Electric Cars
1. Electric cars are good for the environment.
- Electric car batteries require a lot of lithium.
- There is enough lithium to produce 14 million electric cars in 2023 without Russian supplies.
- We may have enough to produce 14 million electric cars in 2023, but for sustainable production, we may have to build mines and factories. Those two things both cause pollution.
- We could make batteries from magnesium instead.
2. Electric cars are always more expensive than gas fueled cars.
- Even if the car itself is more expensive, the fuel (or electricity) is less expensive compared to gas. Additionally, prices are getting lower.
- 51,000 for electric, 40,000 for gas.
- People who use solar panels to generate electricity can save a lot of money on fueling the electric car.
3. High-performance electric vehicles can accelerate from zero to 60 mph in less than 5.0 seconds.
- Typical acceleration for a gas car is 0-60 in 8 seconds. This isn’t very much worse.
- But every second depends on this second and millisecond, many things could happen in 8 seconds.
4. Electric cars can travel about 300 miles on a full charge, but gas cars can travel nearly 500 miles on a full tank of gas.
- It is a technical problem, and I didn’t research this point, but in my view people can make that tank for electricity or the battery fit more electricity.
- In the future they might improve electric cars, but for people who travel long distances today, they need the ability now. They cannot wait for future developments.
- Because electric cars are faster, they are more efficient for traveling shorter distances.
- Electric cars take hours to recharge the battery, whereas gas cars only take a few minutes to fill the tank. Even if electric cars are faster driving, you lose that time when you charge the battery.
- You can charge the car while you are sleeping or working, which means you aren’t wasting any time.
5. Electric cars can last for 10 – 20 years, but normal cars can last for 12 years only.
- On average this may be true, however you cannot say that all normal cars last for a shorter time than electric. Gas cars have been around for over 100 years, so the technology is very strong. Electric cars have only been around for about 20 or so years, so the technology is not as reliable.
- Electric car technology may be newer, but it is more convenient for the customers. It has features for pets, for example.
6. Electricity is produced at power plants, and these plants produce a lot of CO2 which is released into the atmosphere. This causes the greenhouse effect, which in turn, causes global warming.
- Electric cars do not have to use power plant energy. They can use solar panels instead.
- Not everyone has access to solar panels. Globally, solar panels produce only about 3% of the electricity we use. Windmills produce about 4.8% of the electricity we use.