Christine Morales
6-7-07
English 145
Paper 6
Electric Vehicles: Are They Worth It?
ÒAn electric vehicle is not for everybody, it can only meet the needs of 90% of the population.Ó – Ed Begley Jr. from ÒWho Killed the Electric Car?Ó
As Ed Begley Jr. humorously stated, a majority of the population that use a gasoline vehicle to travel in their day to day commutes can just as easily convert to an electric vehicle. Paired with rising gas prices and discouraging information about global warming, it is hard to understand why electric vehicles are only used by a small percent of the population and why car companies choose not to mass produce additional models that are more affordable and efficient. The technology to build reasonably priced and effective electric vehicles is available today and many organizations have taken the steps to creating a sustainable environment by purchasing electric vehicles for their employees to use at work. For example, institutions like Cal Poly have adopted this technology by buying a number of electric vehicles for staff use on campus. This is just one of the many things that are being done to fulfill the campusÕ goal of sustainability.
Throughout the past few years many economic and environmental factors have shown that electric vehicles can be an effective alternative to the typical gas powered vehicles. In recent months, the price for gasoline has increased considerably especially in California and because of this the electric vehicle can be a money saving form of transportation. An electric vehicle is a car powered by an electric motor, the motorÕs controller, and batteries rather then an internal combustion gasoline engine (Brain, HowStuffWorks.com) and the beauty of this design is that they are fully dependent on electricity rather than gasoline. According to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, Americans drive an average of 29 miles per day and an electric vehicle can run between 60 and 120 miles per charge (WhoKilledtheElectricCar?.com). On top of the rising gas prices, gas powered vehicles also release a lot of carbon dioxide into the environment, which is arguably one of the main contributors to global warming. According to WhoKilledtheElectricCar.com a gallon of gas burned by a gasoline powered vehicle adds roughly 19 pounds of carbon dioxide to the air. Since the electric car uses no gasoline, they emit little to no carbon dioxide making it an environmentally friendly alternative form of transportation.
However, some
debate has surfaced surrounding the practicality of owning an electric vehicle.
One reason is due to the battery, more specifically the battery life of the
vehicles. The batteries used in most electric vehicles are heavy (usually 1,000
pounds or more), bulky, have limited capacity, are slow to charge, have a short
life, and they are expensive to replace (Brain, HowStuffWorks.com). But new technology has emerged with
better batteries such as the nickel-metal hydride battery which are able to
travel 100-120 miles per charge and lithium ion batteries which can travel as
far as 250 miles per charge and each battery only needs a short amount of time
to fully charge. However, since
there are very few models of electric vehicles available, these batteries are
still very expensive (about $10,000), but with greater demand, the price could
be reduced by half (WhoKilledTheElectricCar.com). Additionally, most Americans only drive 29 miles per day and
the battery life of all the electric cars can last two to three times as many
miles. The price of buying an electric
vehicle is also another reason why some people choose not to own one. The typical price range is between
$10,000 for an electric cart (Hunter, Mark) and $60,000 for car
(carreviews.com). There are also
very few models and colors to chose from.
But just like the batteries, with greater demand the price for the car
itself could be reduced drastically.
Sustainability has been getting more and more attention at the Cal Poly campus. It can be defined as Òmeeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needsÓ (Cal Poly Catalog). One way that Cal Poly is achieving this goal is by using electric cars. The electric car meets the transportation needs of Cal PolyÕs staff in the present and they are also preserving the environment for the future by not contributing any more carbon emissions than they have to. According to Mark Hunter, the director of the facility services at Cal Poly, each department uses the cars/ carts in various ways. For example, the landscapers, maintenance workers, and custodial staff use the carts to haul equipment, trash, and to respond to maintenance or custodial calls. The administrative staff also uses them for general transportation around campus.
To abide by Cal PolyÕs policy of reducing dependence on fossil fuels, the facility services management team decided to buy a number of electric carts and cars along with transitioning as much of their fleet to environmentally friendly alternatives one of their main operating goals for the next few years (Hunter, Mark). And slowly but surely the facility services management team has done just that. According to the 2006 Biennial Progress Report, by 2005, over 18% of the total fleet had been converted to electric, LPG (liquid petroleum gas), or other alternative fuel vehicles. With this conversion, the campus has prevented hundreds of pounds of carbon dioxide from entering the air thus creating a sustainable environment for future generations to come.
The facility services management teamÕs decision to demote considerable funds to electric vehicles has met some criticisms. According to Mark Hunter, Òeach electric car ranges between $10,000 and $30,000Ó and some people wonder whether the cars are worth the high price tag. These critics argue that the campus could use other forms of fuel more readily available such as hybrid cars and biodisel and use the remaining money for other sustainable goals. But Mark Hunter is confident with the management teamÕs decision and explains that Òbiodiesel is not a viable form of fuel because the campus does not own any diesel vehicles.Ó Furthermore, there are hybrid cars on campus, but they can cost just as much as electric vehicles and they still partly rely on gas which means that they still emit carbon dioxide. ÒElectricity is just more readily available and the electric cars are more environmentally friendlyÓ (Hunter, Mark). Even though electric vehicles can be more expensive, in the long run, they are helping conserve the planet we live on and no one can put a price on that.
Price isnÕt the only issue creating controversy, but the duration of the battery life in the carts and cars cause apprehension for most people. However, a majority of the Cal Poly employees interviewed that have driven the cars and/ or carts are confident that the battery will last their entire shift. In fact, according to Manolito Morales, a facilities employee, the cars and carts are virtually silent, easier to maneuver around campus, and donÕt leave behind any smog unlike the gas powered carts and cars. The only concern that some employees expressed wasnÕt about the cars/carts itself but more about their co workers forgetting to plug the carts/cars in at the end of their shifts. Overall, most employees that have used the electric vehicles on campus have only good things to say about them and when asked whether they would like to own one themselves, most of them said yes, if they were a little less expensive. Manolito sums it up when he states that Òbasically, I treat the electric cars on campus the same way I treat my cell phone. When they first came out, I thought that I would always forget to charge it and that it was a very inconvenient task to have to continually charge something, but the advantages of carrying a cell phone around out weighed the inconvenience, just like the advantages of driving an electric car out weights the inconvenience of charging one.Ó
If Cal PolyÕs sustainable transportation program continues to flourish in the next few years, it can become an eye opening example of a successful conversion from gas powered vehicles to other environmentally friendly means of transportation for other universities. Also this conversion can show the residents of the city of San Luis Obispo and other cities around the country that electric vehicles are not just a car that future generations can use, but is a reliable form of transportation for most Americans today. The battery in most electric cars has shown to last longer than the demands of a normal dayÕs work for most Cal Poly employees and the numbers show that they can also last a normal dayÕs commute inside the city of San Luis Obispo. Furthermore, there are many charging stations around the city that are just begging to be used again. If the public demands more electric vehicles, the automobile industry will have no choice but to produce more models in every shape, color, and price range to meet the demand. On top of all that, if everyone drove an electric vehicle to work or school hundreds of thousands of pounds of carbon would never reach the environment leaving future generations with cleaner and safer air to breath.
Works Cited
Brain, Marshall. ÒHow Electric Cars Work.Ó HowStuffWorks.com. 19 May 2007
<http://auto.howstuffworks.com/electric-car6.htm >.
ÒHondaEVPlus.Ó CarReview.com. 19 May 2007
<http://www.carreview.com/mfr/honda/midsizecompact/PRD_259_1531crx.
aspx>.
Lienert, Dan. ÒThe WorldÕs Fastest Electric Car.Ó Forbs.com. 3 June 2007
<http://www.forbes.com/resourceful/2003/10/21/cx_dl_1021vow.html>.
Morales, Manolito. Personal
Interview. 26 May 2007.
Multari, Michael, ÒTransportation.Ó Biennial Progress Report 2006. 19 May 2007
<http://www.facilities.calpoly.edu/campusprojects/projects/sustainability/SusInd06.pdf>.