1. https://www.forbes.com/sites/zengernews/2021/10/11/electric-vehicles-footprints-may-not-currently-be-as-clean-as-some-assume/?sh=458485302fa6

It seems counterintuitive that electric vehicles may not be as green as many thought. 

Over the past few years, electric vehicles have been at the top of the trend. Many car companies, including Ford, are ramping production on EVs. By 2030, the Biden administration wants half of the new cars produced to be electric. However, this shouldn’t be a surprise since 29% of greenhouse emissions come from the transportation sector. 

Although EVs provide a lot of hope in their headline titles, it’s more complicated than we thought. A George Mason University professor suggests that we look at its lifetime emissions. It turns out that EVs generate more emissions during the assembly stage than similar gas-powered vehicles. Lithium batteries are a majority of the issue with EVs. After only eight years, the battery depletes to 80% of the initial charging rate. This makes the car unfitting in the used car market and will cause demand for new EVs.

Evs also demand a lot of rare earth metals. Mining these materials tends to generate runoff that leaks dangerous heavy metals into our drinking water supplies. 

In the end, EVs seem like the future, but a lot of work must still be done by local companies and investors. 

2. https://kubyenergy.ca/blog/the-positive-and-negative-environmental-impacts-of-solar-panels

It seems counterintuitive that solar panels may be more of an issue for future generations than the benefits for today’s world. 

Recently, solar panels have been installed left and right commercially and on residential properties. Solar panels collect the sun’s energy and use the energy that is collected to power your home or even charge your electric vehicles. However, the production of solar panels isn’t exactly environmentally friendly.

When Solar panels are initially made, a significant amount of energy is required to produce them. Solar panels depend on quartz which must be processed and cleaned before use. Quartz requires a substantial amount of heat to be processed. Quartz also sometimes requires other materials like aluminum and copper from other facilities.

Another material that is used in solar panels is silicon. Making solar-grade silicon tends to use hazardous material depending on where the company is located, and the type of manufacture; these chemicals may not be properly disposed of.

Recycling solar panels is a big deal. If done correctly, it could significantly reduce the number of chemicals potentially leaking into the earth. Solar panels are still in the early stages of installation, so we haven’t had to deal with much of the disposal side. However, in the future, it will become a big issue. Countries without the proper means of e-waste disposal are at a very high risk of recycling issues. 

In 2014, the US department of energy did a study by screening 400 studies for outliers and other factors. Their data showed that 60-70% of the energy used was up front, 25% during the operation stage, and 5-20% during their capturing phase. It has been reported that solar panels are now nearly 50% more efficient than when this study was conducted. 

Although there may seem there are many kinks to work out, which there are, it takes time for secondary companies to form around the primary industries. Solar panels are nowhere near perfect, but they provide better energy sources based on local studies.

3. https://theworld.org/stories/2015-02-04/vancouver-combats-heroin-giving-its-addicts-best-smack-world

It seems counterintuitive that Vancouver is giving heroin addicts precisely what they want, heroin. Over the past few years, Vancouver has become infected with drug addiction since they live on the Pacific Ocean port. Instead of having the addicts worry about being arrested on the streets or overdosing, nurses have started administering heroin to addicts. Currently, 26 people in the program are considered homeless with no other alternative to stop their addiction. 

The plan for Vancouver addicts is to give them what they want, so they can decrease the chances of them committing a crime or even offering their bodies in exchange for the drug. One user of the program has even reported that it helped them hold a steady job since they were not worried about when/ where their next fix would be. 

Although it may seem like a good alternative at the moment, there has been no research to guarantee that this program won’t go rogue in the future. But in the meantime, it is creating a safer environment in Vancouver. Vancouver has thought to do something many other cities would not do by offering a safe and clean place to give heroin addicts what they want.