13 Environmental Advantages of Electric Cars
There’s a raging debate in the automotive world about the environmental benefits of electric vehicles. The thought of making a complete shift to EVs doesn’t sit well with petrol heads.
But let’s face it, folks — EVs have massive benefits for the automotive sector, mostly revolving around performance and efficiency. These benefits extend to the most crucial aspect of human life — our ecosystem.
According to research, EVs have massive environmental benefits. If you care about the environment and are bent on sticking to your gas-powered car, the following list (backed by facts) might help you make a sober decision.
Zero Emissions
Electric vehicles’ biggest win over ICEs (Internal Combustion Engines) is zero tailpipe emissions. Unlike gas-powered alternatives that have some sort of tailpipe emission, electric vehicles don’t burn petrol or diesel and, as a result, don’t produce harmful gases like carbon dioxide that affect the environment and the quality of air.
Pro-electric vehicle advocates believe achieving net zero emissions by 2050 will not only meet the Paris Agreement but also reduce a huge chunk of the global mean surface temperature (1.5 degrees centigrade).
Improved Air Quality
If the greatest achievement of electric vehicles is zero tailpipe emissions, the obvious benefit to the environment is improved air quality in cities and towns. Harmful emissions from burnt diesel and petrol engines are air pollutants responsible for respiratory illnesses.
Compared to gas-powered alternatives, electric vehicles contribute to clean air by reducing air pollutants like nitrogen oxide. The result is a cleaner environment and better human health through improved active travel (cycling) and reduced cases of respiratory illnesses.
Energy Efficiency
It takes less than a crash course in rocket science to know that electric cars are more efficient than gas-powered alternatives. That’s because EVs conserve energy much better than petrol or diesel-powered engines. They do this by depending less on fossil fuels.
Furthermore, EVs have been designed to use renewable energy sources like solar and wind power, reducing their dependence on fossil fuels. This not only conserves the environment but also helps vehicle owners cut down on out-of-pocket expenses spent on gas.
Reduction in Greenhouse Gas Emissions
Not many people understand this, but gas-powered vehicles running on diesel and petrol account for about 10% of global greenhouse emissions. That’s not all. About 25% of the world’s power comes from internal combustion engines operating on fossil fuel.
With that in mind, switching to EVs offers a big opportunity for the environment to save on emissions. That’s because they produce much less emissions over their lifetime (without considering manufacturing).
Energy in Production
There’s no doubt that electric vehicles have their own downsides — for instance, they require much more energy during production compared to conventional gas-powered vehicles. And that’s solely due to battery manufacturing (lithium-ion batteries).
Still, it’s hard to ignore the long-term environmental benefits of EVs as greener options than traditional diesel or petrol-powered automobiles.
Here’s the truth: EVs aren’t what they used to be ten years ago — and so is battery manufacturing. With battery tech constantly improving, opportunities for recycling and reusing batteries will also be more available.
Lower Running Costs
A little research on the current car market reveals that electric vehicles and traditional gas-powered vehicles cost almost the same. However, the cost of running an electric vehicle like a Tesla is much cheaper than that of a conventional mid-sized sedan. The cost of fuel benefit alone is quite huge.
But how does this benefit the environment? Well, you’ll have to look at the big picture, which pays off in the long run with the higher adoption of electric vehicles.
Here’s how: Electric vehicles need fewer natural resources during production. The overall result of the high adoption of electric vehicles is more reliance on renewable resources like solar and wind power for energy and less on fossil fuels, significantly minimizing resource depletion.
Less Maintenance
It’s a no-brainer that traditional gas-powered vehicles have more serviceable parts and require much more regular maintenance than a normal electric vehicle. That’s not all. Electric vehicles experience far less wear and tear compared to gas-powered alternatives.
Other than the economic benefits. A basic electric vehicle will have a charger, inverter, and electric motor. It also doesn’t require frequent scheduled maintenance service, which requires fluid changes (motor oil) and serviceable parts. The huge benefit here is less reliance on fossil fuels that negatively impact the environment.
Slowing Climate Change
It’s common knowledge what the impacts of climate change could mean for the environment. A long-term and sustainable solution is to be responsible human beings, conserve the environment, and plant trees.
However, reducing pollutants by switching to electric vehicles is the quickest way to slow the underlying effects of climate change on the environment.
Climate change activists are focusing on halving the world’s carbon dioxide emissions by 2030, and adopting electric vehicles can help achieve a big chunk of that vision.
Regenerative and One Pedal Braking
The biggest benefit of using electric vehicles over gas-powered alternatives is zero tailpipe emissions. Still, EVs offer one more environmental advantage over diesel and petrol-powered vehicles: reduced brake dust.
It might seem negligible, but the impact of brake dust on the environment in huge cities is profound. Regenerative braking and one-pedal braking by EVs reduce the need for standard braking common in traditional cars, reducing harmful particulate matter from brake pads emitted into the environment.
Less Harmful Fluids
In addition to tailpipe emissions and brake dust, traditional gas-powered vehicles produce one more type of waste that is destructive to the environment — liquid waste.
As minimal as it seems, oil leaks, gas spills, and poor waste disposal from regular maintenance services end up in water resources as runoff.
Poor liquid waste disposal has grave environmental impacts, disrupting aquatic life ecosystems, polluting water, and affecting marine life that, on several occasions, ends up at our dinner tables.
Reduces of Environmental and Safety Risks
The environmental, health, and safety risks involved in reliance on fossil fuels are monumental. While not commonly occurring, the effects of oil spills in the ocean and safety hazards from the exploration of fuel fossils are quite damaging to human life and the environment.
Less reliance on fossil fuels by switching to electric vehicles will significantly reduce the reliance on fossil fuels, significantly cutting down on the potential risks to the environment and impacts on human safety.
Improved Recycling
It’s not all rainbows and butterflies when it comes to electric vehicles and the environment.
EV battery production is still a headache for electric car makers looking to minimize the impacts of sourcing and manufacturing batteries. Still, significant strides have been achieved in managing and recycling electric car batteries.
A recent report by the IEA (International Energy Agency) proposed improving the end-of-life of electric car battery systems so that they can be reused for other systems.
Not Fuelled by Fossil Fuels
It goes without saying that electric cars are much more energy efficient than regular gas-powered automobiles. Converting electrical energy into mechanical energy in EVs is more efficient and effective (performance) than burning fossil fuels in ICEs.
That’s not all. Electric vehicles can also use renewable energy sources such as solar and wind power, further reducing reliance on fossil fuels and tailpipe emissions impacting the environment.
