Throughout our time in modern history, there have been numerous technological advancements that have taken the world by a storm, such as the first rocket being launched, the world wide web, or the iPhone. These advancements are a result of the research and data collection that has helped us become more efficient as a society. Electric cars have slowly begun to gain more momentum and popularity as the world evolves towards becoming more environmentally friendly and looking for alternative fuel resources. Although problems of pricing, adaptability, and charging exist for electric car owners, the world has recognized the need to move away from coal as our primary source of fuel and look at the disadvantages and advantages that electric cars will bring in the future.
Air pollution has been a rising issue around the world and electric vehicles can provide huge environmental benefits to the world. The declining air pollution effects all living things in the world. Gasoline powered cars produced 14% of the total global greenhouse gas emissions in the world (Bennett). Emission produced form electric cars are generally dependent on how the electricity is produced. Electric cars rely on electricity to run on and how the users get their electricity can cause problems because, according to BBC News, 40% of the electricity generated in the UK relies on coal (Bomford). Electric cars are not zero-emission cars however, they help towards a larger problem we are facing today. UCS, Union of Concerned Scientist did a research which stated that EV’s would result in lower gas emission that even a 50mpg gasoline-powered vehicle (Reichmuth). China and India gain to benefit the most from electric vehicles as their countries suffer from rapidly declining air quality. Electric vehicles are not the entire solution to the global warming issue but it a step towards a better life on earth.
There has been a growing awareness that oil is not sustainable for Americans and is a diminishing resource. Electric vehicles could reduce oil demand by 3.5 million barrels a day by 2025 according to Barclays commodities analyst (DiChristpher). That number is almost equal to the entire output of the OPEC’s third largest producer, Iran, which produces 3.8 million barrels a day(DiChristopher). The world is choosing to move away from oil as our main source of fuel; its unreliability and environment effects have become an increasingly growing concern. The United States owns oil reserves but gets most of its oil from abroad. This compromises the nation’s ability to depend on itself and make decisions based on principle rather than economic needs. There would be less of a need for the United States to interfere in unrelated foreign affairs. EV producers face a battle against oil companies that have an incentive to prevent the rise of electric cars.
The American economy driven by capitalism has a tendency to slow down innovation and technology as powerful companies who feel threated completely shut down the competition. The big oil companies have “monopolized the entire energy industry by shredding competitors’ attempts to offer alternatives” (Diamond). This forces consumers to choose gasoline-powered cars over alternative clean energy. The emergence of electric cars would kill the economy of the middle east which is largely dependent on the OPEC. The oil industry has taken efforts such as lobbying our politicians and making moves to repeal tax credits on battery powered cars. There are states that are planning to repeal income tax credits for owners of EV’s such as Colorado, while other states plan to let them expire (Tabuchi). Electric vehicles only make up 1% of the entire total sales in the United States, and to a make large enough dent will need to continue to be subsidized. While the United States lacks behind in the race to change for alternative energy resources, other countries have taken a bigger step forward. Government incentives have turned China into the largest market for electric cars. Sales of electric vehicles have jumped more than 70 percent in countries like China, France, and Sweden (Tabuchi). The Indian government minister has also claimed to want his country to have all cars sold by 2030 to be electric. Government support will be crucial if the electric car industry hopes to stay alive. If countries and their respective governments continue to provide funding for research, public charging stations and tax breaks for electric vehicles, the world could be seeing a real change.