Were wasting all our precious helium.

A call for recycling

Electric cars are twice as harmful than conventional

cars to the environment during manufacturing
Published on Mon, Oct 8, 2012 by Tibi Puiu

Post filled in: Environmental Issues, Renewable Energy, Studies

Theres a general belief, most likely resulting from extensive

marketing ploys, that electric cars are the cleanest mean of transportation, and an adoption should be hastily made
in order to save our planet. While its true that electric cars have virtually zero emissions and not even one part per
million of CO2 is released during operation, a new research by scientists at the Norwegian University of Science
and Technology found that electric cars can be twice as harmful to the environment than conventional cars, during
the manufacturing process, while the electricity sourced from fossil fuels needed to power the vehicles harm the
environment also needs to be factored in. The study suggests that electric cars arent that green as previously
thought.

During the researchers extensive analysis, they locked down the life-cycle impact of conventional and electric
vehicles. More precisely, every carbon emission from the very first bolt that goes into a car, until the vehicle rolls
down from the factory to commence operation, to its very dismantlement at the end of the products life has been
taken into account. The findings were surprising.

The production phase of electric vehicles proved substantially more environmentally intensive, the
report said, comparing it to how petrol and diesel cars are made.

The global warming potential from electric vehicle production is about twice that of conventional
vehicles.

The main issue lies in the battery, most often made from toxic materials nickel, copper and aluminium. Scale this to
millions of cars in the world and youve got yourself a frightening acidification potential.

Across the other impacts considered in the analysis including potential for effects related to acid rain,
airborne particulate matter, smog, human toxicity, ecosystem toxicity and depletion of fossil fuel and
mineral resources, electric vehicles consistently perform worse or on par with modern internal
combustion engine vehicles, despite virtually zero direct emissions during operation, according to
co-author Prof Anders Hammer Stromman..
3 of 10 7/31/2013 4:31 PM
 Electric cars are not that green after all

The researchers conclude that electric vehicles significantly pollute the environment before they even get a chance
to hit the streets, and also once operation commences, theyre far from being completely emissions free since in
most countries the electricity which is needed to power such automobiles is generated from fossil fuels. This is not
to say that electric cars are more harmful to the environment than conventional vehicles.

The truth of the matter is, electric cars need to reach an operation threshold for them to become significantly
superior to diesel or petrol powered cars, as well as supplying them with electricity generated from alternative, more
environmental-friendly sources. The researchers estimate that for a life cycle of 200,000 km, electric cars improve
on gas and diesel engines by around 28% and 19% respectively. At 100,000 km however its relative environmental
impact is much larger, and shows an improvement of only 9% and 14%, compared to gas and diesel, respectively. If
the electric car is powered from an area where the electric mix is more environmentally favorable, like in Europe,
an extra 10% boost in favor of the electric car is gained.

As battery life is improved, and production is made more environmentally favorable, electric cars should experience
a significant decrease in their carbon footprint. Now the take away of this study is not that electric cars are bad or,
in extreme cases, worse than diesel or gas powered internal combustion engines, but that the zero emissions vehicle
is a pure myth. Personally, even now despite its shortcomings, I honestly believe a massive shift towards electric
needs to be made. Oil during the extraction process itself causes a lot of harm to the environment, without counting
the social aspects of its exploitation (see wars), not to count the environmental impact it has during its actual
combustion thats a whole different fish soup. Also, greenhouse emissions can be trapped at a coal plant, while
emissions running rampant from an exhaust pipe from hundreds of millions of vehicles around the world can not.
Wind, hydro and solar power sources are increasing their relative margin in the electricity production pie every
year, albeit with slow progress, and anyone with an ounce of reason could see that oil is far from being a sustainable
model it needs to be dropped fast. But its oh-so profitable

A more significant reduction in global warming could potentially be achieved by increasing fuel
efficiency or shifting from petrol to diesel, the report said.

If you are considering purchasing an electric vehicle for its environmental benefits, first check your
electricity source and second look closely at the warranty on the batteries, said Professor Stromman.

Findings were published in the Journal of Industrial Ecology.

Electric Bike Supplies

www.GlobalMarket.com
Contact Certified Manufacturers. Inquire &
Get Quotation Now

Greenland ice core reveals it withstood warmer climate and warns of the future
Carbon negative: removing CO2 altogether from the atmosphere
Bill Gates is paying for artificial clouds to fight greenhouse gases

4 of 10 7/31/2013 4:31 PM