Thank you so much for joining me today, as I hop on the blog to discuss whether everyone switching to electric cars would really help the environment. In other words, should everyone switch to electric cars? This is the first part of a two-part series, discussing electric cars, so stay tuned for part two!!
I would like to start this post by stating that I am by no means an expert. This is knowledge I have from my own experience, and from research I have done. If anything is incorrect please take it as it is and accept that this is a discussion and I am taking on board all opinions from reliable sources on this complex topic.
Electric cars are a huge topic when it comes to sustainability and "saving our planet". There is no debating the fact that electric cars are better for the environment than diesel or petrol once they are on the road. But the production of them is often very polluting, with one study showing that 59% more carbon dioxide is emitted in the production of electric cars compared to traditional cars. However, once this is emitted, very little is emitted in terms of CO2. This, of course, doesn't even begin to cover where the energy comes from to charge the battery....As I said, this is a very complex issue!
If the electricity is from a renewable source (solar panels, wind, hydroelectric....), then electric cars are completely carbon free once on the road, but most of the time the electricity is not from a renewable source. There are also, however, companies trying to manufacture cars using renewables too, which would definitely help reduce the initial emissions even further.
The main reason that we want to replace diesel and petrol cars is because they release CO2, which causes the greenhouse effect, trapping the sun's rays and causing a rise in global temperature. But there is a whole other side: air pollution. These are of course connected, but air pollution has been linked to 6.7 million deaths annually. This is a scary statistic, and another reason why electric cars may be a part of a solution to the climate change crisis.
If more people had electric cars, the air would be cleaner, especially in cities and places with a lot of traffic congestion, although of course the cars would not solve the issue of congestion in cities. Many areas are above the legal limit for air pollution, and more clean air zones are being introduced to combat this. However, electric cars are a simple solution to the issue of air pollution in cities.
Another thing to take into account is the size of cars. If more people had smaller cars, or at least not excessively large ones, this would require less energy to power, and therefore be much easier to power using renewables.
But would everyone switching to electric cars really solve the climate crisis?
Well, the question of should everyone switch to electric cars is very complex, but ultimately, it would help our planet, but not solve the crisis entirely. If money was invested in charging points, having an electric car would be much easier, and there are ways that they can be made affordable for everyone. I believe that if most people could switch to electric cars, we would be on the right track to reaching climate targets.
There also specific ways that electric car manufacturers can make their models efficient and even more environmentally-friendly. The Citroen Oli prototype has reimagined the way that a car works and how environmentally friendly it is. It has been designed to be as light as possible, to reduce the electricity use. There is also lighter air conditioning to reduce power consumption with sloping windows to naturally repel the sun's rays. The parts of the car are also recyclable and easy to replace, making it have a longer lifespan. To me, this represents hope for a future that could become almost entirely electric, with cars being designed more efficiently, and more renewable energy sources.
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In researching this topic, I have come across many articles, especially in reading Greta Thunberg's book, The Climate Book, and I just wanted to share a statistic with you that really made me think.
80% of people in the world have never travelled by plane.
This really shocked me, and how so many emissions are created from the aviation industry, which relatively is used by a minority. In 2018, 50% of aviation emissions were caused by 1% of the world's population. I know this does not directly link to electric cars, but it's still an interesting side of the transport debate with regards to the climate crisis.
It's such a complex issue, but with increasing infrastructure, it is becoming easier and easier to have an electric car. My school has just had a new building, which includes an electric charging point, a small win in my local community. It's these small steps that together can create a society where electric cars can replace diesel and petrol engines. It's not the solution, but it's the best one we have available with the technology we have developed so far, and I think that's what I've learnt through writing this article, that everyone switching to electric cars is not the solution to climate change, but it can be a contributing factor, and it's what we have right now, and what we can do right now.
Your Green World Blog Team💚
Sources:
I have used many articles in the process of creating this article, but here are some of the most important ones, including The Climate Book by Greta Thunberg.
Thank you for this inspiring and well-documented article! This is real food for thought… (A-L T.)
ReplyDeleteGood to hear I've given you something to think about! Thank you so much for taking the time to read and comment!
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