As our society and environment increasingly becomes socially and environmentally aware, more people and organizations have been taking concrete steps to achieve sustainable goals. An example of this is the emergence of electric cars – a technological innovation meant to reduce carbon emissions from fuel-driven vehicles.
Compared to the latter, electric vehicles operate solely on electricity and don’t release harmful fumes into the air that can contribute to the pollution. In turn, this will help improve the health of the people, particularly those living in highly industrialized countries and cities. For this reason, many prospective car owners are leaning into the idea of owning or switching to electric cars instead.
How are Electric Cars Better For Our Environment?
One of the major benefits that come with switching to electric cars is how they can contribute toward improving the quality of air in cities and towns. Unlike traditional cars, electric vehicles have no tailpipe, which means that it doesn’t leave carbon emissions whenever you go out to drive to your destination. This translates to cleaner air for people to breathe and reduced air pollution.
But more than that, electric cars can also mean cleaner streets and roads, which will help make our cities and towns a better area for cyclists and pedestrians alike. Statistics show that a single electric car on the road can already save over 1.5 million grams of carbon dioxide – an amount which is already a total of four return flights coming from London to Barcelona, Spain. This number is especially valuable considering the fact that road transport usually accounts for over half of a city’s air pollution.
For this reason, it’s not surprising why many local councils and governments are advocating to ramp up the number of electric cars on the roads, or why certain grants have been put in place to incentivize the switch from traditional cars to electric cars. This step is also in line with the goal to decrease carbon emissions to net-zero by 2050, and electric cars will be instrumental to achieving that.
Improving Health Outcomes through Electric Cars
Moreover, using electric vehicles will also improve the quality of life of people residing in cities in a sense that it can decrease noise pollution as well. This is particularly applicable for certain cities with generally low speeds. Electric cars come with quieter engines compared to conventional cars, making for a peaceful and noise-free environment for people to live in.
On a greater scale, replacing gas-driven vehicles with electric cars can also reduce pollution-related illness and deaths as well. Gas emissions from the tailpipes of cars are usually among the top causes of most illnesses for people living in cities. This is because these emissions contain fine particulate matter alongside other detrimental compounds at the same time. People in the city can greatly benefit from using electric cars as it can reduce health harms from gaseous emissions.
Making the fleet of cars cleaner is the first step to decongesting the urban spaces as well. In the city, there’s usually a lot of exposure to roadside emissions coming from cars over the course of our entire lives. This is also not to mention the proximity we spend with other people on a day to day basis. Electric cars can pave the way for reducing harmful gasses at street level, contributing to a much healthier air for everyone.
It also goes without saying that no vehicle will be 100 percent clean. Electric cars aren’t an exception, although they’re considered the better choice for our environment as opposed to conventional cars. Cars are still cars, and replacing one for the other wouldn’t immediately resolve problems such as congestion or traffic.
Even so, it’s important to highlight that it’s because of electric cars’ functioning and motors that they’re a more efficient alternative than combustion engines. This means that the majority of the energy being placed in the battery would ultimately be used to drive the car. It means that electric vehicles waste a lot less energy especially when driving around in cities. There’s still some air pollution from the electricity that’s used to power electric cars, although this mainly hails from charging points which potentially have better pollution controls.
What about Electricity Bills and EV Charging Points?
Despite using electricity as a main power source, consumers need not to worry about certain issues such as electricity bills and charging points. While electric vehicles are slowly becoming mainstream, there are still very few of them on the road. There would need to be an expansion in infrastructure to accommodate the growing number of EVs, and the installation of public charging stations as well.
Besides this, EV owners can also expect their electricity bills to increase, but using an electric car will cost you much less than a normal, diesel-powered car. This in itself offsets the high purchase associated with electric cars over the course of using them.
If you’re interested in owning an electric car, there are plenty of options for you to choose from to fit your needs. Before purchasing, make sure to check out reviews like the Kia EV6 review or the Model 3 by Tesla review so you can find the right car to suit your needs.
