The Misconception Behind Electric Cars
Junior Sofia Travieso explains why electric cars may not be the best solution for the environment.
November 17, 2021
There seems to be a common misconception that electric cars are more eco-friendly than gas-powered cars. Although electric cars cause less pollution than their counterparts, there are still a lot of issues that come with electric cars.
It only costs about $540 per year to keep the average electric car charged. A common misconception is that electric cars end up costing less than gas-powered cars due to the fact that you save a lot of money on fuel costs. Even though you do save a lot of money on fuel costs, electric cars are a lot more expensive than gas-powered cars.
When you add up the numbers, paying for gas for normal cars is still a lot cheaper than the total amount you will pay for an electric car and to keep your car charged. Electric cars are also not suitable to go “off-roading” through forests or on mountains because it can be extremely unsafe.
The amount of impact on the environment that electric cars have depends on the sources of electricity that charges the car.
If the source of electricity doesn’t come from solar panels, wind turbines, or even nuclear or hydroelectric sources, then their Carbon Dioxide emissions will actually be much higher than the carbon emissions from gas-powered cars.
The manufacturing of electric cars also generates more carbon emissions than the manufacturing of a standard car. This is due to the fact that electric cars store energy in large batteries that have high environmental costs because these batteries are made up of rare earth metals such as lithium, nickel, cobalt, or graphite which are only found beneath the surface of the Earth.
Due to the fact that these metals are only bound beneath the surface of the Earth mining activity is required which is a process that causes a lot of pollution. The energy that is used to make these batteries is also responsible for almost half of their environmental impact because most of the energy that goes into making these batteries doesn’t come from low-carbon sources.
99% of lead-acid batteries that are found in the gas-powered car industry are recycled in the United States but this is not the case with the lithium-ion batteries which are found in electric cars. This is because lithium batteries have a mic of specific chemicals and they have very small amounts of lithium which doesn’t make them very wanted in the market industry. In 2011 only about 5% of lithium was being recycled and the rest was either set on fire or thrown into landfills.
Electric cars are not the most eco friendly option. Electric cars cost more money, cause more carbon emissions, and their parts are barely recycled. Before you consider getting an electric car, make sure you know all the facts.
