Author: Eric Lin
Editors: Emily Yu, Elizabeth Li
Artist: Angela Ke
Whether it be a Tesla, BMW, or Ford, electric vehicles come in different sizes and colors nowadays. That is no accident as governments around the world have begun to incentivize car manufacturers to shift to all electric for a supposedly cleaner world. While electric vehicles do contribute less to environmental pollution than traditional gas vehicles, that is not to say they are without drawbacks. In this article, we will discuss the pros and cons of electric vehicles and evaluate the impact of an all-electric world.
To begin with, electric vehicles come in three different types: Battery electric vehicles (BEVs), Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles (PHEVs), and Hybrid Electric Vehicles (HEVs). BEVs are electric vehicles solely powered by an electric battery, while PHEWs and HEVs have gas components. The difference between PHEWs and HEVs is that PHEWs have an electric motor and a larger battery while HEVs have an electric motor that supports gas-powered engines. All three different types of electric vehicles have an electric motor powered by, you guessed it, electricity. This means that the vehicle produces no exhaust and is more eco-friendly than traditional gas-powered vehicles. Electric vehicles are also more efficient in converting fuel into power than gas-powered vehicles, with electric vehicles being able to convert 77% of the electric power from the grid into power to keep the vehicle moving, while gas-powered vehicles can only convert about 12-30% of the energy stored in gasoline into power for the vehicle. Additionally, electric motors provide a quiet and smooth operation, offering stronger acceleration, and require less maintenance than internal combustion engines, making it more driver-friendly. To top it off, electric vehicles give governments more energy independence as electricity is a domestic energy source and will still be in supply even if trade conflicts arise. It’s no wonder why in the US, electric vehicles have received a major amount of subsidies to incentivize buyers and manufacturers to go electric. Of course, it differs from state to state, but people looking to buy certain electric-all-electric or plug-in hybrids can qualify for up to $7,500 in federal tax credit.
Electric vehicles, however, come with some serious drawbacks. To begin with, electric vehicles currently have very short driving ranges compared to gas-powered vehicles. On a full charge, a typical electric vehicle can drive about 100-300 miles while most conventional vehicles can drive about 400 miles. Additionally, it takes a while for electric vehicles to recharge. Most electric vehicles take 3-12 hours to recharge and even those with “fast charge” can take up to 30 minutes to charge up to 80%. In a study done by DOE's National Renewable Energy Laboratory, they found that electric vehicle batteries only last a maximum of 15 years in moderate climates and are very difficult to replace. This is very inconvenient when you need to get somewhere and want a long-lasting car, but the charge time, driving ranges, and battery life of electric vehicles are improving. Additionally, infrastructure for electric vehicles such as charging stations are still scarce in some parts of the US, but the number and accessibility of charging stations is improving. However, focusing on these minor issues diverts attention from a major issue about electric vehicles: the materials used to build their battery. Electric vehicle batteries require metals that are hard to get and minerals such as lithium, cobalt, and manganese. These metals are often sourced from places in South America and Africa, such as Chile and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Cobalt is very toxic to humans and mines in the Democratic Republic of Congo employ women and children to mine for cobalt with little to no protective gear. Often, the people and communities mining for cobalt are treated very poorly and cobalt mining in the Congos has been linked to human trafficking. In the book Cobalt by Siddharth Kara, he writes that much of the DRC's cobalt mining has destroyed the landscape of the DRC. In addition to the materials coming from questionable sources, electric vehicles also release a lot of emissions during manufacturing. In fact, electric vehicles release more CO2 than conventional vehicles due to the manufacturing of their batteries. Finally, electric vehicles are as green and eco-friendly as their fuel source, which may lead to a false narrative of electric vehicles always being cleaner than conventional vehicles, which in some cases, may be false. While not a drawback of electric vehicles, the false narrative of a clean fuel source may divert attention away from buyers and governments on sustainable sources of fuel which may inhibit progress on converting to a 100% eco-friendly and renewable fuel source.
In conclusion, electric vehicles do emit fewer emissions when driven compared to conventional gas vehicles and may be better in some aspects, but the underlying problems of mineral acquisition from questionable sources, manufacturing emissions, and green fuel sources may put many off from fully transitioning to electric vehicles. While electric vehicles provide a good stepping stone for society to transition to clean energy sources, a sudden jump to electric vehicles may lead to major issues in mineral acquisition used in their manufacturing and the emissions released as a side effect of their manufacturing and fuel source. Emphasis should be placed not just on incentivizing a jump to any electric vehicle, but on an electric vehicle whose materials, fuel, and products are ethical and environmentally friendly. In the future, maybe all these problems will be solved with breakthroughs in battery recycling and life, better sourced materials, and better driving ranges in addition to self-driving vehicles, but as it stands now there are a lot of problems that still need to be solved before we convert fully to an all electric society.
Citations:
All-Electric Vehicles.
Alternative Fuels Data Center: Electric Vehicles.
“Electric Cars.” Young People’s Trust for the Environment, ypte.org.uk/factsheets/electric-
Gross, Terry. “How ‘modern-day Slavery’ in the Congo Powers the Rechargeable Battery
Economy.” NPR, 1 Feb. 2023,
Types of Electric Vehicles: BEVs, PHEVs, HEVs - What’s the Difference? www.evgo.com/ev-
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