Environmental Benefits

Since President Roosevelt passed the first environmental friendly bill, America has been striving to preserve natural resources and minimize pollution. With recent plans for resource preservation and the use of alternative fuel sources, America and the world as a whole have strived to make the environment healthier.

Since emissions given off by automobiles are the largest contributor of carbon monoxide and other greenhouse gasses, the need for more environmentally safe fuel is dire. Electricity is a viable option to powering vehicles. Battery-electric vehicles (BEVs) do not produce any tailpipe emissions. When BEVs are recharged using renewable energy sources like wind, solar, or hydropower, they do not cause any air pollution at all. The Union of Concerned Scientists writes that even if BEVs are recharged with electricity from power plants that use fossil fuels they are up to 99 percent cleaner than conventional vehicles and can cut global warming emissions by as much as 70 percent.

The Financial Express recently interviewed Chetain Kummar Main, noted Michigan and Stanford Alumnus and now Chief Technical Officer of the Reva Electric Car Company. He states that the transportation sector contributes 23% of the carbon dioxide emission globally. If we are to counteract global warming, the electric vehicle is the obvious answer. Zero emissions may be possible only from renewables, but electric vehicles have much lower emissions even using electricity from conventional sources. We have an emission pf 60-70 gm of carbon dioxide per km against an emission of 300-400 gm of carbon dioxide per km emitted by regular cars.

With gasoline prices soaring the electric vehicle is becoming a more cost effective alternative to powering vehicles with fossil fuels. Mr. Main states that typical consumption of current electric vehicles is approximately 10% as compared to a vehicle propelled by fossil fuels.

Recent technological advances in commodities such as lithium batteries and the ever increasing advances in electric technologies are currently bringing electric vehicles to the forefront of global transportation. Companies such as Tesla Motors and now the recently introduced 700 hp Electric Lightning which is produced by the UK’s Lightning Car Company are proving that Electric Vehicles can even outperform gasoline powered vehicles. Miramar High School will continue to research and produce electric powered vehicles which will equal in performance and economy with the likes of such.