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Nick Lanese

Professor Hellmers

English 1201

21 March, 2019

Electric Cars vs Climate

Lebanon Ford is a car dealership in Lebanon, Ohio where I worked for the past 3 and a

half years. In that time, I have become very aware of the different types of cars people drive.

Within those years working at Lebanon Ford I started noticing more hybrid cars around. It got

me wondering what would happen to cars in the next few years. In that time Tesla came up as an

electric car company and everything changed. Now, fast forward a year and I am co-oping at

Honda where in our meetings we mainly talk about hybrid and electric cars. Also I have recently

decided to get a minor in sustainability. With all of this change surrounding me it only seemed

fitting to have a topic comparing the two.

I feel that electric cars are not benefitting the climate as much as we want to think. With

my engineering background I am always wondering how exactly those electric cars are charged.

Its simple right? You plug the car in and it saves the climate. I don’t believe that’s the end of it.

The energy has to come from somewhere and I think it often is generated from burning coal to

generate the electricity. I also feel as if we are trying to fool ourselves that the climate is better

than we believe because of the electric cars. I think that until we find a way to generate all power

from renewable resources we will not be able to improve the climate. Before looking into the

facts I think that we will not be able to save the environment with electric cars alone. At the same

time, I also think that it might not be worth saving. I believe that most things only last for a
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certain amount of time. I know that the climate is continuously changing and the ozone is being

destroyed. Electric cars could ultimately be the solution, however, I will need to research much

more to find out.

I am hoping to learn exactly how much electric cars are helping or hurting the

environment. I think I will need to start by looking at car manufactures and scholarly research

behind the climate change. Also, finding studies that analyze how the energy for electric cars is

generated.

How has the shift towards electric transportation changed the climate in the last 20 years?

In what ways is the climate on Earth worth saving and should we be considering leaving

Earth instead of fixing its climate?