Running head: Rough Draft 1

Grayson Potter

RC 2001-133

Argue Rough Draft

The automotive industry is one of the leading contributors to global warming because of

the great amount of carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere, also known as greenhouse

gasses. This industry is often making changes to make their product better, whether it be to make

the automobile more appealing to the eye or to fix a flaw somewhere in the system. The most

recent change to automobiles has been the push from an engine run on gasoline to an engine that

runs on a rechargeable battery, or an electric car. Many people have already made the switch to

driving an electric car because it is said to be better for the environment, while the rest of drivers

are torn or favor the classic engine. There are many different sides to this argument, but with the

automotive industry slowly taking the leap to majority electric cars, the question comes into play,

are electric cars truly less harmful for the environment?

While observing just the energy used by the use of the two types of vehicles, disregarding

the energy cost and emissions from manufacturing and production, electric cars produce 4,587

pounds of carbon dioxide while all other vehicles produce 23,885 pounds of CO2 annually

(Schmid 5). Considering these facts, the truth behind the marketing of electric vehicles prevails,

the more electric vehicles on the road, the greater the impact it will have on “emissions

production”(Schmid 7). Electric cars are advertised to be “greener” for the environment and this

information gives truth to these statements. Electric vehicles are better for the environment

because they will reduce the amount of greenhouse gasses in the atmosphere. Using an electric

vehicle could also save people money when spending money on fuel because charging stations

for electric cars are becoming much more common around the world, some of which are free of
Running head: Rough Draft 2

charge. Electric cars are marketed to be a cheaper alternative to the conventional gas car and are

said to be much cleaner for the environment. The cost of the electric cars seem to be cheaper

because there is no need to buy as much gas which can be super expensive for many. This option

is also said to be cheaper because many charging stations are public, free of cost, and fairly

cheaper than gasoline.

Although many of these things seem appealing and are somewhat true, there are many

more layers to the argument around the environmental impact of electric cars. In an economic

and environmental comparison, the lifespan of the average vehicle is around 10 years, during

these ten years the conventional gasoline car emitted on average 3595.8 kg CO2 versus the

electric car averaging on 4758.3 kg CO2 per 10 years(Table 3, Rosen). Electric vehicles are more

“emission-intensive” because they require more energy during manufacturing and production

(Tabuchi and Plumer, p 2 pp 3). Pollution is one of the largest issues when discussing the impact

electric cars have on the environment. The largest contributor besides the production of these

vehicles is the production of the batteries that power the cars. These batteries rely on raw

materials, for example, cobalt and lithium are two of the most common materials used for

batteries. The mining of cobalt can produce dangerous “tailing and slags” that cann “leach into

the environment” and have begun to negatively impact the native communities around these

mines. “Smelting” is another process that is extremely harmful to the environment, it is used to

extract metals using heating and melting to get the materials required for the production of these

batteries. This process releases compounds like sulfur oxide and other pollutants into the

atmosphere (Tabuchi and Plumer, p3pp2).

The automotive industry has its head in the right place. Vehicles are used too often to

have such a strong negative impact on the environment, but the way the industry is going about it
Running head: Rough Draft 3

could be more detrimental in the long run. There are a few ways the average consumer or

producer can make electric cars more efficient, like the use of solar panels along the car, waste

heat energy, paying attention to energy optimization and finding a better solution for a battery.

There are companies searching for ways to create a “newer generation battery” to commercialize

the use of electric cars, as well as to conserve and use energy from braking and acceleration to

power the car and improve efficiency of the batteries. Making the batteries more efficient allows

for all energy to be used up and allows for further improvements to be made (Stevic, p7).

The automotive industry is responsible for finding the most efficient solution for the

manufacturing, production, and optimization of energy in electric cars. Electric cars currently are

just as bad for the environment as conventional gasoline cars are. This can be changed with

improvements in the gathering of raw materials, manufacturing and production, as well as

battery improvements. There are many changes to be made, but the industry is capable of this

change, not only to support the environment as it is suffering consequences of global warming,

but to take responsibility and improve electric cars in order to slow the process and minimize

environmental impacts.
Running head: Rough Draft 4

References

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https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378775305016502?casa_token=NyTi2WA_
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