for alternative sources of energy as well as efforts to reduce the amount of
energy used on a daily basis. Electric cars (also known as electric vehicles
or EVs) have been in development for decades, but never before have we been as
close to having them on the road in mainstream form. Rather than using
gasoline, EVs draw their power exclusively from electricity. They do
not produce any tailpipe emissions, reduce our dependency on oil, and are
cheaper to operate. With that being said, why aren’t we all driving EVs and
being environmentally conscious?
Sure EVs cannot travel as far as gasoline powered vehicles without stopping to
refuel, but how many of us on average need to travel more than 100 miles
without taking a few hours breaks in between? Unless you are a truck driver,
chances are even if you commute a decent amount of distance to work on a daily
basis, you do not rack up this amount of mileage.
If you’re looking for an EV but not willing to sacrifice the appearance of a
fancier automobile then Tesla Motors is the company for you. The Tesla Roadster is
a sports-car that is giving gasoline-powered cars of the
same handling and power, a run for their money. Not only does this car have
the same aesthetic appeal of a Porsche or Ferrari, but it also proves to be
more efficient in a well-to-wheel energy efficiency test. According to
the test, the Tesla Roadster has double the efficiency of popular hybrid cars
and generates one-third of the carbon dioxide—and that’s against hybrid cars!
Against sports cars, it proves six times as efficient and produces one-tenth of
the pollution. This car of luxury comes with a matching price of around
$122,000, but there are other cars out there if you can’t afford this sleek
model.
Companies such as Ford are creating cars that are the equivalent of their
current sedans but that are electric. They feel that by creating automobiles
that drivers do not have to adjust between, not only will it be easier to make
the transition but it also makes it a safer change when it comes to
acceleration and braking. Automakers are now creating using a new type of
battery that utilizes lithium ion so that these cars can be used for the mass
market. Electric vehicles are currently found all over the globe
CONVERSIONS in the forms of railway trams, submarines, elevators, and subways,
so why not electric cars? We should be moving towards getting these vehicles
on our roads in mass. There is no reason why we shouldn’t be making these
efforts when GM executives project that more than 90 percent of drivers could
do 90 percent of their driving in electric mode, and for those who need to make
a long-distance trip—there’s always rental cars available.
same handling and power, a run for their money. Not only does this car have
the same aesthetic appeal of a Porsche or Ferrari, but it also proves to be
more efficient in a well-to-wheel energy efficiency test. According to
the test, the Tesla Roadster has double the efficiency of popular hybrid cars
and generates one-third of the carbon dioxide—and that’s against hybrid cars!
Against sports cars, it proves six times as efficient and produces one-tenth of
the pollution. This car of luxury comes with a matching price of around
$122,000, but there are other cars out there if you can’t afford this sleek
model.
Companies such as Ford are creating cars that are the equivalent of their
current sedans but that are electric. They feel that by creating automobiles
that drivers do not have to adjust between, not only will it be easier to make
the transition but it also makes it a safer change when it comes to
acceleration and braking. Automakers are now creating using a new type of
battery that utilizes lithium ion so that these cars can be used for the mass
market. Electric vehicles are currently found all over the globe
CONVERSIONS in the forms of railway trams, submarines, elevators, and subways,
so why not electric cars? We should be moving towards getting these vehicles
on our roads in mass. There is no reason why we shouldn’t be making these
efforts when GM executives project that more than 90 percent of drivers could
do 90 percent of their driving in electric mode, and for those who need to make
a long-distance trip—there’s always rental cars available.
-Corinne Brady
I understand the importance of reducing fuel dependency and I think the electric cars are a great advancement...in theory. It's just that by discarding our current vehicles that are fully in-tact, we are producing more waste. The Tesla and other electric cars have been manufactured and transported using a significant amount of fossil fuels. That is an aspect of these new technologies (including solar power and wind turbines) that is often overlooked. The overall manufacturing and future repairs ALL use fossil fuels. Therefore, although these cars sound like they will solve all the problems, they are in fact still contributing to the main issue: fast depleting nonrenewable fossil fuels.
ReplyDeleteThe increased search for alternative fuels and the transition to electric cars has gained a lot of focus in recent years, but I think a major drawback to the idea of deploying electric cars on our roads as a mainstream form of transportation is the fact that it will take extreme infrastructure restructuring. In that, we will have to re-tool many factories to build these cars, build re-charging areas in case of needed recharge for these cars, which will take enormous amounts of money. I think, it is possible for electric cars to become mainstream but it won't be anytime soon.
ReplyDeleteI believe the attempt at converting to electric vehicles was attempted in California. In 1990 the California Clean Air Act aspired for 10% of vehicles sold in 2003 be zero-emission vehicles. When General Motors realized that the goals were not going to be met, they sued the state of California claiming the standards violate a law restricting states from regulating the fuel economy in any way. By attempting to reduce the number of fuel powered vehicles, the state was attempting to set gas mileage standards which can only be done by the federal government. Major car companies had many succesful models such as the EV 1 but their potential was limited because the nation's economy relies on gasoline. Electric cars would be difficult to convert to because of a lack of infastructure and potential economic travesty.
ReplyDeleteAccording to professor R. Rich of VT, the production of a hybrid car causes more emissions from the extraction of natural resources to build it to the final roll off the manufacturing line than that that car will ever produce in its lifetime. with this statistic in mind i have to wonder if it is the same with these electric vehicles that are being produced, after all anything made out of metal was extracted, processed, shipped, welded... the list goes on. the best way for us to transition out of this is to retrofit already built cars with engines and batteries to become electric.
ReplyDeleteI believe developing electric cars for mass produce should be our number one goal in helping our country removes its dependency on fossil fuels. Once we are able to convert all cars to electricity then our only problem we are left with is developing better alternative energy sources. The first hybrid car actually was released by the Woods Motor Vehicle Company of Chicago in 1917. It is pretty iconic now that Ford is producing electric cars. Henry Ford actually contributed to their demise with the initiation of mass production of gas cars. This mass production of gas cars made his cars cost $440 compared to electric cars which sold for $1,750. By the 1920s electric cars time had passed. It took years to get to this point of dependency on cars and it will take years to remove this dependency on cars.
ReplyDelete~Shawn Page
The knowledge and information for electric cars has been around for years, yet oil companies and the United State’s dependency kept the technology under wraps. I know my family would be first in line to purchase an electric vehicle once they are more available to the public market. We currently own two hybrid cars and hope to reduce our carbon footprint by choosing greener methods of transportation as they become more readily accessible.
ReplyDelete-Amanda Hamilton