Electric vehicles (EV) are becoming more and more popular and affordable. People are opting for EVs because it has "lower fuel and maintenance costs, and dramatically less pollution and carbon emissions." Critics however are against this because cars going electric would mean less dependence and need for oil, and while this may be true, there are many benefits to electric cars.
Efficiency: EVs cleaner than gas-powered cars and "will only get cleaner as our electricity generation does the same." Although the construction of the cars is not 100% carbon-free, there is no tailpipe emission. Overall, however, "EVs generate up to 67 percent lower greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) ... than their gas-powered counterparts." Electric car manufactures are also figuring out new ways to increase efficiency and decrease prices, meaning that the industry will only be growing.
Ethical Supply Chains: Another argument against EVs is "unethical mining practices for critical materials," however "the global demand for lithium, cobalt and other critical materials is set to grow whether or not a single additional EV is produced." Devices such as phones and computers rely on these materials and they aren't going anywhere anytime soon. Manufactures of EVs are also working on recycling up to 95% of old batteries. Though EVs would decrease the size of the oil industry, it would also create more, new jobs such as manufacturing and the mining of crucial materials.
Affordability & Equity: Though the first EVs were on the pricier side, the prices have been steadily going down as the technology gets more developed and accessible. Now, there are EV cars that are at or even below the price of gas-powered cars.
Charging Buildout: Charging stations for EVs must be placed around the world, as it serves as the "gas station" for electric vehicles. Some are afraid that dependence on utility companies would make utility bills go up, but it has not been "rooted in fact." In actuality, "widespread vehicle electrification increases grid efficiency, which instead applies downward pressure on rates over time."
In my opinion, I think we're taking the right steps to help climate change and reduce the amount of greenhouse gases released into the atmosphere. Not only is the upfront cost going down, which was what a lot of people were concerned about, but the long-term cost is also less as well. Gas prices are more than double how much it costs to charge an EV. I also think this transition is necessary since fossil fuels are a finite resource and once we use them up we can't get any more. Though building charging stations in lots of areas would be difficult, I believe it's achievable since Tesla has started doing that already. They have 17,000 superchargers in the world, but it would require lots of charging stations if each car brand had to build their own rather than universal chargers. I also wonder what will become of gas stations when all the cars go electric since cars take time to charge and it's time-consuming to park and wait at a gas station for your car to charge.
What aspect of electric vehicles in your opinion is the most beneficial?
Is there anything you're worried about for the future of electric vehicles?
What further steps should we take to help the issue of climate change?
I think the most beneficial aspect of electric cars is that they are becoming cleaner and less oil-dependent. With climate change becoming more and more of a looming threat, I think the world needs to start focusing on ways to mitigate our carbon footprint. In addition, I believe the rising affordability for these cars is making them much more appealing to the average consumer (who may not necessarily prioritize the environment but will see these cars as good business investments). I am worried that electric cars will substantially change the face of our world's infrastructure as more people begin to rely on electric cars instead of gasoline cars. In addition, the oil sector of the economy relies heavily on these gasoline cars, which means there might be unintended and dramatic consequences around the world if the transition happens too quickly. On the flip side, if this transition to a less oil-based world doesn't happen fast enough, climate change will take its course. I think that in addition to electric cars, it should become mandatory to start relying on green technology to produce electricity. More research and money needs to be put into the development of more efficient batteries and infrastructure that would allow for this to happen. Although we are not at such a drastic point now, we should still be starting to think of ways about how we will react as climate change begins to manifest in big ways. Geoengineering, space travel, and relocation may sound scary, but they may be necessary if we allow climate change to get bad enough.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that it's important to switch from gas and that the lowering of costs will be more appealing to the average consumer. Electric cars is definitely a good start to drift out of so much oil consumption. The goal is to go all electric cars by 2035, and while that's a good start, so many other things used in daily life uses gas. Also, there is still going to be a lot of gas-powered cars on the road still and it is going to be difficult to slowly phase out of gas stations. I do think money now should be dedicated to finding more green solutions since space travel like you brought up and relocation may be more expensive than helping the environment as it is now.
DeleteI would agree with Meher that EVs are good for the environment and thus are a good choice in the long term. I do think that as the technology gets better in the coming years, more and more people will switch to EVs. A few months ago, I actually watched an interview with Elon Musk, who pointed out that even if most major car manufacturers switch to only producing electric vehicles within, say, the next ten years (as they claim they will), at that point there will still be a lot of gas-powered cars on the roads. It will take an additional 10-15 years from that point before the majority of cars on the road are electric, at which point the transition will be complete -- which means there are inevitably still decades of global warming caused by emissions yet to come. To the point that EVs take a long time to charge at charging stations, I would say that (most likelY0 the technology will eventually reach a point where you can charge a car in just a few minutes, or even instantly. I think that that kind of technology is closer than most people think, and might even be here within 10-15 years. Overall, while the switch to electric vehicles will be gradual and expensive, it is worth in the long run in order to reduce our carbon footprint.
ReplyDeleteI agree, the switch to EVs will take a long time. This is a good start, but it is definitely not enough to fix the issue of global warming. Within a decade or two, global warming would have gotten so bad, possibly irreversible and it is vital that more steps are taken as soon as possible to avoid that. I personally think that action to switching to EVs was taken years too late and the importance to stopping drastic climate change isn't emphasized enough. By the time other measures are taken, hopefully it won't be too late for those too. I'm glad you gave a timeline and estimate for about how long gas cars will still be on the road. If cars are going all electric by 2035, in over 30 years will cars on the road be "all" electrically powered, which is still long time, and this is only talking about cars and not all the other things contributing to climate change like factories and airplanes.
DeleteI think that the transition to electric vehicles is great and it will definitely help the environment. One of the most important things that we need to be thinking about right now is how to reduce our carbon footprint and electric vehicles are one way to do that. I think the fact that they release significantly less greenhouse gases is the best thing about them. However, we can't only focus on developing electric vehicles. We also need to switch to greener energy sources and make more technological advances that will reduce our carbon footprint. We need to figure out how to make ships and planes better for the environment as well as cars, and we need to focus on switching factories and companies over to greener energy sources such as wind or solar power. But, making advancements in the technology behind electric vehicles is definitely a good start in protecting our planet's future.
ReplyDeleteI would say that it is most important that there is a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. This is the most important to me because I want my kids and grandkids to grow up in a world that isn't accosted by polluted air with negative health affects. I am only worried about the opposition they might face from traditional gas and oil because they might try to make electric look worse so that their industry doesn't die. In an APES documentary we watched, it said that even if all the cars were replaced with electric it would only be a five percent change. I think that the solution needs to come in energy generation because that is where a lot of the harm is coming from.
ReplyDelete