Electric cars are not as green as people think according to several scientific studies. Although they are popularly known as being eco-friendlier than using gas fuel, in the long run it might contribute even more to global warming. However, this new technology is still under development so it is early for scientist to be certain about the long term effect.
There are several aspects to take into account when determining why electric batteries might generate more contamination than gas motors. While using the car might not emit any greenhouse gas: making their batteries, recycling its chemicals, and the source of electricity that powers the car contribute in such extent that in the overall it might be more harmful to the environment than gas fueled cars if not assessed.
Most electric car batteries, as in Tesla, are lithium and cobalt based which require much more energy for their production than a conventional car motor. The energy required for mining these compounds is higher than to extract oil. Additionally, chemical compounds used for their manufacturing release greenhouse gases that contribute equally as CO2 to global warming. However, the emission caused by extracting these metals is substantially lower than the CO2 emitted by cars. Still it accounts for the fact that manufacturing electrical cars contribute to global warming.
Moreover, chemicals used for electrical batteries are very toxic for the environment if not properly recycled. While this may not affect us today because regular cars have not been completely replaced by electric cars, in the future it may be a problem when the amount of worn batteries are substantially higher. When this replacement happens, there would be a greater amount of people with cars since the cost of electricity to charge a car is not as high as gas, making it more affordable for people to own one. At the beginning of the transition this does not pose a major threat, but it should be taken into account for the future when the amount of worn batteries needed for handling as toxic waste or recycle is much greater.
Most importantly, the greatest concern for environmental impact of electrical cars is the source of energy that powers them. If the country you live in derives its energy from burning oil and coal, the CO2 emission it produces is significantly greater than that of a regular car during its lifetime, posing a greater threat for global warming. As the transition towards electrical cars takes place, there would be greater energy production demand, so much more needs to be generated. If this energy is not from an ecological source, the pollution generated to supply this amount of energy is significantly higher, making electric cars actually much more contaminant than using gas-powered cars.
In the overall, electric cars appear to be better for the environment than regular cars but that does not mean that they don’t contribute to global warming. Moreover, if is not well assessed it can actually be more harmful for the environment in the long run.
Andrea Olaizola
