English
It would be tough to choose between the positives and negatives of an electric car, because along with the number of positives it carries, it does have its share of negatives as well. However, going by the popular view that with gasoline depleting and carbon emission increasing, electric cars would be best suited for modern transport; the positives undoubtedly outnumber the negatives. As the world population grows, the need for housing and food has slowly by surely started eating into the forests, and man finds himself fighting for space with animals. As growth has to be supplemented by development, little thought goes into understanding the importance of sustaining the ecosystem; as a result, an ecological imbalance occurs. Sustainability is all about “balancing between environmental protection and social responsibility” (Epa.gov). Today, the issue of sustainability has inspired a number of public and private organizations to protect the environment and act as its steward. However, the harm has been done. Due to the felling of trees in the forests, and the emission of carbon monoxide into the atmosphere, the earth is directly affected by the sun’s ultraviolet rays. Global warming has become a serious issue, and reports of the diminishing ice covers over the Antarctica, the rise in day temperatures, and un-seasonal climatic changes point to the adversities of global warming.
Industrialization has been the main reason for air and sea pollution; the smoke emanating from industries filling the atmosphere and other wastes from industries being dumped into rivers and the sea has led to ecological imbalance and damage. In addition, the demand for gas has increased oil and gas explorations in the sea and on land, which has also led to the ecological imbalance resulting in abnormal seismic activities under the sea and also on land. When exploration or activities which involve cutting of trees, digging deep into the earth or sea occur, there is ever possibility of a chain of reactions that cause landslides, earthquakes and tsunami-type activities under the sea. It is no secret that the felling of trees for fuel and development has caused climatic changes in the Amazon forest.
It might be appropriate to say that as humans seek more and more avenues to replenish his thirst for comfort and other necessities, it is the environment that comes under threat. When the Industrial Revolution took place in Britain, a large size of agricultural and forest lands were developed to accommodate the growth of industries, and when the industries began to emit huge chunks of smoke into the atmosphere, it led to pollution and the birth of airborne diseases. While people became rich and enjoyed the comforts that came with prosperity, what they forgot to notice was the depleting of natural resources and the rise of unknown diseases. The countries that witnessed the Industrial Revolution became rich, and their people could afford to live in luxury, and as people have suddenly realized that global warming is due to industrialization, efforts are on to control the spread of contamination of the air, water and land in other countries that are now rapidly following the industrialization route. Would it be fair to ask certain developing countries now to stop their industrialization because of environmental issues? If today’s economic superpowers have become what they are because of their industrialization in the earlier century, would those countries that are rapidly modernizing, stop their growth because of what is happening now?
Today, China and India are the fastest growing economies in the world, and in the not too distant future, they will become the two most powerful economic powers in the world. While efforts are on to minimize the damage to the environment, it would be hard to ask them to stop their economic growth because of global warming. China and India has the most number of middle-income groups in the world and are among the strongest economic buyers. The number of cars on the streets of Beijing and New Delhi has tripled in the last decade alone, and with more and more car manufacturers establishing their manufacturing units in these countries, it is obvious that the consumption of cars in that part of the world will only rise in the coming years. As the number of cars multiply, so too will the level of carbon monoxide in the atmosphere grow, because of which, further damage to the ozone layer will occur leading to global warming.
The UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon supported the initiative to provide ‘sustainable energy for all,’ which would “provide all countries access to universal modern energy services, double the rate of improvement in energy efficiency, and double the share of renewable energy” (REN21). This is good news for a number of countries, both developed and developing, but it definitely won’t sell to countries like China and India, which are on the verge of becoming the two dominant industrialized nations. And why would they? The majority of multinational giants have their manufacturing centers in these countries, and as industrialization offers employment, the provision of sustainable, renewable energy will not attract these two, economically growing giants. The least they could do is however, is reducing the amount of emission which is the prime objective of the UN. In order to do so, they could reduce their dependence on gasoline, and look to introduce more electric vehicles on their roads. This change alone will decrease the level of carbon monoxide that is harmful for humans. Medical expenses drops and people become healthier because of this, governments are able to strap a lot of money spent on medical bills.
When one considers the above factors, it is definitely advantageous to have electric cars on the roads. Electric cars run on electricity, and electricity does not pollute the atmosphere. The car can be run on rechargeable batteries and is zero-pollutant. The United States, China, and India, for example, are among the countries with the most number of petrol and diesel cars on the road, and the level of pollution on the streets in the cities has risen to alarming levels. These countries are also dependent on the import of petrol and petroleum products. This means that much of their money goes into import of petrol and petroleum products. Electric cars are the answer to this problem. If these countries can reduce their growing need on fossil fuels, and replace this with renewable resources (Epa.gov), it can save them a lot of foreign exchange and minimize emission. “Dr. Ho, who won a TSE grant to develop a yeast-based ethanol synthesis process, believes that her ‘bioengineered’ can convert cellulosic plant material into ethanol, which can be used as an alternative to transport fuel that can be blended with gasoline. Ethanol can reduce the dependency on imported oil, which can save a country precious foreign exchange, enhance its energy security, and reduce its trade deficit” (Epa.gov). This clearly shows that a country’s dependence of fuel to run its vehicles and economy can be overcome by using alternative sources of energy.
Electric cars can be run on rechargeable batteries that run for three to four hours at a stretch, or run on power produced from solar energy. This means that by fitting solar panels on the car, it could produce the electricity it requires to run the vehicle. The benefits of electric cars over conventional cars are that they have a significantly lesser level of pollutant, make lesser noise and their batteries can be recharged at home. However, they do have their shortfalls too. They are costlier than conventional cars, are costlier to maintain, require frequent recharge, and are comparatively slower than petrol cars.
Conclusion
Electric cars are the future. This earth has seen some of the worst adulteration of its atmosphere through air, water and land pollution. Industrial wastes are dumped and burnt leading to the emission and contamination of the atmosphere and water sources. With the rise in sales of commercial vehicles that run on petrol and diesel that emit dangerous carbon monoxide into the atmosphere, it makes a lot of sense to change to electric cars that are noiseless, emission-free, and can save countries that import crude oil and gasoline a lot of foreign exchange.
References
Epa.gov. 'Technology for A Sustainable Environment | Science Topics | NCER | Research | US EPA'. N.p., 2014. Web. 4 Dec. 2014.
REN21. 'Renewable Energy Policy Network for the 21St Century'. N.p., 2014. Web. 4 Dec. 2014.
