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Jimmy Barnes

Malcom Campbell

UWRT 1103

4 April 2019

Which is better for the environment, electric or gas vehicles?

Across the globe people are considering their carbon footprint, by looking at how many

gallons of water they use in a day, how turning lights off in unused rooms saves significant

power, or the tailpipe emissions from their cars. This raises the question in many driver’s heads,

“Are electric cars better for the environment than gas cars?” With the thought of zero emissions

from a car, commuters may lean towards this option and join “Team Electric” but do they

consider how these electric cars play a role in the environment, and how large or small that role

is in comparison to gas cars?

The Guardian states that there are many types of cars out there, giving consumers a

variety of options. The types of cars available are gas, hybrid, plug-in hybrid, range-extender,

and pure electric (Clarke). Each type of car operates in a different way. Gas cars are all internal

combustion engines. This means they burn gas to power the engine. Hybrid cars use gas as the

main input of fuel, but as the car drives part of that fuel is used to charge a battery so that when

the hybrid car is operating at a low speed the fuel for the car will be coming from the battery and

not burning gas (Clarke). A plug-in hybrid performs the same operation as a hybrid car but has

the option to charge the car’s battery from an electric power main. In other words, the car could

be totally electric if desired (Clarke). Range-extenders are primarily battery fueled. However, if a

range-extender car gets low on battery while away from a charging station then the gas in the car
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will be used as a secondary fuel source and get the car to where it needs to go so that it may

recharge (Clarke). Finally, pure electric cars are only battery powered. So, if the battery runs out

somewhere, that’s it. Basically, like a gas car but only battery dependent.

Now knowing which type of cars are out there, it is really a matter of finding out which

vehicle is the best fit for each consumer. According to Money Living, every car has its benefits,

for example electric cars are said to be more cost effective because electricity is cheaper per unit

of energy than gas. When looking at the benefits of gas cars, for starters they are easier to

maintain. This is because of the surplus of gas stations and auto parts stores. Additionally, gas

cars have better ranges. (Money Living). Hybrid cars are ideal for the consumer that wants

increased fuel economy but doesn’t want to wave goodbye to the idea of range (Money

Living). In terms of purchasing a vehicle, gas cars are significantly cheaper than electric cars

(Money Living). For example, a 2019 Chevy Silverado starts anywhere from 28,000 dollars to

34,000 dollars. A 2019 Chevy Volt or Bolt, both electric, start at 33,000 dollars to 36,000 dollars

(Award Winning Dependability). If someone wanted a high-end luxury electric car like a Tesla,

they would spend approximately 42,000 dollars to 82,000 dollars (“Tesla”). All of those numbers

are just to buy the stock car without all the “bells and whistles.”

In terms of refueling electric and gas cars each are a little different. In regard to electric

cars, on average in the United States, a unit of electricity costs 12 cents and most people drive

approximately 15,000 miles per year. This would add up to around 540 dollars per year to charge

an electric car (Moloughney). On the other hand, refueling a gas car costs an average of 1,117

dollars per year. Of course, it ultimately depends on electricity and gas prices for where a

consumer lives, what size vehicle they drive, and how often they drive (“Costs and Benefits of

Electric Cars Vs. Conventional Cars”). If a consumer is concerned with which refueling process
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is more efficient, then gas cars are the winner of that battle by far! It’s common knowledge that a

gas car can be refueled within a matter of minutes, but electric cars can take up to 8 hours to

charge (Money Living). While considering the time and cost of refueling, the range comparison

of cars is also essential to research. Most electric cars cannot travel more than 150 miles at a time

and gas cars can travel 400 miles or more at a time (Money Living). Needless to say, when

refueling and driving, gas cars are the winner.

Going back to the topic of emissions, a common misconception is that electric cars are all

zero emission. This statement is false! People may think electric cars are zero emission, but they

are not necessarily zero carbon (Marcacci). How clean an electric car is, is all based on how

clean the energy production for the car is. For example, electricity can be produced in many

ways, the use of wind technology, hydro technology, nuclear power, renewable, and the burning

of fossil fuels like oil (Clarke). To provide a rundown in order of which cars have the strongest

to the lowest greenhouse gas emissions are, gas cars with the strongest emissions, hybrid with

the second highest amount of emissions, followed by plug-in hybrid, then range-extenders, and

lastly pure electric (Clarke). This is just a general scale, again it is how the power for the cars is

produced that really makes the long-term difference. In the category of tailpipe emissions,

Forbes reports that “a typical gas-powered car emits around a pound of carbon dioxide per mile

traveled, and the U.S. reached an all-time high of 3.17 trillion annual vehicle miles traveled in

2016” (Marcacci). With numbers like these many health risks occur. The American Lung

Association states, “gas powered transportation costs and average of 37 billion dollars in health

impacts such as asthma attacks, premature deaths, lost work days, and hospital visits across just

10 states” (Marcacci). After reading statistics like this, and knowing that people need to get

around, it’s no wonder that people want to switch to electric cars. This has pushed a movement
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to lower the price for renewable resource electricity production, making it more affordable, in

hopes that the world will be more environmentally friendly (Marcacci). That being said, people

have already started measuring carbon dioxide emissions, just to see how environmentally

friendly drivers are getting overtime and how drivers can be more effective. For example, Tesla,

a leading manufacture in the electric car world, has posted on their website a counter of how

many tons of carbon dioxide has been saved just by Tesla vehicles alone. As of now that number

is 4,021,297 and rising rapidly (Tesla)!

Now what about the manufacturing process, which is cleaner? Gas car production or

electric car production? Well, research shows that the production of gas cars uses an average of

5.6 tons of carbon dioxide whereas electric car production uses 8.8 tons of carbon dioxide

(Clarke). Again, gas car seems to be the winner here too. Although, it is argued that electric cars

are better in the long run because they only emit 80% of what a gas car would emit in tailpipe

emissions (Clarke). Ultimately, what is boils down to is, how is the battery being constructed?

what is it made of? How does it work?

As previously stated, there is a demand by people for wanting to move around quickly

and efficiently. How can this be done? By using larger means of transportation, in other words

mass transit. Subways are electric powered, so coming up with environmentally friendly means

of energy production for those is basically like creating the charge for an electric car through

environmentally friendly practices. However, getting back to the topic of road vehicles and gas

versus electric, buses are the main point here. Researchers have started to consider the idea of

electric buses over gas buses, in hopes that one day a switch will be made. The researchers have

been looking at a few main points, wireless charging versus plug-in, battery downsizing, vehicle

lightweighting, and energy consumption (Applied Energy 11-19). As of now, wireless charging
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batteries can be downsized 27-44% of a plug-in battery (Applied Energy 11-19). A wireless

charging system uses 0.3% less energy than the plug-in charger and emits 0.5% less greenhouse

gas (Applied Energy 11-19). Reducing the overall weight of a bus by 12-16% has a significant

effect on the battery-to-wheel energy consumption, lowering the amount of energy consumption

by 5.4-7% (Applied Energy 11-19). The overall idea here is to keep buses moving as well as

people, so a wireless charging option seems to be the best because buses could charge while at

bus stops or transportation centers (Applied Energy 11-19).

In conclusion, the answer to the question of “are electric cars better for the environment

than gas cars?” is still somewhat unanswered. To purchase a vehicle, a gas car is more affordable

than an electric car. Secondly, gas cars can be refueled much faster and travel greater distances.

Thirdly, gas cars come in a variety of sizes from small sedans to giant trucks, where electric cars

are generally small sedans or small SUVs. Electric cars have lower tailpipe emissions, but the

manufacturing process is not as environmentally friendly as that of gas cars. So, if one had to be

chosen over the other as which is the better car, then the answer is gas vehicles.

Works Cited

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Year, https://www.chevrolet.com/?ppc=GOOGLE_700000001291955_71700000013658

713_58700001099082552_p9967760066&ds_rl=1207662&ds_rl=1210408&ds_rl=1214

019&gclid=CjwKCAjwm-fkBRBBEiwA966fZBkWSzx4-

uHyAxdtslUywQGp0fZhAS0kxWh_0H8i78-

uIhEftcNYARoC6UcQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds. Accessed on 28 March 2019.

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Bi, Zicheng ; Song, Lingjun ; De Kleine, Robert ; Mi, Chunting Chris ; Keoleian, Gregory A. “Plug-in

vs. wireless charging: Life cycle energy and greenhouse gas emissions for an electric bus

system.” Applied Energy, Elsevier, 15 May 2015, Vol.146, pp. 11-19. Accessed 27 Mar. 2019.

Clarke, Sean. “How Green Are Electric Cars.” The Guardian, The Guardian, 21 Dec. 2017,

www.theguardian.com/football/ng-interactive/2017/dec/25/how-green-are-electric-cars.

Accessed 27 Mar. 2019.

“Costs and Benefits of Electric Cars Vs. Conventional Cars.” EnergySage, SunShot, 15 Nov. 2018,

www.energysage.com/electric-vehicles/costs-and-benefits-evs/evs-vs-fossil-fuel-vehicles/.

Accessed 29 March 2019.

Marcacci, Silvio. “Charging An Electric Vehicle Is Far Cleaner Than Driving On Gasoline,

Everywhere In America.” Forbes, Forbes, 14 Mar. 2018.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/energyinnovation/2018/03/14/charging-an-electric-vehicle-is-far-

cleaner-than-driving-on-gasoline-everywhere-in-america/#59e307b71f8c

Accessed 4 Mar. 2019.

Moloughney, Tom, and Mary Kathryn Campbell. “How Much Does It Cost To Charge An Electric

Car.” Plug In America, Kaptiv8, 17 Apr. 2014, pluginamerica.org/how-much-does-it-cost-

charge-electric-car/. Accessed 29 March 2019.

Money Living. “The Benefits of Gas vs. Electric Cars.” Smarty Cents, Smarty Cents, 19 Dec. 2012.

https://smartycents.com/articles/the-benefits-of-gas-vs-electric-cars/. Accessed 4 March 2019.

“Tesla.” Cars.com, Cars.com, https://www.cars.com/research/tesla/. Accessed 29 March 2019.

Tesla. Tesla, Tesla, https://www.tesla.com/carbonimpact. Accessed 29 March 2019.

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