Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
Kevin Camarena
RWS: 1302
ELECTRIC VEHICLES 2
Abstract
As our world becomes more concerned about the state of the environment, many start to
think about new methods we could implement do lessen the impact we have on the earth. One of
replacement for traditional cars powered by fossil fuels. However, the research and development
of new technologies is time consuming and costly leading to others questioning if investing in
electric vehicles is worth the effort. Those who support the development of electric cars say it’s
part of the necessary change the world must accommodate in order to reduce our impact on the
environment and maintain our current way of life as fossil fuels become depleted since they are a
nonrenewable resource. Though, this shift in production and attention to switching our forms of
transportation will greatly affect those that rely on keeping traditionally gasoline powered cars.
Such as automobile manufacturers, oil companies, communities dependent on oil production, and
countries that have oil as their main source of export for their economy. Many have brought up
recent trends in manufacturing to predict how electric cars will fare in the future and others have
looked into the various outcomes that will arise if electric vehicles replace traditional vehicles as
the primary source of transportation for most people. The research brought up expands on the
Electric vehicles signal a coming of change for the future. With change people must
know how to adapt and if adapting to change is a possible route to take. 4 questions have been
brought up in this literature review in order to solve the concerns many people have on the
4. What policies have been proposed to address the advantages of utilizing electric or
The adaption to electric vehicles is what many consider a necessary step for the world to take
to ensure a better world for the future. However, many also consider the investment in
developing electric vehicles to be an unnecessary expense that diverts resources away from more
important issues. So, research, development, and answers are needed to know how to proceed
An electric vehicle is a car that uses electricity from a fuel cell or a battery to power its
completely by an electric motor or being a plug-in hybrid car that utilizes gasoline or diesel fuel and
electricity or be a hydrogen fuel cell vehicle. The hydrogen fuel cell vehicle uses the energy from a
chemical reaction of mixing hydrogen and mixing it with the atmospheres oxygen passed through a fuel
cell to power the vehicle. Electric vehicles recharge by using the electricity from an electrical power grid
and regain some of their energy while braking using their regenerative braking feature
from gathering the energy that is usually lost through braking which in turn generates electricity for the
electric motor. Using an electric vehicle for daily transportation greatly reduces one’s carbon footprint. As
shown in figure 1, as part of a survey conducted by UTEP student K. Camarena the results found that
73% of participants agreed that electric vehicles are better for the environment than gasoline powered
vehicles. These findings go along with the sentiments of environmental advocates that support utilizing
electric vehicles for the sake of the environment. As stated by Enel SpA chief executive officer,
Francesco Starace "Electric cars are intrinsically cheaper than gas or oil fueled cars because they're
simpler and their maintenance is a lot easier,”. Due to the lack of foreign agents present in electric
vehicles this makes it less likely to experience build up that damages the engine or makes it less efficient.
Hydrogen fuel cell vehicles only byproduct is water and heat which does not contribute to any pollution
from tailpipe emmisions like traditionally powered cars (Larminie, J., & Lowry, J. (2012). Electric vehicle
Electric vehicles currently cannot match the standards traditional gasoline powered
vehicles have set since their inception. As shown in figure 2, as part of a survey conducted by
UTEP student K. Camarena, 68% of participants agreed that gasoline powered cars were more
efficient than electric vehicles. This public sentiment derived from the survey goes along with
the current automation standards that electric vehicles still do not reach current standards that
traditional gas-powered cars have set. However, electric cars have shown improvements in recent
years that if continued as projected will quickly overtake gasoline powered vehicles. Jess
Shankleman from Bloomberg states in her article that “electric cars will be as cheap as gasoline
models by 2025” and BNEF states, “electric vehicle sales will surpass internal combustion
engine sales by 2038”, this development can be seen in figure 3. This expansion will be due to
batteries for electric cars becoming inexpensive rather quickly and the cost of manufacturing
electric vehicles steadily dropping (Shankleman, J. (2017, July 06). The Electric Car Revolution
technology, popularity, and adaption to electric cars on a small scale in the form of the company
Tesla. In WIRED’s YouTube video they explore the relatively quick progress electric cars have
made in recent years using Tesla as its primary example. Since Tesla’s founding in 2003 it has
already achieved the milestones it set using flashy sporty electric vehicles to make a name for
itself in the automobile industry. This was done in an effort to make the electric car popular and
appealing to consumers so when they made their affordable car it would be quickly adopted in
A major factor right now that detracts people from adopting electric vehicles more
quickly is the lack of convince in their daily lives. One comment from a Chicago local explains
an aspect of this well “I feel if Chicago really wants to promote electric vehicles they need to
start thinking about solutions and ways to provide more charging stations either in church
parking lots, commercial parking lots or at curb sites,” said Ortiz. “I don’t think people will walk
more than two blocks for a charging station, so there have to be more.” (Wisniewski, M. (2018,
June 05). Why electric cars are gaining ground slowly in the United States. Retrieved from
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/columnists/wisniewski/ctbiz-electric-cars-getting-around-
20180529-story.html). When asked by a news reporter if Germany would ban sale of gas and
diesel cars in the future Germany’s chancellor Angela Merkel stated, " if we quickly invest in
more charging infrastructure and technology for electric cars, a general changeover will be
structurally possible,". This comment by German Chancellor Angela Merkel signals that policy
makers are thinking of ways that will make it easier for most people to transition to electric cars.
While this comment by German chancellor Angela Merkel may not affect the life of the Chicago
resident or solve their problems with electric cars, it may have an effect on other policy makers
ELECTRIC VEHICLES 7
across western countries that are considering legislation for electric vehicles and how to
Figure 3: [Digital image]. (n.d.). The Electric Car Revolution Is Accelerating. Retrieved from
https://www.bloomberg.com/businessweek
The ramifications of the world adapting to electric vehicles for its main form of
transportation is that it would greatly affect the economies of the world and countries who rely
on oil exportation as their main source of economic trade. The United States will experience
some of these consequences in the form of losing its income from the gasoline tax (McMahon, J.
(2018, June 04). Who Pays For Roads Once Electric Vehicles Defund The Gas Tax? Retrieved
from https://www.forbes.com/sites/jeffmcmahon/2018/06/04/who-paysfor-roads-once-electric-
18.4 cents and 24.4 cents on diesel fuel. According to the tax policy center, the US made $44
billion in 2015 from taxing fuel alone. This will create a noticeable drop in revenue for the US
ELECTRIC VEHICLES 9
government once the mass market adopts to electric vehicles. As stated in an article by
Bloomberg, “The global shift toward electric vehicles will create upheaval for the auto industry:
from oil majors harmed by reduced gasoline demand to spark plug and fuel injection
manufacturers whose products aren’t needed by plug-in cars”. Recent numbers by Bloomberg’s
New Energy Finance indicate that 13 million barrels of oil are being displaced daily by electric
cars. BNEF had recently edited that number to actually be 8 million barrels a day but stated that
the number is “likely understated”. This indicates that electric cars are having a major impact on
the distribution of oil worldwide and will likely continue to have an impact on oil production and
distribution. While the rise of electric cars will certainly have an impact on oil production and oil
dependent economies it will also have a great effect on production of raw materials necessary for
the production of electric cars such as graphite, nickel, aluminum, cobalt, lithium, and
manganese. The demand for graphite alone will experience a 6,453% increase from 13,000 tons
a year to 852,000 tons by 2030. While certainly some industries will suffer or collapse, those
industries will have to adjust or find a way to integrate themselves into different avenues to
survive. This is a major setback that those opposed to adopting electric cars bring up. Since the
economy will have a major shift if this transition to electric cars occurs it will displace many
different fields of oil production. Placing most of the economic setbacks on those employed by
oil production which will ultimately destabilize the economy and cause more harm than the
What policies have been proposed to address the advantages of utilizing electric or gasoline
powered vehicles?
Various governments across the globe have implemented policies in their laws to account
for utilizing electric cars. Such as government subsidies and incentives for driving electric
vehicles. Countries such as England, France, Germany, India, Norway, China have announced
plans to ban the sale of gasoline and diesel-powered cars in the future. England and France have
announced to ban those cars by 2040 and India even sooner by 2030. With Norway currently
being the leading country in distribution of electric cars, having 40% of cars sold being electric
or hybrid vehicles (C. (n.d.). These countries want to ban gas and diesel cars. Retrieved from
http://money.cnn.com/2017/09/11/autos/countries-banning-diesel-gas-cars/index.html). France’s
government official Nicolas Hulot stated that the goal of banning the sale of gas and diesel cars
by 2040 would also help car manufacturers “innovate and become market leaders”. This thought
process in policy makers indidcate that many governments of the world will also play a hand in
transitioning the populace to switch to electric vehicles. Done by forcing production and society
to change as a means to clean up the environment and find a solution to dwindling fossil fuel
resources. Opponents of transitioning to electric vehicles will argue that this is too much
interference in the economic process and will lead to the economy experiencing negative
repercussions and higher spending. The Paris agreement is an example of the governments of the
world coming together to find solutions to improving the environment. The Government of
China and India are among those countries that view the transition to electric cars as an extreme
necessity in their country because of their horrible air quality that has increased health problems
among their citizens. Countries with the biggest economies such as the United States, European
countries, and China are among those that are most ahead of installing charging stations and
ELECTRIC VEHICLES 11
providing subsidies for electric cars. This indicates that they will also be the first countries who
Conclusion
While research has shown that most people agree that the transition to electric vehicles is
neccesarry for the protection of the environment and the only alternative for when fossil fuels are
ultimately depleted there are still many on the opposing side. There are still many people who
are opposed to the transition to electric cars from traditional gas-powered cars because of the
economic ramifications of the switch or because they view developing electric cars as a waste of
time, money, and resources. This creates division in the population which will lead to more
obstacles and problems for policy makers when they try to integrate electric cars into their
community or when they try to maintain the current standard of using traditional gas-powered
vehicles. Leading to slow progress on both sides of the issue leading to further hostility and
implemented in order to unify both sides of the issue to satisfy those who want to continue
developing electric vehicles for the future and create economic safeguards for when industry
References
Shankleman, J. (2017, July 06). The Electric Car Revolution Is Accelerating. Retrieved from
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-07-06/the-electric-car-revolution-is
accelerating
The Tesla Model 3: The Culmination of Elon Musk's Master Plan | WIRED. (2017, July 27).
Larminie, J., & Lowry, J. (2012). Electric vehicle technology explained. Chichester: John Wiley
and Sons.
https://www.ucsusa.org/clean-vehicles/electric-vehicles/what-are-electric-cars
https://www.energy.gov/eere/electricvehicles/electric-vehicle-basics
McMahon, J. (2018, June 04). Who Pays For Roads Once Electric Vehicles Defund The Gas
for-roads-once-electric-vehicles-defunct-the-gas-tax/#15d8388b3e0a
Wisniewski, M. (2018, June 05). Why electric cars are gaining ground slowly in the United
biz-electric-cars-getting-around-20180529-story.html
C. (n.d.). These countries want to ban gas and diesel cars. Retrieved from
http://money.cnn.com/2017/09/11/autos/countries-banning-diesel-gas-cars/index.html