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Electric Cars and the Future

Electric Cars and the Future. Growing Importance. Range. Cost. Emissions. But What About…. Final Remarks. Work Cited. Electric Cars and the Future.

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Electric Cars and the Future

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  1. Electric Cars and the Future Growing Importance Range Cost Emissions But What About… Final Remarks Work Cited Electric Cars and the Future • It is a well-known fact that gasoline production from fossil fuels will not be able to maintain their current rate of supply & demand for much longer. Numerous economical experts have found that the peak of this curve may have already occurred several years ago. Multiple predictions for this “peak oil” can be seen on the right. The U.S. Department of Defense was even quoted back in 2008 and again in 2010 saying, “By 2012, surplus oil production capacity could entirely disappear…” Knowing that crude oil will not be able to indefinitely sustain our automobile-driven society, one pressing question remains: what can possibly replace gasoline? The answer to this question lies strongly in electricity. While electric cars may not be able to completely satisfy the needs of consumers today, new developments in technology are quickly making them the prime choice to overtake the gas giant. Informative Website on Global Oil Consumption http://www.oildecline.com/

  2. Electric Cars and the Future Growing Importance Range Cost Emissions But What About… Final Remarks Work Cited Growing Importance Electric vehicles have been around since the mid 1800s, but only in recent years have they started appearing in news headlines and journal articles. This is a result of the huge leaps and bounds that electric car technology has made in the last few years. In a recent interview with TED.com, Elon Musk talks about what is needed to “accelerate the advent of electric transport” (Musk). You can see a piece of this interview below. If you do not know who Elon Musk is, he is the creator of PayPal, and CEO of Tesla Motors, a premium electric car company, and SpaceX, the leader in commercial space exploration. His outlandish ideas and goals have a way of becoming a reality. Musk was even recently quoted saying, “It’s the first time in four and a half billion years that we are at a level of technology where we have the ability to reach Mars.” This “level of technology” is exponentially increasing to new heights. Just think about how cell phones and laptops looked only 15 years ago! Though electric cars may have a few obstacles to clear, there is no doubt that they will soon become the standard. You can see the full interview here: http://www.ted.com/talks/elon_musk_the_mind_behind_tesla_spacex_solarcity.html For more information… Tesla Motors: http://www.teslamotors.com/ SpaceX: http://www.spacex.com/

  3. Electric Cars and the Future Growing Importance Range Cost Emissions But What About… Final Remarks Work Cited Range In a recent survey done by the Municipality of Zaanstad in the Netherlands, 16 people with little exposure to electric cars, were given a high-end electric car and asked to use it as their primary automobile for several months. At the conclusion of their test driving, they were asked a series of questions about their experience. In response to the question “What do you not like about driving the electric car,” 42% of users did not like the limited working range, and another 30% worried the car was not fully charged. To the question “What would you like to change,” 54% of people wanted a larger working range, and another 24% wanted to see faster car charging. It is clear that the issue of range is a big factor in wanting to choose an electric car. While the electric car may not be able to currently provide the range consumers want, new technologies are making this observation out-of-date. At the present, the driving range of most electric cars lies within 30-60 miles per charge. However, there are options that set a standard of their own, if you are willing to spend the money. The Tesla Roadster and the Tesla Model S can get up to 250-300 miles on a single charge, and boasts about Supercharging stations that can charge half the battery in only a half hour (right). You can see some specifics here: http://www.teslamotors.com/supercharger.

  4. Electric Cars and the Future Growing Importance Range Cost Emissions But What About… Final Remarks Work Cited Cost • Without a doubt, the cost of an automobile is a very large factor in purchasing a new automobile. In a CNET poll asking “What do you look for when buying a car,” over half of the 84 responses mentioned price as one of the main factors they consider when buying a car. Unfortunately, this acts to the detriment of electric cars, as their prices are, on average, a good bit higher than the commonly-available gasoline automobile. Per year, electric cars cost, about 46% more than a regular diesel or gasoline vehicle (Vilet et al. 2306). Also, if we more directly compare two models found in Chevrolet’s vehicle line-up, the Chevy Cruze (gas) starts at $18,000, and the Chevy Volt (electric) starts at $40,000. Even deducting the $7,500 government tax credit for “green” vehicles, this is still a difference of $14,500. Generalizing gas prices at $4 per gallon, the Cruze would need to be filled up 225 times to bridge that $14,500 gap. According to GM, this corresponds to about 88,000 miles, or almost 8 years of driving. Since the average time most Americans keep their car is around nine years, it is clear that a lower electric vehicle price is needed. As far as price is concerned, there is little in the way of tangible improvements at the present, but there are many plans on future mass production and price reduction. Watch Elon Musk discussing plans for an affordable, high-performance electric car (right). Along with this, the present standard for making electric car batteries lies in Lithium Ion which alone adds $5,000 to $15,000 to the price. From the graph, one can see the expected decline in price of these batteries. To see facts about particular electric cars (pricing, ratings, horsepower, etc.), go to: http://www.kbb.com/electric/

  5. Electric Cars and the Future Growing Importance Range Cost Emissions But What About… Final Remarks Work Cited Emissions • The last several years have seen an enormous growth in attention towards “green” technologies. As stated on the CNET poll regarding what people look for when buying a car, UrrQuasdim, who holds a Ph.D. in Physics, had said “If we don’t abandon NOW the current gas guzzlers and switch to environmentally friendly… cars – it will be too late…” While this is true, and electric cars produce no emissions, we must consider how electricity is actually produced. It can be seen that far over half of our electricity is produced through non-renewable means (right). For a true comparison, we must examine the total emissions in generating the electricity for an electric car to go a particular distance, and then compare this to the emissions of a standard gas automobile going the same distance. From the Journal of Power Sources, a 2011 study found that, on average, long-range electric vehicles produced, in total, about 70g of CO2 per km, while regular diesel or gasoline vehicles produced over 150g of CO2 per km. ElonMusk elaborates on this during his interview (see left). So, if it is truly cleaner to use electric cars despite how electricity is produced, why have we, as consumers, not already widely adopted them? The answer to this lies simply in supply and demand. If electric cars were to quickly become the standard, there is no currently feasible way to meet the massive spike in electricity demand that would ensue. In short, consumers must wait as technologies in renewable energy production grow to become more efficient. Read about why Elon Musk believes Solar Cells will be incorporated on electric cars in the future.

  6. Electric Cars and the Future Growing Importance Range Cost Emissions But What About… Final Remarks Work Cited But What About… • With all of the attention electric cars have been receiving recently, there is no shortage of critics or skeptics that stand against electric cars. While there is not much debate surrounding the fact that we will eventually need to find an alternative automotive fuel source, what that fuel source is provides for a difference in opinion. At the present, numerous alternative fuel types are available other than electricity, such as hydrogen, ethanol, and biodiesels. Going more in depth, it can be seen that many of these alternatives could never reach the capacity to replace gasoline on a world or even a national scale. Let’s take a look at some of the shortcomings of these fuels. Hydrogen Ethanol Biodiesels Being produced almost entirely from corn and sugarcane, the major restrictions with this While research into this fuel source looks promising, it is still very much in the early stages of development. In concept, a car using hydrogen fuel cells is very similar in design to an electric car. One main difference is that the electricity is produced by hydrogen-powered fuel cells rather than a direct transfer of electricity. Perhaps in several decades, this alternative fuel may be able to begin replacing gasoline, but not for quite a while. A positive feature about biodiesels is the fact that it yields about 3.2 times more energy than it takes fuel source is its massive use of land, and its inability to be mass-produced. To extend this point, the more crops planted for fuel, the less available for consumption, which would increase overall food prices. In the long run, little money would be saved at all. Along with this, ethanol has been tested to give, on average, about a 25% lower fuel economy than gasoline. to produce it. Its major downfalls occur in the total price, time, and the danger involved in producing it on a large scale. While biodiesels prove to be an affordable and efficient fuel when examined at the private level, the mass production of this alternative would result in high costs, and an exponentially longer refinement process. Learn more about alternative fuels here: http://www.afdc.energy.gov/fuels/

  7. Electric Cars and the Future Growing Importance Range Cost Emissions But What About… Final Thoughts Work Cited Final Thoughts • The issue of finding a new source of automotive fuel is one that must be addressed by all consumers in the not-so-distant future. Elon Musk opens his interview by discussing this issue (see right). The solution to this problem will be anything but simple. Through research and experimental studies, it is evident that electricity is on track to replace the consumer’s need for gasoline. Even today, many companies are already stepping in with their own versions of electric cars. You can research some of these car companies by following the links below. While electric cars may not be able to completely meet the needs of consumers and entirely replace gas-powered vehicles today, expansive and rapid developments in technology will put electric cars on a one-way track to becoming the next giant of the automotive industry. Venturi Automobiles BYD Auto Venturi Automobiles: http://en.venturi.fr/ BYD Auto: http://www.byd.com/na/ Tesla Motors: http://www.teslamotors.com/ SABA Motors: http://www.sabamotors.com/ Tesla Motors SABA Motors

  8. Electric Cars and the Future Growing Importance Range Cost Emissions But What About… Final Remarks Work Cited Work Cited • Bennett, Marc. “What do you look for when buying a car?” Survey. Cnet. Cnet, 20 Sept. 2005. Web. 10 Apr. 2013. • Bird, Colin. "Are Cars Becoming Less Affordable for the Average American Family?"KickingTires. Cars.com, 11 Aug. 2010. Web. 21 Apr. 2013. • Campbell, Colin. "Oil and Gas Production 1950-2050." Association for the Study of Peak Oil and Gas USA. Association for the Study of Peak Oil and Gasoline, 2011. Web. 21 Apr. 2013. • Cohen, Dave. "Peak Watch." Peak Watch. Peak Watch, Apr. 2007. Web. 21 Apr. 2013. • Musk, Elon. "Elon Musk: The Mind behind Tesla, SpaceX, SolarCity ..." Interview by Chris Anderson. TED. TED, Mar. 2013. Web. 10 Apr. 2013. • Newman, Rick. "More Evidence That It's Time to Dump Ethanol." US News. U.S.News & World Report, 31 July 2012. Web. 22 Apr. 2013. • Okulski, Travis. "8 Reasons Why The Electric Car Will Not Be A Success Anytime Soon." Business Insider. Business Insider, 9 Dec. 2011. Web. 10 Apr. 2013. • Romero, Ric. "All-electric Cars Tested for Performance, Distance." KABC-TV Los Angeles. KABC-TV Los Angeles, 23 Jan. 2013. Web. • Shoebridge, Gavin. "Electric Car Conversion Blog." Electric Car Conversion Blog By Gavin Shoebridge RSS. Gavin Shoebridge, 2 Nov. 2011. Web. 21 Apr. 2013. • U.S. Department of Energy. "Alternative Fuels and Advanced Vehicles." Alternative Fuels Data Center. U.S. Department of Energy, 2012. Web. 22 Apr. 2013. • U.S. Department of Energy. "Greenhouse Gas Emissions for Electric and Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicles." Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy. U.S. Department of Energy, 2012. Web. 21 Apr. 2013. • Van Vliet, Oscar, Anne SjoerdBrouwer, Takeshi Kuramochi, Machteld Van Den Broek, and André Faaij. "Energy Use, Cost and CO2 Emissions of Electric Cars." Journal of Power Sources 196.4 (2011): 2298-310. Print.

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