Op-Ed

Are Electric Cars Good or Bad

By: Daniel L., Guriq S., and Viaan P.

Have you ever driven in an electric car? Maybe your parents even own one. Now, have you ever wondered if electric cars do any good? Many news headlines and articles have praised electric cars for “helping keep the ecosystem safe and clean.” But what is the truth about electric cars, and are car companies just lying?

What are electric cars?

Electric cars are only powered by electric motors. Instead of putting gas in the car, they are charged with electricity. They only use high voltage Direct Current power, and a thermal cooling system so that the electricity doesn’t blow up the car. Most components are in the front, while only the traction battery pack is right below where we sit. The traction battery pack reserves electricity for the electric traction motor. The onboard charger converts Alternate Current into Direct Current. It also communicates with charging equipment and monitors the battery’s characteristics.

The Praise of Electric Cars

Many people praise electric vehicles. They are good for the environment and do not pollute the environment.

Tailpipe emission or not?

First, electric vehicles have no tailpipe emissions. Generating the electricity used to charge vehicles may create carbon pollution. The amount varies widely based on how local power is generated, using coal or natural gas creating carbon pollution, or renewable resources like wind or solar, which do not create carbon pollution.

Even considering these electricity creations, research shows that an electric vehicle is usually responsible for lower levels of greenhouse gasses than an average gas car. Also, more renewable energy sources like wind and solar are used to create electricity, and the greenhouse gasses related to electric vehicles could be even lower. This is because of the additional energy required to manufacture an EV’s battery.

Still, over the vehicle's lifetime, total greenhouse emissions associated with manufacturing, charging, and driving an EV are typically lower than the total greenhouse gasses associated with a gasoline car. That’s because electric cars have zero tailpipe emissions and are typically responsible for significantly fewer greenhouse gasses, during operation.

Safety Features

Moreover, EVs are designed with additional safety features that shut down the electrical system when they detect a collision or short circuit. According to driveclean.ca.gov, they save around $700 bucks per year. There is also less maintenance and faster acceleration because of the electric motor. Also, all light-duty cars and trucks sold in the United States must meet the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards. To meet these standards,

vehicles must undergo an extensive, long-established testing process, regardless of whether the vehicle operates on gasoline or electricity. Separately, EV battery packs must meet their testing standards.

The Dark Side of Electric Cars

Many people are told that electric cars are good for the environment and are way better than all other cars. Have you ever thought about how electric cars may have some bad parts?

Is Battery Production Good or Bad?

Electric cars use lithium-ion batteries. Creating these batteries involves extracting and processing lithium, cobalt, and nickel. This makes an enormous carbon footprint and uses valuable natural resources that take years to form. For example, nickel takes 200 years to form. People also use dynamite to mine these resources, which causes carbon emissions

It is estimated that there are 51,000 charging stations in America. This makes a charging station every 75 miles, but in small towns, there are fewer. Also, the places with charging stations may only have one so if multiple people need to charge, they might need to take turns, which could take hours, and if they go on without charging the car, the car can run out of battery. This makes it harder for people to drive long distances which causes stress when your battery is about to run out. If you are in a normal car there are gas stations everywhere, so there is no stress. It is also bad because when you run out of battery, the car will stop and be a towing issue.

Battery leakage is it safe?

Lastly, even though the batteries of the EVs are tested before use, if you get in a car crash the battery in the car might leak. When these batteries leak it can cause your whole car to stop. Even worse, your car can catch fire or even explode. This can cause even worse car accidents on the road.

Even what you call a “small” car crash can be a big explosion with electric vehicles. This can kill people both inside and outside the car. Also, when the battery burns,it releases fumes that can damage your lungs, heart, nose, and throat. Some bigger explosions can cause damage to internal organs including your brain and kidneys. It can also burn your skin and eyes. These fumes can also kill animals and poison water.

These battery fumes can trap air in our atmosphere more than carbon dioxide. They are similar to the fumes of a nuclear bomb or missile and can destroy the environment. To add on, when the car explodes, it can damage the cooling system which will result in electric shock that can severely hurt or even kill people.

What do people think about Electric Vehicles?

Students had mixed reviews about electric cars. When we asked Arielle, a fifth-grade student, she responded, “I think they are bad because if you get in a car crash, you can get locked up, and if it goes on fire then you can die.”

Aryan, also a fifth-grade student, responded, “I think they are bad because in their batteries they use rare materials.”

Mr. Duggan, our principal, said, “I think they are good for the environment [because] we use more fossil fuels than needed.”

When we asked Sanjay, a 5th-grade student he said, “I think they are good for the environment and they do not emit greenhouse gasses.

Conclusion

Overall, these are all the pros and cons of electric cars. They don’t have tailpipe emissions, they have less carbon pollution. They are mostly safer than gas-powered cars, even if there are fewer charging stations. Unfortunately, if the car battery leaks, your car can blow up. Now what do you think? Do you want an electric car? Or are you towards the gas-powered car side?

Sources:

Recess in Schools

By: Sannibh B. & Anurag M.

What’s everyone’s favorite time in school? Recess, of course! Recess is everyone’s time to relax, interact with friends, and blow off steam. But, some schools are cutting recess. Why?

First of all, Recess is a regularly scheduled period of school hours for physical activity and play that is monitored by trained staff or volunteers. Schools want to focus more on academic subjects such as math or reading. Many students are not doing well in either of these subjects. Not only that, music, gym, and art…they’re all being slowly shortened or gone altogether. What’s happening here is that these extracurricular activities are being pushed out of the way because the schools feel like they need to have their students do more academic activities. The schools are saying that academics are more important than extracurriculars.

Next, the schools that still have recess are increasing the number of rules kids have to follow during recess. When we go inside and line up, it takes us a while and that is just wasting time. Whenever recess

ends, the whistle blows five minutes or ten minutes earlier. Then lunch and recess time is about 42 minutes, each and split in half.

Recess is 21 minutes but with the whistle, recess is probably 16, and during early dismissals, it might be eleven minutes. time would add up!

Also, at Menlo Park, kids have a set of rules to follow. The school board makes the rules and the lunch aides make sure we follow them. Some of the rules are no climbing on trees or playground equipment, no going into the woods, and no aggressive play.

Kids at Menlo Park feel that recess is getting shorter. Viaan. P, A fifth grader says, “I think it’s getting shorter…because in first grade we had 30 minutes.”

Samara, a fourth grader, agrees that recess feels shorter. She says, “Because like um we usually play tag but these days we have little time.”

Recess is very important for kids. It allows them to take a break from a classroom environment and from putting their brains to use all day. During recess, kids exercise and get active. After they come back from recess, they are more ready to start learning since they’re already energetic.

Studies show that kids who had recess compared to those who did not were more likely to excel academically. Researchers have also found that kids' recess triggers the brain to produce chemicals that are good for the body. With recess, this may happen. So, you may ask, what is better for kids? No recess or recess staying? What will you choose?

In conclusion, recess is getting shorter by the day for many people around the world including Menlo Park. In interviews, everybody said that recess is getting shorter. We believe that Menlo Park should have more recess time so kids can play more.

Which Is Better: Band OR Orchestra?

By: Sanvi V.

Have you ever wondered which one is better: Band or Orchestra? Both of them contain amazing groups of instruments, and all together, the sounds of both groups are amazing! We all love visiting the concerts in which they play amazing music thanks to the teachers, Mrs. Bischocho and Ms. Ferrali, but, which one is ACTUALLY better?

Let’s hear it from some of the students who play the instruments themselves!

Shruthika J. who plays viola, says, “I would pick orchestra because personally, I just think it’s easier, even though it’s not. Cello is hard, and so is violin, but viola is probably the easiest out of them. I think since I am in orchestra, it maybe would have influenced my decision, but I would pick orchestra nevertheless, because I’ve heard my friends doing orchestra, and I really like it!”

Sannibh B., who plays violin, says, “My favorite group is Orchestra because I like the way the string instruments sound. I play violin, and I think it influenced my choice. if i didn't play an instrument, I would play orchestra because I just like it better.

Arwin E., who plays clarinet, says, “I like Band because it has a true beat, while the Orchestra doesn’t have any rhythm. I think playing clarinet didn’t influence my choice, I just like Band better. If i didn’t play any instruments, I would still pick Band, because my older brother plays band, and I could duet with him.”

Daniel L., who plays saxophone, says, “Band is better because it has more variations. And we could press the buttons when the Orchestra has to hold the bow. I think it did influence my choice because I am in Band. Even if I didn't play an instrument, I would still choose band over orchestra.”

So, all in all, the debate for band vs. orchestra is equal, without any definite winner. However, many people were biased toward their instrument group, so the real number is still being determined. However, both of the groups are amazing, and they both have many, many reasons why they are better!

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