This is in conversation from Apple News. I'm Shimita Basso. Today, the ugly truth about

electric vehicles. There's a lot of interest in electric vehicles right now.

More charging stations are being built.

There's new federal tax credits to make buying an EV more affordable,

and we're seeing more options hit the market, with

significantly lower lifetime emissions, costs, and maintenance needed compared to

traditional gas-powered cars. Climate scientists say making the switch from a gas-powered car to an

EV is one of the best ways to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions warming the planet.

But going green doesn't necessarily mean they're totally clean.

There's a lot of green washing going on as consumers try to navigate what an

EV is, the extent to which it is helping the environment.

Evan Halper is with the Washington Post.

He and a team of colleagues recently created a series called Clean Cars Hidden Toll.

It's sort of a buyer's guide to EVs, but what makes it

especially thorough is the original reporting they've done on the human and

environmental costs of the electric vehicle revolution.

It's important that there's some accountability for the manufacturers, for

governments on what exactly are we doing as we create this whole new industry?

Are we making the same mistakes that have been made in the

past and there's human consequences to those mistakes? The Post's team traveled around the

world to places where minerals are sourced to make EV batteries because while EVs don't need gas

they do need about six times more minerals by weight than a conventional vehicle

...