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The Forum > General Discussion > Your batteries and childlabour

Your batteries and childlabour

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Some or all of the cobalt used in your little batteries comes from child labour in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and also in the big batteries of electric cars.
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/cobalt-children-mining-democratic-republic-congo-cbs-news-investigation/
http://www.ft.com/content/c6909812-9ce4-11e9-9c06-a4640c9feebb
(these are dated but there are more recent items available)

Are those promoting E-Cars happy with the ethics of profiting from child labour or don't they want to know about it?

It seems that E-Car promoters never mention this slight ethical problem.
Posted by Is Mise, Wednesday, 17 February 2021 2:43:13 PM
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'Ethics' is one of those "old fashioned" words to progressives, wealth-seekers and liars about the necessity for hugely expensive electric cars.

And, as there is nothing 'democratic' about the Democratic Republic of Congo any more than the People's Republic of China is anything to do with the people.

It's a shocking abuse of children, Is Mise, but there's nothing to be done about it. Hey. We can't even get our own government to listen to us.
Posted by ttbn, Thursday, 18 February 2021 10:37:59 AM
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//Are those promoting E-Cars happy with the ethics of profiting from child labour or don't they want to know about it?
It seems that E-Car promoters never mention this slight ethical problem.

Well Tesla is certainly aware of it- awhile ago a bunch of tech companies (apple, google, etc.) including Tesla found themselves in a court case brought on by a human rights group about this very issue.

Telsa has stated that they are going to transition away from using cobalt in its batteries. I believe Telsa's announcement of this is somewhere in this presentation: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l6T9xIeZTds

[PS: it is not only because of the human rights issues surrounding cobalt that EV manufacturers are moving to cobalt free, but also because cobalt is very expensive]
Posted by thinkabit, Thursday, 18 February 2021 10:44:45 AM
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It seems that E-Car promoters never mention this slight ethical problem.
Is Mise,
You should know better than placing Greens in the same basket as ethics !
I have drawn attention to the highly polluting production of so-called 'Green Energy' quite a number of times but none of these 'Eco' warriors ever indulge in conversation.
Posted by individual, Thursday, 18 February 2021 2:05:06 PM
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Greens' Policy,

"THE GREENS WILL:
• End the sale of petrol and diesel cars from 2030, ensuring 100% of all new
vehicles sales are electric or zero emission
• Reduce the cost of an electric vehicle by up to 20% to make them more affordable
• Require the major car manufacturers to sell a set percentage of EVs each year
• Spend $150 million on fast charging infrastructure, ensuring you can get where
you need with an EV
• Legislate tough vehicle pollution standards"
http://greens.org.au/sites/default/files/2018-12/Greens%202019%20Policy%20Platform%20-%20Electric%20Vehicles.pdf

"Metals such as lithium and cobalt provide examples of the awkward issues that lie ahead, said Herrington. Both elements are needed to make lightweight rechargeable batteries for electric cars and for storing power from wind and solar plants. Their production is likely to increase significantly over the next decade – and that could cause serious ecological problems.

In the case of cobalt, 60% of the world’s supply comes from the Democratic Republic of the Congo where large numbers of unregulated mines use children as young as seven as miners. There they breathe in cobalt-laden dust that can cause fatal lung ailments while working tunnels that are liable to collapse."
http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/jan/03/child-labour-toxic-leaks-the-price-we-could-pay-for-a-greener-future

Searched through the Greens' policy for something on child labour but couldn't find anything; perhaps one of our Greens could point the way?
Posted by Is Mise, Friday, 19 February 2021 2:31:20 PM
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The only thing green about the Greens is the area behind their ears !
Posted by individual, Saturday, 20 February 2021 11:37:42 AM
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