How could electric cars help the environment?

Question

How do you think electric cars could help the environment and make a better future?

Answer 1

It would put a lot of oil field workers out of work.  What are you thinking???

Answer 2

They dont use up as much gas. Then there wont be so much pollution.

Answer 3

They could reduce our dependence on foreign oil as well as reduce carbon emissions, but lots of them would have to be adopted to have much of an effect.  Also, the batteries that are in them dramatically effect the environment; both where the nickel is mined and how they are disposed of.

Answer 4

Less noise pollution - a major stress factor;

Less particulate pollution - diesels kills thousands each year;

Less off-gassing from perol pumps;

Less vunerable distribution network of tankers & forecourts (& less light pollution from petrol stations)

Less hazardous refineries;

Less pollution by exploration & extraction (see recent story http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23923994/), especially in environmentally sensitive areas

Plus more enjoyable driving experience smooth, quiet & smell free; very efficient transmission system giving maximum torque for 0rpm from cold;

Less maintenance, less engine & gearbox oils; coolants & antifreeze; catalyctic exahusts, no lead-acid starter batteries.

By "intelegent" recharging at home or work can optimise the existing electric grid and provide distributed back up for high demand or power failure http://www.acpropulsion.com/technology/v... plus an incentive for home generators from renewable energy sources.

Answer 5

There's a range of alternative options for vehicles and even within the umbrella of electric cars there are lots of types.

If you are charging a battery car with solar panels then you are not producing CO2 to drive the vehicle.  If however you are using the coal fired mains grid to charge it, then there is still pollution.

Mind you the petrol Internal Combustion Engine is only 25% efficient (the rest of the energy is lost as heat) so even using coal mains electricity is bound to be better.

Then there is the issue of other pollutants.  Petrol engines not only emit  CO2 but also CO, NOx, unburnt hydrocarbons and other nasties.  These are all significant polluters.  Electric cars avoid this problem too.

One other option is a fuel powered vehicle that uses a fuel cell instead of an engine to produce electric current to drive the vehicle.  This still uses a combustible fuel, like methanol, but it does not burn it; it reacts it in a controlled environment and harnesses the electron flow that occurs in the reaction.  The result is more efficient fuel use and much cleaner emissions.  This type of technology can seriously out perform petrol engines for the amount of fuel used.

Answer 6

Help Global environment because greenhouse gases are polluting our environment from our gas that is burned from coal

Answer 7

Chevys 2009's are starting out with the hybrids, and its really exciting to see auto makers leaning towards the Prius trend.

My hat goes off to Toyota.

The manufacturing process of the nickel batteries I heard is

producing a stink somewhere and some believe that the difference wont be much, but even the process itself Im sure can be improved far better than just refining gas over and over to keep the Co2 emissions down.

I beleive we are now just seeing a trend starting with just a few electric cars but as the numbers grow the outcome of

enviormental problems will definetely show in the end and the impact will come from the manufacturing end as well as

recyling.

Answer 8

Yup, it helps reduce carbon emission. Think about it, normal cars burn fuel to produce energy to move the car and carbon dioxide gas.

Electric cars too need energy which comes from a power station.(Burning fuel to get energy and produces carbon dioxide gas) However, when one uses electric car instead of a normal car, with the same amount of energy, there is less carbon dioxide gas being produce.

It helps by reducing the amount of green house gases. Green house gases are the gases which absorb more heat, thus causing and increase in tempuratue in the atmostsphere.

Answer 9

We have a better chance of creating electricity through

Wind and Solar and Geo Thermal which makes sense, so electric cars works the best!!  This will save oil reserves

by leaving them in the ground, and stop using them..

Answer 10

they help protect the environment because the will not pollute the air and they could save you some money because you don't have to buy gas