Fix RP5

Electric vehicles and climate change

Student’s Name: Abdulelah Althuwaini

Electric vehicles and climate change

This research paper regards electric vehicles and climate change. In other words, it explores the contributions production, use {M: comma} and general adoption of electric vehicles will make towards the fight against the problem of climate change. That said, the research question this paper was investigating was: what meaningful contributions will the production and use of electric cars make towards the fight against the scourge of climate change? Investigation of this research question is very important because it shows what efforts are being made through innovation to fight against the problem of climate change.

To understand the significance of this research question, it is also important to first put into perspective the problem {U: missing preposition} climate change. However, before going any further, it is important to understand what climate change is and how it is problem. Well, in simple terms, climate change is any significant abnormal change happening in the long term regarding the expected patterns of average weather. The effects of such abnormal changes in the expected patterns of weather can be devastating to the community and the world at large, more especially if temperature increases above 2o C in any given region. So, given the possibility of devastating impacts of climate change, it is important to find sustainable solutions to the global problem of climate change. To understand better the significance of the research question in this paper, it is equally important to explain briefly the impacts of climate change.

Apparently, climate change is associated with global warming. It should be understood up front that global warming is changing the climate of the world and that such change in climate is causing serious consequences. Due to the effects of climate change, some regions of the world are experiencing worsening extreme weather events, which have been brought about by rising temperatures. Also, chunks of ice have broken apart in broken apart {U: repetition} in the Antarctic {M: comma} and this is explaining why there is {U: subject-verb agreement} frequent avalanches causing loss of life to people and animals and destruction of the environment around that region. At the same time, the effects of climate change have lead {U: frequently confused words} to the bleaching of coral reefs. This means that oceans are acidifying faster causing death of aquatic life. Additionally, climate change is causing seasons of wild fires that are spreading faster and longer with climate change. A good example of this effect is evidenced in the United States of America where the frequency of wild fires has increased over the years. {U: comma splice} in addition to the frequency of wild fires, the length of such fires have {U: subject-verb agreement} worsened across the country where wild fires are taking three to four months than they used to take in the past decades. Another effect of climate change is the increased spread of diseases by mosquitoes because climate change has enabled mosquitoes to expand their territories. To understand this point better, it should be understood that the recent outbreak of Zika virus is associated with mosquitoes. More interesting is the fact that {U: missing word } are areas where zika {M: capital} virus has hit the most are the areas where the temperatures have been hotter than usual. Areas such as Brazil and Colombia are good examples of areas where climate change has hit most. Looking at the behavior of mosquitoes carrying the zika {M: capital} virus, they tend to become hungrier as temperatures rise. So, they tend to bite more {M: comma} thus spreading diseases which cause health concerns and even death. All these explanation {U: -s} goes {U: subject-verb agreement} to illustrate the serious impacts of climate change and why there is need for solutions. And this shows the significance of investigating the research question in this research paper.

Having introduced this paper by showing the significance of the research question being investigated in this paper, it is time to investigate how electric cars can make meaningful contributions towards the fight against the problem of climate change. The section that follows is dedicated to this investigation. That said, this research paper progresses further as follows.

The United States of America, just like other parts of the world {M: comma} are {U: subject-verb agreement} experiencing the effects of climate change. And climate change has been caused by carbon emissions causing pollution to the environment. In fact, approximately 60% of carbon pollution affecting Americans is coming from transportation and power or energy. Unfortunately, "power is decarbonating quite fast causing a great concern for America and Americans" (Hill, et al, 2019). To understand better the seriousness of this concern, it should be understood that both the energy and the transportation sectors contribute accumulatively about 60% of the country's emission of greenhouse gases. More specifically, the transportation sector contributes about 30% of the greenhouse emissions while the power production sector contributes the same levels of greenhouse emissions just like the transportation sector does. Innovations in the transport sector, more especially the development of electric vehicles {M: comma} is {U: subject-verb agreement} a great effort towards addressing the concern of the greenhouse gas emission. This is not to say that the development and gradual adoption of the electric vehicles will eliminate greenhouse gas emissions into the environment {M: comma} but it can contribute greatly towards the reduction of these emissions compared to use of internal engine combustion fossil fueled vehicles.

America has both electricity generating plants as well as coal plants. However, the broader adoption and use of electricity has seen carbon pollution from electricity falling fast. This explains why coal energy cannot compete with electric energy. This can be explained from the fact that the power sector is decarbonizing quite fast. This is the case because some areas have rapidly adopted solar and wind energy due to their provision of cheaper options to operating coal plants in those regions.

Electric car companies like Tesla understand the significance of using clean energy. That is why they are producing cleaner electric vehicles that are using cleaner energy. In as much as it is difficult or tricky to compare carbon emissions between electric vehicles and internal combustion gasoline and diesel engine powered vehicles, statistics from the department {M: capital} of energy {M: capital} approximates that carbon emissions from electric cars, {M: no comma} is 60% lower compared to the carbon pollution from the other fossil fueled vehicles. Important to note is the fact that greenhouse gas emissions will only continue to decline as long as the country and the world at large continues {U: subject-verb agreement} to expand in the adoption and use of clean energy. This can also be contributed by the rapidly falling costs of using the clean energy as compared to the available energy options. If the country adopts a legislation that puts a cost on carbon pollution {M: comma} then it will have accelerated the deployment of clean energy which in effect will significantly reduce greenhouse gas emission to the environment, thus fighting the effects of the problem of climate change. The same policy geared towards expansion of cleaner energy could be implemented by other countries of the world as a collaborative effort to reduce carbon emissions to the environment{M: comma} thus fighting the devastating effects of climate change.

Carbon emissions from vehicles can be put into direct category as well as lifecycle category. When talking of direct carbon emissions from vehicles, it should be understood that these are emissions that vehicles make through their tailpipes. Such emissions occur when fuel evaporates from the fuel systems. At the same time, such evaporations may occur during fuel combustion and processing. Nitrogen oxides are among the fog-forming pollutants that escapes {U: subject-verb agreement} to the atmosphere during direct emissions. Equally, carbon IV oxide is the primary greenhouse gases {U: no -es} among other harmful pollutants that vehicles emit to the environment. This is quite true for fossil fueled vehicles because they produce carbon emissions using their tailpipes. Fortunately, all electric vehicles contributes {U: subject-verb agreement} greatly to the cleaner air conditions because they do not produce direct emissions to the environment. At this point in time {U: wordy} , it is important to understand that the statement that all electric vehicles do not produce direct emissions, {M: no comma} is not entirely true. This is because some hybrid electric vehicles have both gasoline and electric engines. This means that the gasoline engine component of such vehicles create {U: subject-verb agreement} evaporative emissions that escape to the environment that {U: wrong word} contributing to the worsening problem of climate change. However, it should be understood that the carbon emissions from such vehicle {U: -s} is comparatively lower than those carbon emissions from conventional vehicles using entirely gasoline engines. This is the case because such vehicles have been produced to be efficient when relying on their gasoline engines.

Regarding the lifecycle category of vehicle emissions, it should be understood that these {U: wrong word} are carbon emissions and other harmful pollutants that results {U: subject-verb agreement} from processes such as vehicle manufacturing, processing, and distribution to and use by vehicle consumers. The lifecycle process also include disposal of the used vehicle after its useful life is over. Emissions from lifecycle processes also include greenhouse gases as well as other dangerous pollutants to the human life. When looking at the conventional gasoline engine vehicle, emission of greenhouse gases emanate {U: subject-verb agreement} from extraction or mining of petroleum extracts, refining of the petroleum into gasoline, and {M: comma} sometimes, emissions can occur when gasoline is distributed to sale stations. At the same time, combustion engines cause emissions when gasoline engines are burning the gasoline to produce energy that propels the vehicle. In a nut shell, both gasoline engine vehicles and hybrid electric vehicles produce emissions to the environment {M:comma} but the difficulty arises from calculating how much of such emissions escape to the environment. All in all, research has established that electric vehicles produces {U: subject-verb agreement} relatively lower emissions compared to conventional gasoline engine powered vehicles.

To understand the potential of carbon emissions of electric vehicles, it is important {U: missing word} look further at the aspect of the lifecycle analysis. Apparently, the lifecycle analysis considers the carbon emission of electric vehicles starting from production phase to the vehicle through its use and recycling of the vehicle and some of its parts after the useful life of the vehicle is over.

At the production phase, "electric car equally contribute to the carbon dioxide emission because of the process such as production of vehicle components including the lithium-nickel-manganese-cobalt-oxide batteries" (Delucchi et al, 2014). However, the carbon emission from such production processes by electric cars are {U: subject-verb agreement} lower compared to carbon emissions from internal combustion fossil fueled vehicles.

The use phase equally contributes to the carbon emission to the environment. However, for an electric vehicle, carbon emission comes from upstream emissions while for fossil fueled vehicles, carbon emissions comes {U: subject-verb agreement} from both tail pipe as well as upstream emissions. Since most "electric vehicles are utilizing clean energy, the amount of carbon emission is lower compared to carbon emission from fossil fueled vehicles" (Huhn, Harris, & Snyder, 2013).

The recycling phase equally contribute {U: subject-verb agreement} to carbon emissions to the environment. This is because the process involves dismantling, material recovery, battery recycling, and vehicle recycling. At this point in time, the battery recycling contributes a higher percentage of carbon emissions to the environment. However, this can be addressed by "recycling batteries through direct cathode recycling so that they could be used in subsequent batteries. By using this method of battery recycling, the carbon emissions will be reduced significantly" (Hausfather, 2019).

In summary, in all those phases of lifecycle analysis, "electric cars contributes {U: subject-verb agreement} less in carbon emissions to the environment compared to fossil fueled vehicles" (Barkenbus, 2017). In conclusion {M: comma} therefore, this illustrates that the use and adoption of electric vehicles, more especially those using clean energy {M: comma} makes {U: subject-verb agreement} a meaningful contribution towards the fight against the devastating impacts of climate change.

References

Barkenbus, J. (2017). Electric Vehicles: Climate Saviors, or Not? Issues in Science and Technology, 33(2), 55-59