Electric Cars are not the Economic or Environmental Answer

Recient graduate, Brett McAllister drives his economical toyota prius to work. (Jake Essman/ The Arbiter)

Electric cars have been hailed as the alternative to gasoline vehicles. Proponents of these vehicles claim that they will reduce air pollution, remove dependency from foreign oil and reduce societies primary carbon footprint. However, questions remain.

Electric cars obviously produce lower emissions than gasoline automobiles, but they still require energy to move down the road. Where does that energy come from?

Currently, according to Mapawatt.com, over 45 percent of all power in the U.S. is produced by coal burning power plants. Critics of electric cars point to the fact that while emissions at the automobile level may decrease, there will be a dramatic increase in pollution created by the multiplied demand of electricity. Also, some claim that the national power grid would need substantial upgrades to keep up with the increase and would require more power plants to be constructed.

Proponents, on the other hand, point to the fact that most people would plug their cars in at night when the power grid could handle such an increase. They also believe over time the coal burning power plants would be replaced by cleaner forms of power production.

This, however, is the kind of pie-in-the-sky thinking that does little for the cause of cleaner air, and energy independence. It should not be assumed that everyone would plug in on the same schedule, or that coal plants will disappear and be replaced by cleaner alternatives. After all, what would those alternative be? Solar power, hydro-power and wind-power are not efficient options, and it is hard to believe the public would clamor for more nuclear or even natural gas power plants.

So what is the answer? Does society keep its dependence on foreign oil regardless of what it does to the environment or economy? Certainly not, however, with the electric car issue it might actually be more of the same–no matter which power production method is used.

A key hidden factor when it comes to electric automobiles is the battery system in the vehicle. The vast majority of these batteries are made using a substance called Lithium. With current demand at fairly low levels it isn’t a problem to produce these batteries. However, as the demand increases, so will the mining and processing of this substance.

William Tahil, a Research Director for Meridian International Research, published a report entitled “The Trouble with Lithium”. He indicates that the world is poised to replace the oil war with the lithium war. Right now, 80 percent of the world’s accessible Lithium supply is located in South America. The shift of power as the need for oil decreases and Lithium increases would be monumental. The energy power center of the middle east would simply be transported to South America, according to Tahil. Ultimately, issues surrounding the production and purchase of Lithium would be eerily similar to what is seen today in the oil market.

Obviously there are a lot of unanswered questions when it comes to electric cars. The U.S. should not just blindly trust these vehicles are the best replacement to modern gasoline automobiles.

So what is the answer? It should be diversification. Hydrogen powered cars are an interesting option, as are multi-powered vehicles using solar, electric, hydrogen and gasoline in various combination. If society truly wants to be responsible it should look at every option, and not just blindly accept electric automobiles as the only answer. They are a great first step, but this shouldn’t be where the quest should end for viable alternatives.

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Posted by Will Sondermann on Feb 16 2012. Filed under Main Feature, Opinion, Opinion Main Feature. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.