Electric Cars: Savior, Satan, or Step in the Right Direction
Electric Cars: Savior, Satan, or Step in the Right Direction
Introduction:
While it may seem that electric cars are a new fad of the twenty-first century, this is not the case. Electric cars have been around since roughly the 1890s, and in fact they were the dominant motorized vehicle in the market until about 1929 [1, p. 17]. This was due mostly to high gas prices during war and the fact that back then having a range of 18 miles was more than enough to meet the needs of most people. But then as cities grew and gasoline powered cars became cheaper and easier to use, the electric car was slowly phased out, until about the 1990s. Then began the renewed interest in air quality and in the future of the electric car [1, p. 17]. In 1990 the Clean Air Act was passed, and now the gas guzzling and air fouling cars that had become so prominent began to have regulations forced down on them to improve their efficiency and to make them cleaner [2, p. 642]. This Clean Air Act coupled with the Energy Act of 1992 encouraged research into the electric car and reenergized the developments of environmentally friendly cars [1, p.17]. All of that research and dedication finally cumulated in the release of the Toyota Prius on the American market in 2000, and from that moment, it has become a cultural icon, and a topic for hot debate [3]. The main topic of the debate is at the very foundation of the Prius: whether or not the Prius is truly ‘green’.
While everyone acknowledges that it is a very efficient car, the question is whether or not it is worth it, due to the vary environmentally damaging processes that must undergo to produce it [4]. One of the main points in this debate is that the batteries, the things that make a hybrid efficient, are extremely polluting and dangerous, and the mining methods used to acquire the lead and other materials is a very environmentally degrading process [4]. With two distinct sides there is now a heated debate between petrol-heads and
Introduction:
While it may seem that electric cars are a new fad of the twenty-first century, this is not the case. Electric cars have been around since roughly the 1890s, and in fact they were the dominant motorized vehicle in the market until about 1929 [1, p. 17]. This was due mostly to high gas prices during war and the fact that back then having a range of 18 miles was more than enough to meet the needs of most people. But then as cities grew and gasoline powered cars became cheaper and easier to use, the electric car was slowly phased out, until about the 1990s. Then began the renewed interest in air quality and in the future of the electric car [1, p. 17]. In 1990 the Clean Air Act was passed, and now the gas guzzling and air fouling cars that had become so prominent began to have regulations forced down on them to improve their efficiency and to make them cleaner [2, p. 642]. This Clean Air Act coupled with the Energy Act of 1992 encouraged research into the electric car and reenergized the developments of environmentally friendly cars [1, p.17]. All of that research and dedication finally cumulated in the release of the Toyota Prius on the American market in 2000, and from that moment, it has become a cultural icon, and a topic for hot debate [3]. The main topic of the debate is at the very foundation of the Prius: whether or not the Prius is truly ‘green’.
While everyone acknowledges that it is a very efficient car, the question is whether or not it is worth it, due to the vary environmentally damaging processes that must undergo to produce it [4]. One of the main points in this debate is that the batteries, the things that make a hybrid efficient, are extremely polluting and dangerous, and the mining methods used to acquire the lead and other materials is a very environmentally degrading process [4]. With two distinct sides there is now a heated debate between petrol-heads and