Electric vehicles promise environmental wins. But could there be environmental costs?
CBC
This is the second in a three-part series, The Real Cost of Electric Vehicles, diving into the future of electric vehicles and how electrification will impact Windsor-Essex. Tomorrow, we'll look at the impact on jobs in Windsor-Essex.
As environmentalist Michael Schneider drives around in his fully electric Chevy Bolt, he rejoices at the peacefulness of the ride.
"There's no noise whatsoever, and that is the beauty of it," he said.
"I think it gives you a better sense of your environment because you're not having a distraction from your engine obviously. And you can just enjoy the ride."
Schneider, who has worked in the solar panel industry for years, also serves as the chapter lead for the Electric Vehicle Society of Windsor-Essex. He bought his first EV 10 years ago.
"It was an environmental decision at that time because I had the chance to buy a vehicle that's less carbon intensive," Schneider explained.
That's the draw for many consumers looking to be environmentally minded.
The ferocious push toward the electrification of vehicles in Windsor and Canada promises to be a key factor in the country's commitment to becoming carbon neutral by 2050 — but some environmentalists are concerned that speed could come with consequences.
"We might do a lot of damage in the transition if we're not careful," said Teresa Kramarz, an assistant professor at the School of Environment at the University of Toronto with a focus on the governance of natural resources.
"I want to be really clear that we have to de-carbonize.... My concern is to ensure that as we de-carbonize, we pay attention to how we're doing it rather than just only look at the carbon unit as the sole unit of analysis of our questions of governance."
By 2035, the Canadian government wants every new passenger vehicle sold in the country to be electric. Many of those vehicles, and the batteries put in them, will be built in Windsor, both at the assembly plant and at the new Stellantis-LG electric vehicle battery plant expected to be operational by 2024.
"When you're buying electric vehicles, when you're driving electric vehicles ... you're doing the right thing," said Prime Minister Justin Trudeau during a visit to Windsor's Assembly Plant in mid-January.
However, mining expert Kramarz is worried environmental concerns might take a back seat in a conversation that is "so politically attractive."
She worries that in order to meet some of the targets set out by the government, we might end up sourcing our required critical minerals from the global south.