Are electric vehicles the new transportation of the future?

Are electric vehicles the way of the future? How efficient are they? How do they affect the environment? Electric vehicles are the way of the future. President Joe Biden and many car companies are trying to push out electric cars and stop the sale of gas cars by the year 2035. California has already pulled through with this, and New York is the next in line. However, with new plans come many different perspectives. Authors are writing articles expressing their opinions and explaining President Joe Biden‘s plan. The authors are Paula Froelich, who wrote the article, “NY state to ban the sale of new gas-powered cars and trucks by 2035,”, Spencer Bokat-Lindell, who wrote the article “Can America Really Drive Its Way Out of Climate Change?” Hiroko Tabuchi and Brad Plume wrote the article titled “How Green Are Electric Vehicles?” and Jack Ewing, who wrote the article called “President Biden sets a goal of 50 percent electric vehicle sales by 2030”. These authors mainly agree with President Joe Biden’s plan, but some speculate on the downsides and the harmful effects of electric vehicles on the environment. 

Should New York State join California in banning the sale of gas cars and trucks by the year 2035? The author, Paula Froelich, wrote the article, “NY state to ban the sale of new gas-powered cars and trucks by 2035,” argues that they should be gone, and she expresses Governor Hochul’s plan to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions affecting our climate and to reach our ambitious goals. Author Paula Froelich is a credible source due to the many and accurate articles in her author archive. She has written a lot about nature and has also written a bit about politics. Some others might disagree with Froelich and Biden because they have speculations about electric cars and trucks. Some of these might be the lack of popularity, increase in electric bills, high purchase price, and charging times. The emissions are creating a negative impact on the environment every day. They emit carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere. They contribute to 20% of the United States’ total global warming pollution. These greenhouse gasses trap heat in the air, which can cause the global temperature to rise drastically over the next couple of years. She is making this article to bring awareness to anyone willing to purchase or continue purchasing gas vehicles in the future. She is making it to inform the citizens and residents of New York who drive cars. Also, the genre of this article is a newspaper article. The author is against pollution because she agrees with the subject because of how much gas cars contribute to pollution. At the beginning of the article, she expresses the ban in an excited tone. In the article, it states, “Gas guzzlers, be gone! Say goodbye to your beloved pickup truck. Legislation recently signed by Gov. Kathy Hochul bans the sale of new gas-powered cars and trucks by 2035.” (Froelich, New York Post). To conclude, the author strongly agrees with the perspective of Governor Hochul, and she is creating the article to inform people.

Can America find a way out of climate change? The author Spencer Bokat-Lindell wrote the article “Can America Really Drive Its Way Out of Climate Change?” about transferring from gas vehicles to mainly using eclectic vehicles across America. Also, about President Joe Biden signing an executive order promising that by 2030, half of all new vehicles sold in the U.S. will be electric. Gasoline-powered vehicles are the most significant single source of greenhouse gases in the United States, accounting for more than a quarter of the country’s total emissions. “The U.N. Secretary-General said, “must sound a death knell for coal and fossil fuels before they destroy our planet.” (Bokat-Lindell, New York Times). He is a reliable source/ author because he has written many other articles, and he cites some reliable tweets and quotes. He writes mainly about the economy, Congress, and politics. He wrote this article to provide information about the future of electric vehicles and climate change reduction. This article was written in an informative tone and the audience of this article is anyone from America that drives a gas-powered car or is planning on buying it in the future. The genre of the article is a newspaper article. The author hints towards him being on the side that gas cars are bad and E.V.’s (Electric Vehicles) are better for the environment. “Gas-powered vehicles are the biggest single source of greenhouse gases in the United States, accounting for more than a quarter of the country’s total emissions.” (Bokat-Lindell). 

How environmentally friendly are electric cars? The authors Hiroko Tabuchi and Brad Plume wrote an article titled “How Green Are Electric Vehicles?” and it talks about how environmentally friendly electric cars are. The authors’ audience is anyone that wants to buy an electric vehicle. The author wrote this article in an informative tone. The author’s purpose in writing this article is to inform people on the downsides of electric vehicles. This is because although electric vehicles are great, they still take a lot to make. The genre of this article is a newspaper article. In the article, it says as much “…as 70 percent of the world’s cobalt supply is mined in the Democratic Republic of Congo, a substantial proportion in unregulated “artisanal” mines.”(Tabuchi and Plume, New York Times). The water required for producing batteries has meant that manufacturing electric vehicles is about 50 percent more water-intensive than traditional internal combustion engines. Manufacturers need to work with these mines to lessen their environmental footprint and make sure miners are working in safe conditions, a human rights expert says. But if they don’t, “they will put the environment, and many, many miners’ lives at risk.”It is mentioned in the article that they can hurt the environment in different ways, such as the use of electricity, what materials are used, and questioning what will happen to all the batteries that need to be recycled. Around the world, governments and car companies are pushing and marketing electric vehicles to the public to combat oil use and fight climate change. They plan to cut the sales of gas-powered trucks and cars as soon as the year 2035. Many motor vehicle companies are preparing to cut gas vehicle sales by pushing out new all-electric vehicles. As stated earlier, although electric vehicles might be a better alternative, they might still have their downsides. The authors are making this article in order to inform everyone on a topic that is not mentioned, but many people might have questions about it. How safe are electric vehicles for the environment? I believe that the authors think that electric vehicles are the better alternative but still want to push out that electric cars aren’t perfect for the environment either. “Like many other batteries, the lithium-ion cells that power most electric vehicles rely on raw materials — like cobalt, lithium, and rare earth elements — that have been linked to grave environmental and human rights concerns. Cobalt has been especially problematic.” (Tabuchi and Plume, New York Times). As they said, the batteries used in electric vehicles are taking up some raw materials that bring out concerns of the environment. 

Will America increase in electric vehicle sales by 50% before the year 2030? Well, Biden is pushing out a plan to have this happen so that America will become more healthy environmentally. The author Jack Ewing wrote an article about this called “President Biden sets a goal of 50 percent electric vehicle sales by 2030” in the New York Times, and it explains Biden’s plan. It is mainly about the Biden administration’s target, which is generally in line with what the major American carmakers have set for themselves. Virtually all major U.S. automakers, as well as numerous foreign automakers, endorsed the plan. However, they described the target as 40 percent to 50 percent electric vehicles., increase in electric bills, high purchase price, and charging times. In June, less than 4 percent of new cars sold in the United States were pure electric vehicles or plug-in hybrids. “Electric vehicles account for a much higher share of auto sales in Europe and China because of incentives for consumers and government regulation.” (Ewing, New York Times). He is a reliable source because he has written a lot about the economy and the future of cars. The audience is anyone that lives in America and drives. Ford, Stellantis(Owns Jeep and Chrysler), and General Motors all said in an interview, “We look forward to working with the Biden administration, Congress, and state and local governments to enact policies that will enable these ambitious objectives.” (Ewing, New York Times). The author’s purpose in writing this article is to inform people of Biden’s plan to get more electric cars sold to the public. His tone is also informative. The genre of this article is a newspaper article. I believe that the author agrees with Biden and his plan. “Electric vehicles account for a much higher share of auto sales in Europe and China because of incentives for consumers and government regulation. In June, less than 4 percent of the new cars sold in the United States were pure electric vehicles or plug-in hybrids” (Ewing, New York Times). Many of these authors agree with Biden‘s plan because they want the best for the environment. As stated earlier, Paula Froelich, Spencer Bokat-Lindell, and Jack Ewing all strongly agree with President Joe Biden’s plan. However, authors Hiroko Tabuchi and Brad Plume still question how much better electric cars are for the environment. 

In conclusion, electric vehicles aren’t all that new, but there are still many things that we have to learn about them. President Joe Biden and many car companies are trying to push out electric cars and stop the sale of gas cars by the year 2035. They claim that electric vehicles are the transportation of the future.

Sources

Article 1 – NY state to ban the sale of new gas-powered cars and trucks by 2035

https://nypost.com/2021/09/11/ny-state-to-ban-the-sale-of-new-gas-cars-and-trucks-by-2035/

Article 2 – Can America Really Drive Its Way Out of Climate Change?

Article 3 – How Green Are Electric Vehicles?

Article 4 – President Biden sets a goal of 50 percent electric vehicle sales by 2030