistically we don't need it, you just change the way you think about fuelling up.

[–] xav@programming.dev 6 points 1 week ago

The point is already here. BYD is installing 1.5MW chargers in Europe. Those things can charge your car in 5mn - provided it accepts it.

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[–] melsaskca@lemmy.ca 23 points 1 week ago

"We decided to let the earth and all living things on it die, as it would be too hard on the economy if we tried to save it". /s

[–] ejs@piefed.social 15 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (2 children)

UMich research cited in the article estimates a carbon dioxide emissions per year (using constant mileage typical per year) break even time between EV and ICE SUVs to be 1.6-1.9 years.

Promising. But, is carbon dioxide emissions the only environmental impact? Humanitarian impact (e.g. rare metal extraction labor conditions)? I’m not an environmentalist researcher/academic. I wonder how accurately just one emissions prediction portrays the full picture.

[–] Nighed@feddit.uk 20 points 1 week ago

It's not like oil extraction and processing doesn't have it's issues, and you have to do that for every trip.

Once your battery is made, the materials are there and can (probably, needs some work) be recycled forever.

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[–] Jiral@lemmy.world 8 points 1 week ago

If you want to be better than that, look for cars with LFP battery. They tend to be used in the less expensive cars and in lower capacity configurations. Their carbon footprint is roughly half of the regular NMC batteries and the only mined metal they need is iron and no zink, mangan or cobalt are needed in their chemistry.

That and try to use renewable energy, eg with home owned photovoltaic. If you do all of that, the break even is way before even 2 years and life cycle CO2 footprint is only a fraction of an ICE vehicle.

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