"Ramped-up production of toxins used in the batteries has communities worried."
"Propulsion without the need for petroleum: That’s the lithium-ion battery’s promise.
Backed by government incentives across the globe, lithium-ion batteries are hailed as key to a green transportation revolution—and for good reason. They cut planet-warming emissions. They promote independence from fossil fuels. ...
But as battery production ramps up—amid record spending to combat climate change—so does a hidden risk that few outside New Jersey or southern France may recognize. And it’s a risk residents of Augusta, Georgia, and communities along the South’s “battery belt” and elsewhere ought to know.
The same companies that spewed “forever chemicals” linked with cancer and other diseases in neighborhoods around the world are now key players in the development of EV batteries—sometimes with hefty taxpayer support. Often those companies keep their chemical formulas and emissions from the public ... ."
Craig Welch, Jana Cholakovska, Pooja Sarkar, Alec Gitelman, Emilie Rosso, and Clare Fieseler report for Mother Jones July 10, 2024. This investigation was reported in collaboration with The Examination, The Post and Courier, Columbia Journalism Investigations, and RTBF, and co-published in partnership with Mother Jones.
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