Pollution Control

Large cities are slowly earning a reputation for being dirty, nasty, loud, smog filled cesspools. Not only can they be generally unpleasant, but there are genuine health concerns. While there are many sources of pollution in a city, automobiles certainly add their share. Increasing use of electric vehicles could greatly improve the situation. While I can't say for certain that electric vehicles used on a mass scale won't have some sort of negative cumulative emissions of some kind, directly comparing a single electric vehicle to a single gas powered vehicle, it would seem almost undeniable that electric vehicles would be far cleaner and more desirable. With no significant emissions, they could go a long way towards reducing smog, bad smells, and noise from cities, potentially improving public health and quality of life. While using electric vehicles on a mass scale would necessitate a corresponding increase in electric power infrastructure which could potentially be based off of power plants fired by coal or other polluting sources, in such cases it would at least move a large amount of pollution away from the inner city.

Global Warming

Human CO2 emissions are suspected of contributing to global warming. Shifting agricultural areas, rising sea levels, increasingly turbulant weather, and other possible effects are pretty much all negative and best to be avoided. Greatly reducing or eliminating CO2 emissions from vehicles could greatly help in this regard. Power plants providing power for electric vehicles could emit their own CO2 (as well as other pollutants), but it's still a step in the right direction. In time, it's quite possible that many of our more polluting domestic power plants will be replaced by cleaner technologies such as nuclear and renewable sources.

Oil Supply

Oil supply is considered to be finite. Predictions rarely suggest that oil reserves will last more than 200 years. Other sources of oil exist but will be increasingly difficult and uneconomical to extract. Increasing use of electric vehiles would ease the strain on oil supply and help ensure it's availability to sectors that can not as easily do without it. Such sectors might include freight transportation, air transportation, and various miscellaneous industries.

Energy Security

Reduced use of oil means less reliance of OPEC supplies in the increasingly unstable Middle East. Energy costs would be more stable and secure with domestic power plants providing for our needs.

Energy Transport

Simply put, once the infrastructure is in place, it's a lot easier to transfer electricity over long distances than it is to transfer fuel. Furthermore, those distances usually won't be as long. Most places will find that the closest power plant is a lot closer than the closest fuel refinery.

Convenience

For those willing to plug in and trickle charge their cars each night, regular visits to the gas station can be eliminated. Even if electric vehicles were to completely dominate in public transportation, gas stations would still have their place in serving as fast charging stations for travelers and people who forget to plug in their cars at night. Electric vehicles would also likely require less maintenance. With fewer moving parts and fewer fluids, there likely wouldn't be nearly as many necessary repairs or maintenance intervals for things like oil changes (probably the only oil in the car would be for the transmission).

Expense

All the studies I have seen so far suggest that the cost per mile for an electric vehicle would be far less than that of a gas powered vehicle.

Transitional Potential

One of the biggest problems facing the ideas of moving to alternative fuel sources is the lack of infrastructure for those fuel sources. Gas stations would require major retrofittings to support the new fuel sources. Electric vehicles have an advantage over many other alternative fuels here. Everyone already has electricity in their homes. The simple addition of a 220V outlet in a garage is all that is required for an electric car to become a real possibility for a family. Rarely do we travel more than 50 miles in a day, and even lead acid based electric cars are already capable of that, so long as they get plugged in each night to recharge. It would still be necessary to keep a gas powered car as a backup for long trips and other rare incidents of power outages or simply forgetting to charge the electric car. But the electric could easily be used as the daily driver. Once enough people take up this philosophy and drive electric vehicles, the number of electric vehicles will reach a critical mass, after which point gas stations will find it is in their best interest to begin supplying fast charging stations. In this sense, infrastructure building would likely require far less support from the government for an alternative fuel to become a reality.

Limitations and Disadvantages

Under Pollution Control I touched on how the use of electric vehicles would reduce unwanted noise. While true, and while I still think the benefits out way the disadvantages in this area, it should be noted that quiet vehicles would likely result in an increased incidence of people and animals being hit by cars due to the less obvious presence of the vehicles. And of course, battery availability, resilience, weight, and capacity are all factors. To date, lead acid batteries have proved to be...not so good due to high weight and low capacity. But lithium ion batteries have already proved it is possible to make an electric car that has good performance and a decent range. Other research areas look promising as well. However, it is uncertain how many of these areas could be ramped up for mass scale production.

Conclusion

As I see it, the advantages of electric vehicles are numerous and significant. Some of the advantages are unique to electric vehicles and would seem to be superior even to other very clean technologies such as hydrogen fuel cells. And I can't help but feel an impending doom looming on the horizon for a gas based transportation system. I can't help but think the day will come when oil supply will be interrupted or unable to meet demand, when lines at the gas station will wrap around city blocks, when fuel prices will skyrocket, tempers will flair, and the public will panic. On that day, it is my hope that I will have an electric car sitting in my garage, fully charged and ready to go.

Last Updated 1/30/2007 by Scott Arnold