By: Emilia Jaeger Rodriguez
In the past couple of years, we’ve seen more and more publicity about electric cars, how smoothly they run, how much better they are for the environment and now Canada will even stop selling cars that run on gasoline by 2030! But are electric cars all they’re made out to be?
One of the major advantages of electric vehicles is how much you save on gasoline. Although electric cars themselves are more expensive than normal cars, gasoline prices are continually rising, and not having to pay for gasoline (or pay less if you drive a plug-in or hybrid) will ultimately save you significant amounts of money. Driving an electric car is also much better for the environment in comparison to a gasoline-powered car. Over 27% of the harmful emissions in North America are caused by our transportation, many of these emissions are greenhouse gases, others contribute to the creation of smog and acid rain. Refining the gasoline also contributes to greenhouse gas emissions. Additionally, gasoline is made from fossil fuels, which are a non-renewable resource. This means that once we run out of fossil fuels, we cannot create more so we should be doing our best to conserve them. Another positive thing about electric cars is that producing their batteries is becoming more and more eco-friendly. The process originally produced a lot of waste and harmful emissions but companies have been able to reduce their carbon footprint by 2-3x in the past three years. So, buying an electric car is not only a smart financial decision, but it also helps save the environment.
Although there are lots of great advantages to owning an electric car, everything has its downsides. One of the biggest concerns when it comes to electric vehicles is the disposal of their batteries once they’re no longer functional. Electric cars are powered by lithium-ion batteries, which cannot be recycled effectively. Less than 50% of the metals and alloys making up the battery’s structure can be recycled and only up to 5% of the actual lithium can be repurposed. The rest of the battery must be incinerated in a waste plant which releases harmful gases into the air. Another issue with their disposal is that the batteries are often shipped to third world countries to be processed and disposed of because it is cheaper, but most of the workers at these waste plants don’t have the proper protective equipment to be handling the batteries- resulting in many health issues, such as lung and nasal cancer, bronchitis and pneumonia. Another concern with electric vehicles, especially in Canada is how well they function in cold temperatures. Contrary to popular belief, the car battery won’t drain from sitting in the cold but heating up an electric car can be an issue. Heating a gasoline-powered car in the winter is fairly easy since it has an engine that already produces heat and a separate battery for AC and heating so you don’t have to worry about ending up stranded on the road, but electric cars use the same battery for everything and have to produce heat purely through electricity. This means it takes much longer for the car to heat up and using the heater for most of your drive can drain up to 50% of the battery. Another disadvantage to electric vehicles is how long they take to charge. Most electric cars can be driven for 80-100 km before needing to switch to the gasoline reserve, but they need to be charged for at least 6 hours afterward. This is not much of an issue if you mostly need to drive to and from work each day, but if you like to go on road trips often, having an electric vehicle can become problematic as there are not many places to charge them along the way and you may need to stop for several hours before getting back on the road.
In the end, electric cars have upsides and downsides but whether or not they’re a good fit for you is dependent on your lifestyle and whether or not you think a little extra money is worth it.
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