Miri Murakami
High School Writing
October 5th, 2024
In the past few decades, electric cars have gained popularity due to their quiet operation, ease of driving, and most importantly, their “eco-friendliness.” As global warming accelerates each year, many people view electric cars as a solution to reduce carbon emissions and slow down global warming. However, numerous studies suggested that electric cars are not good for the environment and they do not represent a comprehensive answer for global warming.
One common argument made by people who favor electric cars is that electric cars are good for the environment because they do not emit carbon dioxide. For example, Toyota Marin, a Toyota dealership company, claimed that electric cars “lower carbon footprint and positively impact the environment” (5 Reasons Why Electric Cars Are Better Than Gas Cars, n.d.). This statement itself is true. However, it overlooks an important fact: a large amount of carbon dioxide is emitted during the process of producing electricity, which is the power source for electric cars. In Japan, about 72% of the energy is produced from thermal power generation, and globally, about 60% of the energy is produced from thermal power generation. Thermal power generation is widely known for its extreme emission of carbon dioxide and is considered as one of the main contributors to global warming. Though electric cars themselves do not emit carbon dioxide, since their power source relies on electricity, which accelerates global warming, they indirectly contribute to global warming.
Another statement from the people who consider electric cars to be eco-friendly is that electric cars require fewer natural resources compared to gasoline cars. Still, we must not ignore the fact that electric batteries, the essential part of an electric car, require rare metals such as lithium-ion, cobalt, nickel, manganese, silicon, and electrolyte, which have the potential of causing disastrous environmental issues when mining and processing. According to Harvard International Review (2021), for mining one ton of rare metal, thirteen kilograms of dust, ten thousand cubic meters of waste gas, seventy-five cubic meters of wastewater, and one ton of radioactive waste are produced. These wastes can cause water pollution, radioactive waste, and the disruption of the ecosystem. In the interview by Nikkei, Toru Okabe, a professor and the director of the University of Tokyo’s Institute of Industrial Science, argues, “EV batteries and motors contain large quantities of rare metals… [and] the process of mining the ores from underground and extracting useful metal produces vast amounts of harmful material. You generate hundreds of times as much waste just to make one vehicle” (Matsumoto, 2024). From these statements, it is clear that the production of electric cars carries the risk of enormous harm to the environment.
Moreover, the manufacturing process of electric cars, from production to disposal, is extremely harmful to the environment and causes many negative effects. Car production requires resources such as rubber, glass, plastic, steel, and paints, all of which harm the environment during production and processing. Once the cars are made, they again contribute to carbon dioxide emissions since they will be shipped to many countries around the world. Even after the life of the car ends, it remains harmful to the environment since cars are hard to dispose of, and many of them end up in landfills, emitting toxic chemicals and contaminating the ground.
Electric cars are not as good for the environment as people consider them to be; actually, they are the polar opposite of eco-friendliness. Traditional gasoline-powered cars cause huge damage to the environment as well. Regardless of type or power source, the car itself is extremely toxic and destructive, and it is crucial to accept this reality and reconsider our current lives based on motorization. In the United States, there were 290 million cars in 2020, among a population of 330 million, meaning there is nearly one car per person. The population of the world is 8 billion, and if countries worldwide achieved similar levels of motorization as the United States, there would be around 7.2 billion cars on the planet.
It is important to take a broader perspective and question the necessity of cars in our daily lives. If motorization progresses and society becomes dependent on cars globally, it is evident that our environment will not be able to accommodate such numbers of cars, whether they are electric or gasoline-powered. The environment will surely be destroyed by the intense demand for energy sources such as fuels and electricity and polluted by chemicals. It is necessary to rethink the current car-dependent society and shift towards creating communities that rely less on cars.
Many people buy electric cars thinking that they are good for the environment and a viable solution for reducing carbon dioxide emissions. Even though electric cars can overcome one of the shortcomings—the emission of carbon dioxide during operations—they cause other problems, such as increasing the demand for electricity and potential harm to the environment by mining rare metals, and will never be the fundamental solution for the environment. Instead of being swayed by marketing trends, buzzwords, and advertisements of car industries, it is necessary to have a more sustainable lifestyle and reconsider the dependence on motorized vehicles.
Word count: 868
References
Cook, D., & Jenshel, L. (n.d.). The environmental impacts of cars explained. National Geographic. Retrieved October 4, 2024.
Dickert, C. (2023, September 10). What Electricity Sources Power the World? Visual Capitalist. Retrieved October 3, 2024.
The Environmental Impact of Shipping a Vehicle by Sea. (n.d.). JCS Global. Retrieved October 4, 2024.
5 Reasons Why Electric Cars Are Better Than Gas Cars. (n.d.). Toyota Marin. Retrieved September 25, 2024.
Hyatt, K. (2024, April 5). What are electric car batteries made of? Edmunds. Retrieved October 3, 2024.
León, M. A., & Roshan, O. (2023, September 8). The rare earth problem: Sustainable sourcing and supply chain challenges. Circularise. Retrieved October 3, 2024.
Matsumoto, S. (2024, February 2). Let's get real about EVs' environmental impact, rare metal expert says. Nikkei Asia. Retrieved October 3, 2024.
Nayar, J. (2021, August 12). Not So “Green” Technology: The Complicated Legacy of Rare Earth Mining. Harvard International Review. Retrieved October 5, 2024.
2022 Share of Electricity from Renewable Energy Sources in Japan (Preliminary). (2024, February 14). Institute for Sustainable Energy Policies. Retrieved October 3, 2024.
Yacobucci, B. D. (2022, August 29). Critical Minerals in Electric Vehicle Batteries. CRS Reports. Retrieved September 25, 2024.