SUMMARY
For the past forty years, United States Presidents have repeatedly called for a reduction in the country's dependence on fossil fuels in general and foreign oil specifically. Stronger efficiency standards and higher taxes on motor fuels are a step in this direction, but achieving even greater reductions in oil consumption will require changing the way Americans power their transportation system. Some officials advocate the electrification of the passenger vehicle fleet as a path to meeting this goal. The Obama administration has, for example, embraced a goal of having one million electric-powered vehicles on U.S. roads by 2015, while others proposed a medium-term goal where electric vehicles would consist of 20% of the passenger
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The latter problem will gradually disappear as motorists become more accustomed to electric cars, but range anxiety is likely to remain until battery technology improves. One can argue that such anxiety is irrational, since urban drivers, on average, drive less than 20 miles per day, but no one has ever asserted that consumers base their car purchases solely on rational calculations. One might contend that the value of greater range is (approximately) the $4,000 price premium consumers will pay for a PHEV over a BEV, according to our model. Regardless, the bottom line is that the range issue will significantly affect consumer choice and is a major barrier to the penetration of electric vehicles.
Is the Electrical Infrastructure Available?
To power an electric vehicle, consumers must have the ability to connect their vehicle to a source of electricity, the utility must have the capacity to transmit and distribute this additional power and sufficient electricity generation capacity must exist. If the private sector is unwilling to meet these three conditions (i.e. providing 1. charging equipment, 2. distribution capacity, and 3. electricity generation), then governments must intervene. However, this paper finds no clear market failure that would require or justify such interventions.
The charging equipment is not expensive, and it would not be difficult for households and commercial enterprises to install such equipment.
The U.S. electric passenger car industry in 2011 was described as being in its infancy, because it is still a new concept to buyers. However there are signs of growth from 2011-2015. Buyers do not consider the car because of price, travel range and vehicle size, along with other secondary concerns.
“We can break our dependence on oil…and become the first country to have one million electric vehicles on the road by 2015,” President Obama said in his January 2011 State of the Union address (Institute for Energy Research 1). While this may sound promising, the practicality and merit in achieving this goal remains unclear. Auto manufacturers have been working on plans for electric cars for years, especially the three largest companies in the US: Chevrolet, Chrysler, and Ford. These companies have been hoping that the development of electric cars would create a sort of lifestyle change for consumers, both weaning the U.S. off of its dependence on foreign oil and breathing life into the market for auto sales at the same time. Electric cars are often sold as zero emissions, but technically that is only true once they are charged and in terms of their tailpipe emissions. After all, they have to get their energy from somewhere and, more often than not, the electricity used for charging is supplied by traditional coal fired power plants. The real question then is whether the source and amount of energy required to build and supply an electric car with power is actually cleaner and more economical than a traditional combustion automobile. As it turns out, the answer is both unexpected and fairly complicated. In order to assess whether the use of
Electric vehicles should be big a consideration for the world. Our planet is suffering a lot due to climate change. It’s caused by burning fossil fuel and releasing its gas into the air and most cars today run on fossil fuel and it’s damaging our planet. Electric cars are clean energy vehicles, meaning it doesn’t damage the world. This is the main reason while society needs to consider manufacturing more electric cars and make them affordable and more well known. If a big part of the world’s population used electric cars instead of cars that runs of gas, it would be very beneficial to the world. But even with this huge benefit that
Everyone around the country needs to work to lower emissions into the air to reduce the greenhouse gases trapping heat in the atmosphere. I am not a fan of electric vehicles but, they are better for the environment than gas or diesel vehicles. They release less gases into the air and can be recharged almost anywhere with solar panel charger adapters. Some companies like, Tesla and VIA (General Motors Company) have made a dream for a person to own and be able to afford one.
In this speech I have explored the history where they are today, and what is to come of electric cars. The electric car will get you to where you want to be without polluting the air. As Jay Leno once stated after driving the Tesla electric car, “If this is the future, I’m not that
Currently, the market for electric vehicles are in its early stages. However, with the growing environmental awareness more people are becoming more accepting and fond of the idea of electric cars. Presently, less than 2% of households have an electric powered vehicle but it is projected that by the year 2045, electric vehicles will account for 35% of the automotive market share.
The second largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in the United States is related to transportation, the burning of oil to produce energy in a combustion motor. The combustion process inside of engines is what produces the carbon matter that is emitted into the air through the exhaust system on gas-powered vehicles. Gas-powered transportation is accountable for 24 percent of the global carbon emissions; this should not come as much of a surprise given the amount of urban sprawl that is being seen in the United States and across the globe. In the past decade, the Environmental Protection Agency, the United States government, and major car manufacturers have been working in conjunction to find ways to provide a “greener” form of transportation (EPA, 2011). This has included testing the use of hydropower, ethanol, natural gas, biodiesel, and electricity as a means of powering vehicles, which has led to the introduction of hybrid vehicles. Hybrid vehicles run on electricity and gasoline, the byproduct of oil that is generally used in the engine combustion process of vehicles (U.S. Department of
At a first glance, electric vehicles create a facade showing off the newest innovation in efficient and environmentally friendly vehicles. Yet, behind the masks that these manufacturers hide behind, there is a vault that holds all the funds they have essentially scammed the smartest consumers out of. Have you ever questioned the production procedure involved in the creation of these glorified pieces of sheet metal? Never! Who cares, right? A simple Wikipedia search exposes the fraud used by manufacturers. Most electric vehicles share the same facility as their gas counterparts. Prioritizing the safety of our planet, alternative energy sources have been identified and have been put into effect. It’s name? Oil.
Electric cars impose a serious risk on the oil and gas industry. The extent by which this market succeeds reciprocally defines the extent by which the oil and gas industry deteriorates. As with all forms of technology, there comes a point in time where one form of technology no longer appears to be useful in comparison with an applicable alternative. The current inhibitors of electric car adoption are the price of batteries and vehicle performance. With that being said, battery prices dropped over 30% just last year and are expected to continue dropping. Projections estimate that 35% of cars will have a plug by 20401. However, even in the next few years, companies such as Tesla, Chevrolet, and Nissan plan to offer electric cars on the market at an affordable price. The question then becomes: when the oil and gas market will be displaced by the electric market? If both markets produce a vehicle of similar price and quality, then it is reasonable to assume that a customer will choose the option that is more eco-friendly. The moral issue still remains: should the vehicles of tomorrow be fueled by gasoline or are viable options readily available and acceptable?
There must continue to be popular sentiment toward the environment; the public must be aware of the electric vehicle, aware that there is a healthy alternative to the gasoline cars that are driven every day. However, adoption does not end with awareness — the public should be educated on the benefits of electric vehicles in order to fully realize the lifestyle change they must make. Wally Rippel and the Toyota Prius are champions of these findings’ success. Whether through a modern day, nationally-televised electric vehicle race or the promotion of electric vehicles in Hollywood movies, the electric car should become a popular item in modern culture, and a well-understood one for that
Across the world and for years governments have promoted the usage, production, and purchasing of electric vehicles. The first big push for electric vehicles was in 1998 in the state of California with the mandate that stated, “ a small percentage of vehicles sold after 2000 [ must have] zero emissions”( Baumgartner et Gross 35). This pushed many small and large vehicle companies to begin to look towards producing hybrid and electric vehicles. Another big push for electric vehicles in the United States was in 2005 when soon to be President Barack Obama advocated that” the United States [would] have one million electric vehicles on the road by 2015” (Barkenbus 56). Despite this goal never being met, without a doubt it promoted and furthered electric vehicles. Outside of North America in Europe, electric vehicle incentive is also prominent. Writing in October of 2000, Jack Barkenbus states “France is likely to be at the forefront of advocating electrical vehicle usage because of [their] nuclear power” (Baumgartner et Gross 35). This prediction was correct France now offers recharging services for electric vehicle owners. Another European country offering an incentive for purchasing electric vehicles is Switzerland. “Switzerland rewards individuals who take part in [electric vehicle promotion] by offering direct subsidies when buying a car”(Baumgartner et Gross 36). All of this incentive and promotion has been worthwhile, writing in 2017 Jack Barkenbus states that, “thirty percent of all new cars sold in the last quarter of
One driving force of change is technology. The automobile industry is constantly focusing on technology in order to make themselves and their cars better. They constantly compete to be the “first” one to have the newest and best idea. One of these ideas is an electric vehicle. GM, Ford, and Toyota all have electric automobiles. GM has the Chevy Volt. Volt One of Ford’s electric cars is the Electric Ranger. Ranger Toyota had the Rav4 EV, but due to discouraging sales it stopped production. “Toyota remains committed to developing an "Eco Vehicle," one that will have a minimal impact on the environment.” Rav4 One purpose of the electric automobiles is to have the ability to drive to work using only electricity. Currently during longer trips you would have to use a combination of electric and gasoline power. Electric Car
In fact, depending on where the electricity that is being put into the vehicle originates and the type of vehicle, electric cars are not all great. Due to the nature of batteries used, electric cars have a limited range, around eighty to a hundred miles, long charging times, and disastrously high costs (Berman). The Tesla Model S for example, costs roughly 70,000 dollars; even the Chevy Volt is 38,000 dollars (Perlow). Average families simply do not have the money to pay for such expensive vehicles even if they are cheaper to run. In accordance with high costs, EVs are not practical long-distance travelers because they have a limited range before the batteries run out of electricity and you are left stranded in the middle of nowhere. Furthermore, when it does come time to charge, the average is one hour for twenty to twenty-five miles of range if you can actually find a charging port. Do the math and that adds up to four hours for only one hundred miles of driving. Some Volkswagen Passat TDIs that run on biodiesel average 600 miles on one tank that can be filled in less than ten minutes (Perlow). But perhaps most importantly, the electricity that is primarily being used to charge these new cars comes from a power plant that may or may not be polluting the earth. Sixty-four percent of United States residents obtain their electricity from either a coal or natural gas power plant which put thousands of
In the market today, there are some factors that can pose a problem to all the market players’ including the Model S. The idea of fully electric vehicles is still a new idea in the eyes of consumers. The major concern for the market would be the location and proximity of charging stations for the vehicles. Major cities are starting to increase the amounts that are located within them, but are still not as readily
There is a serious problem facing the world right now. It is air pollution. The number one contributor to this epidemic is automobile emissions. We have all heard of the issues that are involved with air pollution including the depletion of the o-zone layer, the green house effect, and acid rain. The problem has been scoped from every imaginable angle, and now it is time to solve the problem. I propose that each of the ‘Big Three’ (Ford, General Motors, and Chrysler) car manufacturers be required to have 10% of their product line as EV’s By the year 2010. I propose this because it will be the start of cleaner air, EV advancement, and awareness of EV’s and how they work.