June 27, 2023

Last week in the Editor’s Message, I shared some of the thoughts from Eric Reguly’s Opinion column in the Globe & Mail from Saturday, June 17 where he wrote that “Your next EV could be made from metals extracted from the seabed – a potential disaster.”

The story focused on plans to start mining the seabed for more of the “rare earth metals” needed to make the electric vehicles that are now being mandated by governments all over the world as a way to replace the internal combustion (ICE) engines that burn fossil fuels. There is a huge incentive for corporations to do this because the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act will send billions in subsidies to companies in the “green transition”. Canada is responding by trying to match some of these subsidies. Witness the subsidies to Volkswagen for their new Ontario battery plant, or to Stellantis who halted the construction of their new Ontario battery plant to re-negotiate with the government because Volkswagen got so much more. Is this the Environmental leadership that is urgently needed?

Are governments all over the planet advancing the idea of EVs as our environmental savior or is this just a politically convenient solution? Supporting EVs allows governments to claim they are pioneering the green transition but as Eric Reguly pointed out in his column, much of the planet’s electricity is produced by coal-fired generating plants. Mining both land and sea, probably using huge diesel-powered machinery to get the “rare earth metals” these EVs require, will also contribute to global warming while possibly destroying important eccosystems.

The environmental leadership we really need as a planet is to recognize society’s transportation needs. Then, incentivise the auto industry to develop and market minimally-sized, lightweight vehicles to greatly reduce our carbon footprints. People didn’t rush out to buy a 2,000 lb Smart ForTwo, but there was no significant incentive.

Today, most vehicles are carrying one person and almost no cargo. Just scanning a few recent issues of Car & Driver magazine, the “compact” Mitsubishi Outlander SUV hybrid is almost 4,800 lbs. The economical new Toyota Prius is still 3,500 lbs while Mercedes-Benz has introduced their EQE electric SUV model that weighs more than 5,350 lbs and that accelerates from 0 to 60 mph in as little as 4.1 seconds. My point is that these EVs seem to me to be just a new way to squander the planet’s resources.

Governments should be working cooperatively with the auto industry to refine the already highly efficient new turbo ICE engines, put them into light-weight composite vehicles and reduce our carbon footprint that way. Incentivize consumers to choose vehicles that minimize the environmental impact while placing “carbon taxes” on big heavy vehicles. Tax by weight. It takes a certain amount of energy to move weight. Lighter vehicles use less energy. Adjust taxation for commercial use. Encourage vehicle rental for when people need to move a big load of people or cargo. Let’s stop all the moms who drive 5,000 lb Hemi pickups to the grocery store.

Last thought for this week – I’d like to see the marine industry get out in front of the story. Proactively research our own energy use and the environmental impact of boating and go public before we get caught in a bad PR situation. Let’s also remind people that sailing is the original wind-powered transportation solution!

Andy Adams – Editor