One of the most pressing problems we face as humanity today is climate change. If we do not solve this problem, the future of humanity may be threatened. On the other hand, there have been many solutions offered to try and remedy this problem. For example, through the last decade we have seen an increasing trend in electric cars, an alternative to the traditional combustion engine. Just thinking about it, you would assume that the electric car would be a much more environmentally friendly alternative to a traditional gas car, but that actually may not be the case.
Going on a quick trip back in time when cars were first invented, electric cars actually outperformed their gas counterparts. It didn’t have the smell and noise of a gas car and were easier to operate as well. In fact, electric vehicles accounted for a third of all cars on the road in 1900. However, after Henry Ford introduced the cheap Model T, the electric started to decline, and eventually disappeared from the road a couple decades later. Today, electric cars are not uncommon and we can see many electric and hybrid vehicles on the road. They do not emit any harmful smelly emissions and they are quiet as well. Compared to a gas car, it would be very logical that a electric car is indeed better for the environment. However, we must think deeper into possible emissions and waste that an electric car produces.
First of all, we need to take into account the electricity that an electric car consumes. The electricity does not pop out of nowhere, and it must be produced somehow. Electricity can be produced through many ways, and this is the factor that affects the true carbon emission of an electric vehicle. If the electricity used to power the electric car was produced from for example, coal, then the CO2 emissions of the electric vehicle would be nearly the same as a gas car! Therefore, the emissions of an electric vehicle solely depends on how the electricity used to power it was produced. According to Natural Resources Canada, 18% of electricity is produced from renewable sources such as hydroelectric dams and wind farms. The other 72% mostly comes from processing of coal and natural gas, and this is where the carbon emissions come from. Another problem with electric cars is the disposal of batteries. Batteries contain many heavy metals that are harmful to the environment such as nickel, lead, and cadmium. When an electric car’s life is over, the battery will have a significant impact to the environment, especially when more and more electric cars are being driven around.
Although electric cars aren’t perfect, and still have negative environmental impacts as well as indirectly emitting carbon emissions, I believe that this is a step in the right direction. Electric cars may not be the one true answer to reduce our carbon emissions for transportation, but there are many new ideas popping up. For example, one promising development with hydrogen fuel cell cars is starting to take flight. I personally like hydrogen cars the best because they only emit pure water vapor. It has truly zero carbon emissions and even produces water! The only problem with the technology for now is that hydrogen may be unsafe since it’s easily combustible, as well as the relative scarcity of hydrogen here on Earth. I’m confident that after more research, this technology may become the future!
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