Lindblad Expeditions-National Geographic Eliminates Single-Use Plastic

There are more than 1.4 billion cars in the world today, and that number could double by 2036. If all those cars burn petroleum, the climate consequences will be dire. Electric cars emit fewer air pollutants and if they’re powered by renewable energy, driving one wouldn’t add to the greenhouse gases warming Earth’s atmosphere. But producing so many electric vehicles (EVs) in a decade would cause a surge in demand for metals like lithium, cobalt, nickel and manganese. These metals are essential for making EV batteries, but they’re not found everywhere. Most of the world’s lithium lies under the Atacama Desert in South America, where mining threatens local people and ecosystems. Leading manufacturers of EVs need to keep import costs low and find a reliable source of these raw materials. Mining the deep sea is one option, but it could also damage habitats and endanger wildlife. At the same time, waste electronics filled with precious metals are piling up in landfills and in some of the world’s poorest regions – with 2.5 million tonnes added to the total each year.