Most people believe that driving an electric car is good not only for you but also for the environment. But is this really true. And what are the negative effects that an electric car can have?
Electric cars have higher manufacturing emissions than normal cars. Electric cars also use electricity that has its own footprint. “A battery-powered car recharged with electricity generated by coal-fired power stations, it found, is likely to cause more than three times as many deaths from pollution as a conventional petrol-driven vehicle. Even a battery car running on the average mix of electrical power generated in America is much more hazardous than the conventional alternative.”
In the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The authors estimate and discuss how amounts of fine particulate matter and ground-level ozone would change if each of the many ways of powering a car were to be responsible for 10% of the vehicle-miles expected to be driven in America in 2020. Electric cars whose batteries were from wind, solar or hydroelectric sources came out cleanest, causing 231 deaths, compared with 878 for petrol cars. Electric cars recharged with power from natural-gas-fired stations had about 439 deaths. But the study also found that if electric cars were recharged ultimately by coal, they would be responsible, for just over 3,000 deaths. The study helped to prove that electric cars are better that gasoline cars if the energy comes from renewable sources or natural gas but not if the electricity comes from coal. Also the study found that the emissions from making ethanol from corn is worse for air quality and health than gasoline.
Electric cars powered by coal produce 3.6 times more soot and smog deaths than those powered by gas, because of the pollution made in generating the electricity. They also are greater producers of heat-trapping carbon dioxide that worsens global warming, according to the study by the National Academy of Science (PNAS). So overall some electric cars are better than others when the power source does not come from coal but to have the least harmful effect on the environment a car who gets the most millage per gallon would also be beneficial. There are many pros and cons when it comes to electric cars but the choice is ultimately up to you.
Sources:
http://shrinkthatfootprint.com/electric-cars-green#zmQjEAjLtVvVTK6K.99
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/think-electric-cars-are-truly-green-not-if-their-power-comes-from-coal/
Oluwatosin Adedeji-Fajobi
I think that this post brings up some good points when considering the viability of electric cars. One piece of information that I believe would be beneficial to this debate would be the percentages of where the energy comes from. What percent of electric cars are actually powered from renewable sources? I feel as if this number will certainly be lower than energy coming from coal and other non-renewables.
Thank you for posting about this topic, as I often find myself in this debate armed with insufficient information. What I see in this post is a superb data set which could take an anthropocentric ethic (direct and serious influences on human health) – add some political litany and luck – and have it operate towards ecocentric ends.
One other point to take into consideration is the idea that changes are not made all at once, instead they are made one step at a time. Whether the first step should be generating electricity with more renewable sources and less coal or to transition cars to electric is debatable. But I would argue that both steps are crucial to the reduction of climate change.
Another way they help optimize fuel efficiency is through making the car lighter. The materials they use in order to achieve this, often detracts from safety of the vehicle.
Consumer Reports removed its’ recommendation for the 2014 model Nissan Leaf among several other cars, after they performed very poorly in crash tests. They all seem to do poorly on the small front overlap portion of the tests. If you look at the pictures of the totaled cars post crash test, the metal is shredded and bent, and the front just collapses on itself thus, greatly increasing the risk of injury and death.
Another concern is how do we dispose of the materials these green cars are made from. In the past, cars were comprised of more metal components that could be recycled. Now there is a hodgepodge of all sorts of other materials mixed in and more plastic.
A very interesting position. I never thought electric car can make such horrible pollution. This post indeed expand my horizon. However, I’m very confused about the word “death” in your post. What does this unit mean? What is it for? I hope you can explain more about it so people can have a better understanding.