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Breyhauna Johnson
Professor Debra Dagher
UWRT 1102
6 April 2015
The Mass Adoption of Electric Vehicles
The future could be right in front of us, but blinding eyes are blocking our views and
scaring us into believing its so far away. New ideas and even older, transformed ideas are right
in front of us, waiting to be recognized. Electric vehicles arent a new concept, but they could be
the next big thing, if we let them. They could have many upsides, but the downsides are keeping
people from realizing their full potential. I first learned about EVs as a sophomore in high
school. My teacher showed a documentary about them being introduced and then banned right
after in the 1970s. I became interested then, wondering why the government would try to take
away a brilliant idea. I started doing research about this and learned some motives behind the
governments decision. I then applied to the Young Scholars program at NC State to do research
over the summer and got accepted. That summer I worked with NC States Future of Renewable
and Electric Energy Delivery and Management (FREEDM) Systems Center to learn more about
different types of renewable energy, EVs being one of them. I got to experience how they work
and how the charging stations operated in Raleigh. From that moment on, I decided to focus my
career path in the direction of renewable energy. I wanted to do more research this time on the
impact that EVs would have in our world.
Most people today would be affected by the integration of EVs into our society. This
would be a significant change to most peoples daily lives if they chose to own one themselves.

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The integration would impact our homes, cities and our personal lives. People would be saving
more money, as well as learning to adapt to new technologies. They would also experience more
convenience, as they could charge their batteries in their EVs overnight as they slept, not having
to worry about stopping for gas in the morning before work.
The impact that the integration of electric vehicles into society will have depends on
whos asked. Many people are either for electric vehicles or completely against them, while
some are still unsure about them. There are many questions raised on the efficiency of electric
vehicles involving the battery life and time it takes to charge the battery back to full life. There
are also other concerns such as how much change will have to occur in order for electric vehicles
to effectively exist. One of these concerns include having to install charging stations in order for
people to have a place to recharge their batteries other than their homes. Even with charging
stations being installed, the factor of time is still an issue to some people. Stopping at a gas
station to refuel only takes a couple of minutes, while charging your electric vehicle can take
anywhere from six to eight hours when it is completely dead
(http://content.sierraclub.org/EVGuide/myths-vs-reality). While all of these are valid concerns,
on the contrary there are a numerous amount of benefits. Some of these benefits include less
carbon monoxide emissions into our environment, tax benefits from the purchase of an electric
vehicle, and saving lots of money from gasoline expenses. Exploring these concerns and
benefits is a great way to do some research on something that may be effecting the near future.
My interest in electric vehicles started when I was a junior in high school. I heard about
them in my AP Environmental Science class, where my teacher was showing a documentary on
why the electric vehicle was practically banished from the United States in the 1970s. This rose
a lot of suspicion and I started to do my own research. I explored many aspects of renewable

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energy as a whole and really liked the whole concept of electric vehicles. Its another way to use
what we already have and incorporate into something else to make it a more safe and efficient
way to live.

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Works Cited
Michael K. Lim, Ho-Yin Mak, Ying Rong (2015) Toward Mass Adoption of Electric Vehicles:
Impact of the Range and Resale Anxieties. Manufacturing & Service Operations Management
17(1):101-119. http://dx.doi.org/10.1287/msom.2014.0504