Let's say I want to drive from Vox's New York office to our office in DC.
That produces about 112 kilograms of CO2.
But in an electric vehicle or EV
that same drive produces zero emissions.
It's all thanks to this rechargeable battery
a lithium ion battery that powers the car's electric motor.
If all road vehicles were electric
we'd be able to wipe out about 18% of all CO2 emissions
the most prominent greenhouse gas driving climate change.
But producing these powerful batteries can do real environmental damage.
Nickel, the key ingredient in EV batteries
has to be mined and smelted
in a process that contaminates waterways
drives deforestation and pollutes the air.
And there's no better place to see this
than outside nickel processing plants in Indonesia
next to where people like Asvina live.
These particles are finer than beach sand
and are harmful when inhaled.
The same nickel paving the way for a green future
is causing life threatening problems
for the people who live near its production centers.
But it shouldn't be this way
because Indonesia is sitting on one of the biggest sources
of clean energy in the world.
An energy source that could help clean up the dirty
and often hidden side of green energy.
Indonesia has the world's largest proven nickel reserves.
Most of them are found here.
So is a large concentration of the country's nickel processing plants.
A lot of this nickel supplies the steel industry, but most of the growth
the industry has seen in recent years is driven by the demand for EV batteries.
Demand that's predicted to skyrocket.
To extrack the nickel
the rocks have to be smelted at really high heats.
And that energy is almost exclusively provided by
coal fired plants that spew greenhouse gases and pollute the air.
Asvina's story isn't an isolated incident.
Records of medical visits in her area show that
respiratory infections are by far the most common health issue.
Data from 2017 and 2018
suggests respiratory diseases are increasing in the region
at a much faster rate than other ailments.
But the government has yet to release the latest data.
For Asvina, who has lived in the area since she was a child
there's no doubt things are worsening.
Nickel is essential for a green future
but using coal fired plants isn't actually necessary
especially in Indonesia.
Indonesia sits along the Pacific Ocean's Ring of Fire
a stretch of hundreds of active volcanoes that sit on top of pools of hot magma.
We only really see the immense power of this heat when it pierces through the earth's surface.
But when it's close to the surface
that magma also heats the water trapped beneath the earth.
That hot water can provide
That hot water can provide a continuous and renewable flow of energy
called geothermal energy.
To capture that energy
we need to drill down to reach underground water.
Then hot water or steam rise up to a well.
In a power plant, that hot water is often used to heat a different liquid
that is then vaporized and used to turn a turbine to generate electricity.
Meanwhile, the clean water extracted is funneled
back into the ground where the earth's magma heats it once again.
And that fluid is recycled.
So there are no emissions of any gases to the atmosphere.
In that sense, it's a completely green
carbon-free energy source.
Plus, it doesn't rely on the weather like wind or solar energy do.
Indonesia is the second largest geothermal producer in the world.
On the same island where coal-fired plants are powering nickel production
there's a plant tapping into geothermal power.
There are about 20 active geothermal plants.
There are also tens of sites explored for development.
One of the biggest things holding geothermal back in Indonesia
and other parts of the world is cost.
And then once you've got evidence that there's a resource
the idea is then to figure out how big is the resource
how hot is the resource
and how much would it cost to develop that type of resource?
Longer timeline, higher risk factor
and higher initial investment costs
are all things that make geothermal more challenging to put online.
And while geothermal maps like this one can help identify possible hotspots...
you never know what you're going to find until you actually drill.
Over time, the hope is that
geothermal exploration will become cheaper, more predictable
and so efficient that it'll bring the cost down.
But it can be tough to change an existing industry,
especially if there's a lot of money in it.
Encouraged by Indonesia's push to attract foreign investment
and deregulation of environmental protections
Chinese companies have invested or committed
about $30 billion to nickel plants in Indonesia, particularly in Morawali
where new coal fired plants like this one
being built to power the investment.
For people like Asvina
the fact that geothermal doesn't produce emissions or air pollution
could make it the solution they're looking for.
Because if nothing changes
they might have to leave their homes.
Today, geothermal plants are mostly confined to volcanic areas
but our EV batteries are made of metals and minerals
from around the world.
And about 60% of the energy we used to process them
comes from fossil fuels.
There's enormous potential for cleaner EV battery production
in all these yellow and red regions if we dig deeper
and find ways to tap into the underground heat
whether there's underground water or not.
Like every new resource, the work we do to harness it
requires careful consideration.
How do you preserve parklands
and how does that coexist with geothermal development?
The other issue that seems to come up a lot
when I read about geothermal is seismic activity.
Most of the geothermal induced seismicity that occurs is very low level seismicity
but the goal is to not have significant seismicity that could cause damage
and distress to local communities.
The challenges are to making these
environmentally, socially, and economically viable.
And that's a very important challenge
especially if we think of geothermal as a solution
to clean up the supply chain that powers our clean energy.
Because all too often
it's poor and marginalized communities who live next to power plants
smelters, mines, factories, pipelines, waste plants.
As we move towards a better future
it's important to make sure it isn't just green but fair.