The issue of the pollution of the environment has been an issue that has always been addressed in different forums. This is mainly due to the fact that the continuous pollution makes the world less inhabitable for man. Pollution may be on different components of the earth; from water, to air to the ground itself. Various mechanisms have been developed as a way of ensuring that we are able to conserve the environment (Shaw 14). These may include measures like ensuring that the citizens use biodegradable products in order to prevent the instances of soil pollution, or ensuring that the industries only release their liquid waste manner only after they have treated it to help reduce the instances of water pollution and by treating whatever gaseous waste products they release to the air in order to ensure that they reduce the amounts of air pollution in the world (Shaw 15). This essay will mainly look at the various ways of ensuring that the instances of air pollution through carbon emissions from the vehicles.
One of the conventional means of ensuring that amounts of carbon that is emitted to the air is to the lowest possible level sis through the use of the green vehicles. These vehicles are defined as the vehicles which emit lower levels of carbon emissions as compared to the amounts of carbon that are emitted by the contemporary vehicles (Madsen). These vehicles are different mainly due to the source of energy that powers them. For example, the vehicle may use alternatives like electricity, biodiesel or ethanol to power their vehicles. These alternatives are considered to be better alternatives due to the fact that these fuels do not burn as fast as the fossil fuels and hence produce lower levels of carbon emissions hence will be considered to be the more environmental friendly (Krugman). So the question that will always be asked is, even though research has been able to show that green vehicles are a major step that may be considered as a way of ensuring that you are able to maintain the environment, how green are the green vehicles? And are these vehicles the solution to combat the negative global climate change?
In order to adequately answer these questions, we are required to be able to understand the history of green vehicles in the nation and further how these developments may be of great help in tackling the problem of environmental pollution.
Background Information
Green vehicles were first developed for personal use in the early 19th Century when the various individuals started looking for the alternative energy sources to power vehicles. The first research on an environmental friendly locomotive was the use of solar to be able to power a motor vehicle (Gregory 4). However, this was not be accepted warmly by the individuals in the nation due to the various downsides of the use of the solar as an energy source; for example, the fact that the vehicle was not able to be used in all weathers, and further could not be used at night, discouraged the use of solar powered vehicles.
However, over the years, intensive research was put in order to be able to use electricity to power vehicles. This was a major development due to the fact that it was realized with the continuous availability of the charging spots in a country this will be a major milestone in the society’s efforts to embrace the use of alternative sources of power to change the way the vehicles are powered (Benz 85). Over the years research was then intensified on how they may use electricity to power the nation’s public transport. This was then perfected in the early 20th century when the society was able to come up with the electric trains as a form of public transportation and the use of the light vehicles in the towns and the cities. These also included the electric buses which were able to share the road with the other vehicles and powered either by the electric batteries or by electric current which may be fed to it through the overhead poles or by the underground wires (Gregory 4).
So with this use of electricity to power the various public transport vehicles, it was clear that they would, in turn, produce lower levels of carbon to the air and further due to the fact that they are able to carry a huge number of individuals at once, this will help the society to reduce the number of personal vehicles on the roads hence helping to conserve the environment and protect it from carbon pollution. With these facts, it is clear that the use of electricity to power the public transports have a positive impact on the measures to conserve the environment.
Reasons for the support of the fact that Electric cars play a major role in the reduction of the pollution levels
Green vehicles are considered to be very efficient in helping the struggles of individuals with the bid of ensuring that the individuals maintain the environment. This is due to various reasons.
Firstly, the obvious reason for the use of the electric cars is the fact that, when an individual uses the electric cars, they will not only help in the reduction of the carbon emissions which reciprocates in the protection of the world from the air pollution, but may further be advantageous to the protection of the land from soil pollution, due to the fact that they are always created with biodegradable matter. This clearly shows that the use of electric vehicles in the day to day activities in the society will always be very advantageous to the society in the long run (Madsen).
Secondly, the use of electric vehicles will always tend to be more economical. This is mainly in the sense that the cars require less attention, in the form of maintenance and servicing acts, as compared to its gasoline-powered counterparts. Due to the fact that the vehicle is not in need of constant servicing and hence less changing of spare parts over time, will ensure that not many parts of the vehicle are removed and in instances that these parts are not recycled, then the changed parts will always be disposed and may reciprocate in the soil pollution instances in the nation.
Thirdly, research has clearly shown that in the areas where the use of electricity as a source of energy for their transportation and their industries, will always record lower levels of pollution as compared to the areas that depend widely on coal and the use of fossil fuels to power their engines. For example, from the research carried out by Wilson et al in 2013, which was able to compare the emission levels in the various countries around the globe will always be lower as compared to the countries that rely heavily on coal and gasoline to power their engines. This may be seen from the research finding which clearly stipulated that India had a higher level of pollution as compared to its counterparts in Canada and the Netherlands who have embraced the use of electric vehicles.
Fourthly, in order to understand the importance of the reduction of the amounts of tail-pipe carbon emissions, it is clear to determine the amounts of tail- pipe emissions globally. The research was able to show that a large percentage of the pollution in the nation are caused by the tailpipe emissions. For example, in Canada, research was able to show that the tailpipe emission goes to a running high of 25% of the nation’s pollution levels. With this realization, it is clear that in order to ensure that our societies have better environments, it is clear that the issue of carbon emissions from the vehicles must be addressed. Through these findings, it is clear that in order to be able to curb this menace called pollution, it is important to address the issue of tailpipe pollution.
Lastly, when one considers the strides that have already been taken in terms of the strategies to reduce pollution, it is important to consider the countries that have adopted the use of electric vehicles and determine whether or not the use of these vehicles has effectively helped them to reduce the pollution levels in the country. In the United States, the number of individuals who have already decided to embrace the use of electric vehicles in their day to day activities and further the use of electricity-powered public means of transport has over the years risen by 500%. So the question that may be asked is, has pollution reduced by 500% or has it even increased?
The use of electric vehicles has helped the country reduce the amount of pollution tremendously and it has been estimated that if this trend continues, then by the year 2025, the country would have helped reduce the amounts of Carbon emissions by 18 million Metric tons. So in this case, it is clear that the adoption of the use of electric vehicles has, in turn, helped the United States to reduce the pollution levels in the country. So the other countries and the globe as a whole should have strategies in their countries which will allow them to be able to incorporate and further encourage the citizens to adopt this use of electric vehicles in their activities.
Addressing the Opposite Side
Even though research has been able to show that the use of the electric cars will always reciprocate in the reduction of the pollution levels in the country, the use of electric vehicles has further been questioned and met with various forms of opposition to its use. These may include;
The major opposition to the use of these vehicles is the fact that, these vehicles even though they will produce less carbon emissions as they are driven around, they may in turn cause more harm to the environment as they are being produced. These may be due to the fact that at their manufacturing stage, these vehicles will always tend to be produced in a manner that reciprocates in more carbon release. Due to this issue, it is clear that nations may always be reluctant to incorporate the use of electric vehicles in their nations, due to the fact that they will always be of the opinion that the amounts that they will help to reduce on the roads, in the form of tail-pipe emissions, would have been compensated in at its production process.
This position has however been explained by Benz, 2007, to be false due to the fact that in the long run, the amounts of carbon that would be released to the air at the production stage will always be lower than the amounts of carbon which the contemporary vehicles would produce each and every time they grace our roads. This, in turn, is able to explain to us that it is better to produce the electric vehicles and produce the lesser amounts of carbon emissions as compared to deciding to let the vehicles release their tail-pipe emissions.
In addition to this, it is clear that with the development of technology, companies have been able to come up with the various ways that they are able to reduce the amounts of greenhouse emissions through the use of filters and chemicals, which will in turn ensure that they only release the non-harmful or rather the less harmful substances to the air (Wilson 15). This may include the release of carbon which is not as harmful as the smoke and soot that may have been released if it was not filtered.
Individuals who are normally unreceptive on the issue of the use of electric vehicles will normally bring up the issue of the vehicles not being efficient in all situations. This is mainly due to the reason that the amount of driving time that an individual will have will always be dependent on many factors (Wilson 22). From the shape of the vehicle, down to the weight of the vehicle and at times even how fast the driver’s accelerating. This issue may be addressed by looking at the fact that this is just the same as the contemporary vehicles. Due to the fact that the amount of gas that one will use will also be dependent on these factors.
Even though the electric vehicles tend to be more long-lasting than the gasoline-powered vehicles, they have a problem in terms of their battery packs. This has its own set of problems, since acquiring new battery packs will always be very expensive. However, this issue has been addressed by the fact that the companies are always trying to invest in new ways of bettering the lifespan of these battery packs.
Another opposition ground is the fact that the cost of production of the vehicles and the requirements for it to be able to run tend to be more expensive as compared to the use of the gasoline-powered vehicles. In order for one to be able to acquire a green vehicle, they will always have to part with more greens, be it a hybrid or a fully electric car. In addition, to this, the country will have to ensure that it has the charging stations which will always be a huge investment each and every time the nation decided to invest in the use of electric cars in their nation. This is a ground that will always be used as a way of deterring individuals from using the electric vehicles.
Research has however shown the opposite. This is due to the fact that the electric vehicles have been realized to be more or less cheaper than some of the contemporary vehicles that members of the public may be driving. In addition to this, the use of the electric vehicles will in turn be more economical than the use of the gas powered vehicles, due to the fact that they will not require the constant servicing and hence will be cheaper in the long run. In addition to this, at the charging stations, the vehicles will always need to be charged for a short while and the vehicle will be able to cover many miles without one having to go to another charging station to recharge its battery packs.
Lastly, a group of the society is of the opinion that the energy that is required to charge the vehicles may in some instances not be as green as it is deemed to be. This is mainly a problem in the countries that rely heavily on coal as a source of energy to produce electricity. However, the truth of the matter is that, the world is shifting from the use of coal and other harmful sources of energy to produce electricity but is rather more dependent on the green sources of energy such as the hydroelectric power source or the wind and solar energy (Coada et al 2083).
With all these in mind, it would not be fallacious for one to clearly claim that the use of electric vehicles other than the gasoline-powered vehicles will always be a better choice due to various reasons.
Advantages of Electric Cars
Electric cars are advantageous since, as they are used in the day to day individual’s activities, they do not produce exhaust fumes. These exhaust fumes will are always composed of various harmful substances such as the smoke and soot which may have harmful effects on the world as a whole. This is mainly due to the fact that the combustion processes of the vehicles will always be longer and hence well refined. This will help reduce the instances of global warming and the undesired amounts of carbon dioxide in the air. This means that the use of electric vehicles will help curb the menace of air pollution in the country (American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials 15).
The electric vehicles will always have quieter combustion as compared to the use of the gasoline-powered vehicles. This is evident when an individual is accelerating or even igniting the vehicle. This will be of great help in the measure to ensure that the issue of noise pollution is effectively dealt with in the society.
Lastly, due to the fact that electric vehicles are always manufactures with the highest levels of technology, they will always tend to be bettered each and every time a new version of the vehicle is produced. Thisis evident with the way the manufactures have invested heavily on the regenerative brakes, which has in turn led to the vehicles requiring lesser amounts of servicing and the regular change of the brake pads which helps reduce the various spare parts that are normally disposed of once the new one has been installed. This action will enable the nation to address the issue of soil or ground pollution in the country.
Conclusion
The use of electric vehicles has been an emerging trend that has been aimed at ensuring that they are able to stop the instances of pollution in the country. With all that clearly stated it is not false to clearly state that the use of the green cars is the solution to climate change. This is due to the fact that the use of the green vehicles has helped the society to reduce all forms of pollution, ranging from the air pollution, to noise pollution down to the soil pollution. So with this I am of the opinion that the green vehicles are the solution to the solution problems that the globe as a whole may face. So it is high time that the nations ensure that they adopt the use of green vehicles in their daily activities in order for them to ensure that they reduce the pollution levels in the nation, if not, the tailpipe emission levels will continue rising hence the world will continue to be more inhabited.
Works Cited
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