Many people believe that cars powered by electricity are the way to solve the climate change, however, extended research shows that many of the reasons given for this are actually invalid. The majority of the population believes that the electricity that the electric car runs on is a lot more environmentally beneficial than the fuel of gasoline powered cars, however, what people overlook, is how many greenhouse gases are produced in the manufacturing of electric cars. The fact that the production of electric cars produces such a large amount of greenhouse gas, and a variety of reasons like the releasing of toxic gases by elements like lithium or copper, show that the electric car is not as friendly to the environment as it is made out to …show more content…
Governments all over the world are trying to promote electric cars. Increased advertising, electricity stations at gas stations and tax refunds on electric cars are all meant to increase the amount of electric cars sold. It may very well be that the electric car is the future, that the production and manufacturing will be made more efficient, more environmentally friendly. However, the fact remains that currently, they should not be. Since a large part of the pollution produced by electric cars also comes from the manufacturing of the actual car, its well worth looking at the individual parts of a gasoline and an electric vehicle. Gasoline powered cars consist of many different parts that are essential to the car, for example an engine, spark plugs, oil compartments, fuel lines etc. On the other hand, an electric car in its simplest form can consist of a battery and an engine. These factors all contribute to the environmental footprint. While the gasoline powered cars contain a battery, this is not the main source of their power, but rather a source of power for the computer systems uploaded into it. An electric vehicle, needs this battery to drive. This means that the battery has to be larger, more capable, and must be able to store and process a lot more energy than the battery of a normal ICEV (Internal Combustion Engine Vehicle). In simple terms, this means that the battery has to be larger, which in turn means that more toxic gases are produced in this process, than in the manufacturing of the gasoline powered car’s smaller battery. In truth, “the EV requires a minimum lifetime 100,000 km (62,000 miles) to be competitive with ICEV in GHG footprint ”(Miret). Even though many people don’t realise these problems, not many people are