With the exponential growth of electric vehicles, consumers should be aware of the viability of these products in today’s society and their negative effects on the environment. Electric vehicles, or EVs, are environmentally beneficial on the surface but produce harmful by-products when producing the vehicles themselves and the electricity they run on.
Electric vehicles have the potential to become widespread with correct marketing on the benefits to the environment, government subsidies, and a luxurious feel. EVs provide a mechanical advantage in energy transfer over internal combustion engine vehicles or ICE vehicles while creating zero emissions. EnergySage states, “AEV batteries convert 59 to 62 percent of energy into vehicle movement, while gas-powered cars only convert between 17 and 21 percent (EnergySage).” EVs also have better cost efficiency when it comes to travel, where the consumer can drive 43 miles per dollar with an EV that gets 3 miles to a kWh. By comparison, assuming gas prices are $3.19 per gallon, a conventional vehicle making 22 miles to the gallon would travel only 7 miles per dollar.
Another benefit of EVs is their overall level of maintenance. A mechanic at J.L. Freed Honda, Daniel Stinson, explains, “[EVs] do use lower maintenance, but when there is a problem with the electrical system, you need to know what you are doing.” Stinson explains that ICE vehicles are much easier to work on since they have a more simplistic diagnosis system, whereas in EVs, you need to diagnose problems as you go. To fully grasp the viability of EVs, we must look into their effects on the environment over the vehicle’s lifetime.
The environmental footprint of electric vehicles includes the mining of rare materials, factory production, electricity production, battery disposal, and recycling. Mining lithium, nickel, and cobalt metals used in batteries and neodymium and dysprosium, which are used in electric motors, creates water pollution through soil erosion and deforestation. Internal combustion engine vehicles and EVs both require other metals like steel and aluminum during production, which introduce carbon dioxide into the atmosphere during refinement. AP Environmental Science teacher at Pennridge High School, Richard Hampson, explains that the advancements in EVs were scaled too quickly and, “The mining was sped up to meet demands which makes the process dirtier,” Hampson adds. Most electricity used to power electric cars is also produced from burning fossil fuels. This means the carbon emissions are zero from the tailpipe but are substantial at the power plant.
Geographic positioning also makes a case against EVs. Like gas is more expensive in certain areas; clean and green electricity has a similar scenario. Electricity produced by renewables is essential for EVs so that carbon dioxide and other pollutants are eliminated from their ecological footprint. All places have different abilities to produce green energy. For example, Pennsylvania doesn’t produce much renewable electricity because its geography doesn’t allow for large solar fields or wind farms. Another aspect that hurts the viability of EVs is the potential for charging to create an electricity crisis. When asked whether or not the US could increase green electricity to combat the potential electricity crisis caused by EVs, Hampson said, “Yes, but it is going to boil down to money and infrastructure.” The ability to produce clean energy for the entire nation to maximize the benefits of EVs would take an extreme amount of time and funding that the government would pile on more debt for.
Electric vehicles are not yet ready for today’s society. Developments in renewable energies, the battery capacity of EVs, and the implementation of widespread charging stations are necessary for further growth of EV technology. Today, with rushed EV production, mining for rare materials is more environmentally harmful, which raises the carbon dioxide footprint of EVs. Proper recycling systems for EV batteries are not yet available, so all or most of the batteries get disposed of, which requires even more mining for materials.
Source Links:
https://www.ntsb.gov/safety/safety-studies/Pages/HWY19SP002.aspx
https://www.lynchchevroletcadillacofauburn.com/electric/why-electric-vehicles-evs
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/19/business/electric-vehicles-carbon-footprint-batteries.html
