As automobile manufacturers race to cash in on the soaring popularity of electric vehicles, concerns grow about the environmental and social impact of more intense mining operations. In a report in the journal Nature Reviews Materials, British earth scientist Richard Herrington points out that by the year 2035, there could be 245 million battery-powered electric vehicles on the road. In addition, there will be a huge demand for stationary batteries needed for energy storage to compensate for the less consistent output of clean energy sources such as wind and solar, writes Bob McDonald of CBC’s Quirks & Quarks.
