[jyl]

I'd find this more interesting if he actually cited data to support these claims.

We find it amazing that so many people are focused on EV's citing the main reason as they have no emissions, when the significantly greater mining and mineral refining operations to manufacture an EV off-sets the zero emissions factor for the first 15K-25K miles. Then when the vehicle's battery needs to be replaced, the vehicle takes another major emissions hit. Then due to the short life expectancy of the EV - typically 7 years or less - the vehicle is recycled at probably 1/2 or even 1/3rd the life cycle of an advanced diesel vehicle. While the life cycle emissions of an EV do not exceed those of an advanced diesel vehicle running B100, it is closer than most might believe - probably within 50%. EV's are far from a perfect solution.

Since he doesn't, the reader has to find the data himself.

You could start here:
http://pubs.acs.org/doi/full/10.1021/es903729a

The Li-ion battery plays a minor role regarding the environmental burdens of E-mobility irrespective of the impact assessment method used.

The main finding of this study is that the impact of a Li-ion battery used in BEVs for transport service is relatively small.

Another explanation for the small impact of the battery on the overall assessment of transport service is the tiny share of the lithium components on the environmental burden for the Li-ion battery. This finding can be explained first of all by the fact that the lithium content accounts for only 0.007 kg per kg Li-ion battery. Thereby, the lithium content of the active material (LiMn2O4) and the lithium in the electrolyte is included. In addition, the processes used to extract lithium from brines are very simple and have a low energy demand.