ELECTRIC CARS 1

Are Electric Automobiles as Ecological as the Industry Says?

Pesántez Cabrera Mónica Fernanda

CEDEI Foundation

October 20, 2020

Author note:

Pesantez C. Monica F. student al CEDEI Foundation

This paper was written with the help of CEDEI Foundation and Teacher, Adrian Gomez.

e-mail: mpesantez2@gmail.com
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Abstract

This paper presents an analysis of the negative part about electric cars and how the

automobile industry tries to show them as positive. Through this essay it is intended to share the

problems that electric cars have indirectly on the environment and how they can affect the

economy of people that own them.

Keywords: electric cars, environment, lithium, contamination.

Are Electric Automobiles as Ecological as the Industry Says?

Humans have always had the need to move from one place to another, using different

means of transport that have evolved over time such as animals, floats, bicycles, until we reach

what we now know as the electric car. The first electric cars appeared in 1834 even before oil and

diesel cars, which appeared in 1861. Electric car commercialization started in 1852, but these cars

didn’t have rechargeable batteries like the actual ones. The rechargeable batteries make electric

cars more demanded. At that time, those were sold as spacious, clean, autonomous, and cheaper;

the same that Tesla says about their cars now. Now, having a car is not a luxury, it is a necessity.

For over 200 years, cars have changed a lot, adapting to client’s needs and being green is now a

requirement when buying a car. For this reason, the industry has seen an opportunity in electric

cars. In many cases, governments are encouraging this transition. The automobile industry sells

these cars as ecological, but studies show they are not as green as it said because of the lithium

battery, contaminating electricity, and expensive maintenance. The real question is, if they are as

efficient as the automobile industry pretends.

When we hear about electric cars, the first thing that comes into our mind is “eco-

friendly”, but that is far from reality. “An electric car affects the environment with indirect

emissions, starting with the manufacturing, followed by the Co2 emission, and the batteries used

on these cars” (Fischer, Keating. 2017). For these reasons, there has been controversy over whether

electric cars can be called "zero-emission vehicles". According to Matousen Mark´ website,

producing electric cars causes more contamination than a conventional car. This is because

manufacturing an electric car takes more than twice the amount of energy to produce a

conventional one, and using them is an indirect problem, too.

Also, the production of the batteries often causes human rights violations and ecological

devastation, such as deforestation, polluted rivers, contaminated soil (Fischer,2017). Another

problem starts at the end of an electric car`s life, which also contain toxic. Electric cars use

lithium batteries. They are made with materials that are much more scarce than oil and their

waste is highly polluting (NatGeo magazine, 2017). Currently, the process of treating lithium-ion

batteries as waste is very expensive and only 50% of the components are recovered, reaching up

to 80% in the best of cases. In addition, the procedure to recover these materials is highly

polluting and emits a lot of CO2 (Fidalgo,2020). The way we dispose batteries should be

controlled, also how the materials to build them are acquired and find a way to reduce the

contamination.

  One more problem with electric cars is finding an expert and the cost of it. Most

mechanics are trained to work with combustion engines and you'll probably have to take your car

to the dealership which can be more expensive. But, according to some estimates, the

maintenance will cost about one-third the current cost of maintaining gas-driven cars, but that is

until the battery starts to wear out. A battery pack for a Nissan LEAF is estimated to cost about

$15,000, a big amount of money for a middle social status person (Lampton,2010). This point is

relevant, but is something that no dealership will let you know when buying a car.

As it is metioned at the beginning of this essay, having a car is a necessity and trying to

find the best option is not that easy. With this search, we can see that the automobile industry

cares more about numbers and money, pretending to show us positive this about their products,

but the reality is other. The negative effect for us as possible owners of an electric car and the

way this type of automobile affects indirectly the environment and the society it is enough to

know that not everything this industry sells it is totally real.

References

 Rebeca Matulka (2014, Sept 15). The history of the Electric car. Department of Energy.

https://www.energy.gov/articles/history-electric-car
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 Fischer Hilke (2017, Aug 04). How eco-friendly are electric cars?. Made for minds.

https://www.dw.com/en/how-eco-friendly-are-electric-cars/a-19441437

 Space News Pod (2020, Jan 04). Elon Musk Intervie about Tesla. Youtube.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5of4tEI5pMw

 Fidalgo Ruben. (2020, Oct 01). Baterías de litio de los coches eléctricos: un problema de

reciclaje y contaminación. Autocasiòn.

https://www.autocasion.com/actualidad/reportajes/baterias-litio-coche-electrico-

contaminacion-reciclaje/amp

 Lampton Christopher (n.d.). Will Electric Cars require More Maintenance. How stuff

works. https://auto.howstuffworks.com/will-electric-cars-require-more-
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The first electric cars appeared in 1834 even before oil and diesel cars, which appeared in

1861. Electric car commercialization started in 1852, but these cars didn’t have rechargeable

batteries like actual one. The rechargeable batteries make electric cars more demanded. At that

time, those were sold as spacious, clean, autonomous and cheaper; the same that Tesla says about

their cars now. Nowadays, having a car is not a luxury, it is a necessity, for over 200 years, cars

have change a lot, adapting to client’s needs and being green, is now a requirement when buying

a car, for these reason the Industry has seen an opportunity in Electric Cars. In many cases,

governments are encouraging this transition, E-cars offer to society needs like reduce air

pollution in city centers, and this is why the automobile industry sells these cars as ecological, but

studies show they are not as green as it said because of the lithium battery, contaminating

electricity, and expensive maintenance. The real question is, Are they as efficient as Automobile

Industry pretend to (show)?

 Because of their indirect emissions, there has been controversy over whether electric cars can

be called "zero emission vehicles."

 Recycling and contamination problem of lithium batteries at the end of an electric car`s life

 Finding an expert on electric cars and the maintenance can be hard and expensive

When we hear about electric cars, the first thing that comes to our mind is “eco-friendly”, but the

reality is far from it. An electric car affects the environment with indirect emissions, starting with

the manufacturing, followed by the Co2 emission and the batteries used on these cars. For these

reasons there has been controversy over whether electric cars can be called "zero emission

vehicles". Producing electric cars cause more contamination than a conventional car, why?

Manufacturing an electric car takes more than twice the amount of energy to produce a

conventional one, and using them are an indirect problem too. Charging them produce Co2

emission from power plants that provide us with energy.

Also, the production of the batteries often cause human rights violations and ecological

devastation, such as deforestation, polluted rivers, contaminated soil (Fischer,2017).

Another problem starts at the end of an electric car`s life, which also contain toxic. Electric cars

use lithium batteries. they are made with materials that are much more scarce than oil and their

waste is highly polluting. Currently, the process of treating lithium ion batteries as waste is very

expensive and only 50% of the components are recovered, reaching up to 80% in the best of

cases. In addition, the procedure to recover these materials is highly polluting and emits a lot of

CO2 (Fidalgo,2020).
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One more problem with electric cars is finding an expert and the cost of it. Most mechanics are

trained to work with combustion engines and you'll probably have to take your car to the

dealership which can be more expensive. But, according to some estimates, the maintenance will

cost about one-third the current cost of maintaining gas-driven cars, but that is until the battery

starts to wear out. A battery pack for a Nissan LEAF is estimated to cost about $15,000, a big

amount of money for a middle social status person(Lampton,2010).