National Mandation of Electrically Powered Cars in the United States

Critical Thinking Paper

Kiah Beachler

May 13, 2019

Red Group
 National Mandation of Electrically Powered Cars in the United States

The United States is still almost fully dependent on gas powered vehicles, with only

361,307 fully electric vehicles (EVs) sold in 2018 compared to the majority 5.3 million of gas

powered (GP) vehicles (Green Tech Media). This overwhelming use of gas cars in America is

the greatest contributing factor to the US’ carbon dioxide emissions, or carbon footprint. The

United States has the second largest total carbon emissions, behind China, and the largest amount

carbon emissions per capita (Union of Concerned Scientists). This vehicle-produced carbon

dioxide gas is the biggest contributing factor to the greenhouse effect and global warming. As the

temperature warms, a NASA study shows, global warming could “impact future catastrophes”

such as natural disasters and coastline flooding, which are much more pressing national safety

issues than the welfare of the existing gas car manufacturers. Not only do gas powered cars pose

a threat to the country’s safety, but they also depend on gasoline, which is an nonrenewable

resource. These cars also bring up the inevitable unaffordability and lack of gasoline. GP cars are

also inconvenient to the average consumer because of the cost of maintenance that the cars

require and the inability for combustion engines to adapt to technological advancements. In

addition to the physical problems of GPs, their dependence on oil increases American reliance on

methods like fracking, which are both pollutive and dangerous. Because of these consequences,

Congress must pass a law in which all licenced cars in the United States must be fully electric or

hybrid by 2040 because the reduction of fuel-burning vehicles would reduce environmental

impacts, promise a long-term solution to the finite supply of oil, and decrease American oil

dependency on fracking.
 Congress must pass a law mandating the use of electric cars by 2040 because the

legislation in place will reduce the amount of GP cars, and America could take a major step

towards reducing global warming and significantly reduce air pollution. Fully electric cars

produce 156 grams of CO2 gases per mile, including battery electricity, and hybrids only 207

grams per mile compared to GP vehicles’ 381 grams per mile. Even if all cars in the USA were

hybrid vehicles, the US carbon emissions caused by vehicles would be reduced by 55% and

down to zero if the United States was fully electric (USCUSA). The US, additionally, contributes

16.49 metric tons of carbon dioxide per capita as of 2014 (EPA). Twenty-seven percent of this is

produced by transportation. That means that if America were to transfer to fully electric vehicles

then the US carbon dioxide emission would be reduced to 12.04 metric tons of carbon dioxide

per capita. This significant reduce in CO2 contributed by the US would help to combat the

increase in global temperature, which by consequence, reduces the amount of global and national

natural disasters and increases public safety. In addition to the benefits of decreased CO2

emissions an increase in EVs can help save environments being destroyed by oil drilling. The

largest oil reserves can be found in Venezuela, Saudi Arabia, Canada, and the ocean. When oil is

drilled, the environments around the drilling can be majorly affected, and more often than not

entire ecosystems can be destroyed (World Atlas). The loss of environments such as forests in

Canada, rainforest in Venezuela, and reefs in the oceans all naturally absorb CO2 and help to

reduce global warming. In addition to burning the oil produced by these countries, consequently,

the destruction of their ecosystems helps to further the increase of CO2 in the atmosphere. All

three of these oil producing countries supply oil to the US. By converting to the use of EVs the

US would need less oil to power vehicles and would depend less on oil-rich countries. By
retracting support of these oil refineries, less environments would be destroyed and the United

States would further combat global warming.

By passing a law mandating the use of hybrid or electric cars by 2040 Congress could

promise a long-term solution to the automobile’s reliance on the finite supply of oil. Because oil

is a substance that can only produced over millions of years, humans are consuming it faster than

it can be produced. In parallel to this, if gas cars are not restricted, as humans’ demand for oil

gets higher and the supply becomes less, it is natural that the prices of oil will also increase.

According to a recent study of the global supply of oil reserves “the world will run out of oil by

2050” (Penn State). This is why it is necessary for a law to be enacted by at least the year 2040.

By relying on electrically run cars the demand for petroleum would be significantly less, and fuel

would be renewable instead of finite. Solar energy, for example, is becoming a prime candidate

to replace gasoline. According to a 2018 study, electric vehicles could be “100 percent

renewably powered” by solar (Kennedy). By harnessing solar panel energy made locally or at a

person’s home, EVs could run on electricity made completely renewably. Electric cars could

provide a long-term reliability because of their non-dependence on fossil fuels and capability to

utilize renewable energy sources.

The mandation of a law requiring all cars to be electric by 2040 would decrease US

dependence on oil-drilling methods such as fracking. Though most of America’s oil supply is

coming from the US, it is being produced with dangerous and pollutive fracking methods. In

2017 the US produced 67% of its gas and 50% of its oil by fracking, and US dependency on the

method only continues to grow (Powell). The main concern of fracking is its use of freshwater.

“More than 3.6 million gallons of water are used every time a well is fracked” and all of this
water must be fresh (Green Peace). This is a particular problem for oil-rich states like Texas,

which often do not have access to large reserves of freshwater. Though the use of freshwater

could simply be recycled into the earth, fracking uses “hundreds of tons of toxic chemicals,

many of which are ​kept ​secret by the industry” (Green Peace). Fracking has also been known to

increase the probability of earthquakes, furthering their negative environmental impacts (Green

Peace). Because EVs have an enormous capability to rely on renewable resources instead of oil,

the use of EVs would, by consequence, decrease US dependency on fracking. By completely

transitioning American vehicles to EVs, America would no longer be supporting fracking and

would eliminate the need of these dangerous and expensive methods.

One potential problem that Congress may encounter when passing a law mandating EVs

is that electric cars often use fossil fuels to produce electricity. Electric vehicles, however, do not

have to rely on fossil fuels for electric power and use less fuel for electricity. This is because GP

vehicles must consistently have direct fuel use to run, as well as indirect fuel use in order process

and refine the fuel itself. By cutting out the direct use of fuel electric cars already use less fuel

than GP vehicles. Electric cars, however, have the opportunity to run on alternative and

renewable fuels (EIA). While electricity for EVs can be produced by wind energy or solar

power, gas powered vehicles will always rely on gas. Another concern is the initial costs of

electric cars versus the relatively inexpensive GP cars. Again, the solution to this is EVs non

reliance on gas. Though electric cars may be expensive at first, the money saved from not using

gas makes their overall cost cheaper (Ergon). Because of this, the benefits of electric cars

outweigh the costs.

 Congress should pass a law requiring all licenced vehicles in the US to be hybrid or

electric because of the environmental benefits that EVs would have, and because they would

provide an alternative for non-renewable oil power. Gas powered vehicles present many issues

for the world and for the United States. Globally, the continued use of fuel burning cars in the

US will majorly contribute to global warming and the destruction of ecosystems. Nationally, the

greater use of fuel will increase its cost and weaken its supply, as well as further our dependence

on oil fracking. By requiring that all licenced cars in America by 2040 be electric or hybrid, the

US will not only help to solve these problems but ensure a more environmentally friendly,

reliable, and independent American future.

 Works Cited

APPEA. "Where Are Oil and Gas Found." ​APPEA,​ www.appea.com. Accessed 1 Apr. 2019.

This source helped me with the locations from which America gets oil.

Edison Tech Center. "History of Electric Cars." ​Edison Tech Center,​ edisontechcenter.org.

Accessed 1 Apr. 2019. This source gave information on the history of electric cars.

EPA. "US Carbon Emission." ​C2ES.org​, www.c2es.org. Accessed 1 Apr. 2019. These graphs

helped me with specific percentages of emissions.

Ergon Energy. "Benefits of Electric Vehicles." ​Ergon Energy,​ Energy Queensland Group,

www.ergon.com.au. Accessed 19 Feb. 2019. This helped me form my argument and

provide consumer reviews.

Green Peace. "Fracking." ​Green Peace​, www.greenpeace.org. Accessed 13 May 2019. This

source was primarily used as both background and primary research for my argument on

fracking.

Kennedy, James. "How More EVs on the Road Can Advance a Renewable Grid." ​PV

​Magazine,​ 17 Dec. 2018, pv-magazine-usa.com. Accessed 13 May 2019. This website

helped me provide evidence that EVs have the potential to be dependent on renewable

energy sources.

Powell, Tarika. "Is Your 'Natural' Gas Actually Fracked?" ​Sightline Institute,​ 30 Oct. 2017,
 www.sightline.org. Accessed 13 May 2019. This source helped to provide me with

statistics on fracking.

Pyper, Julia. "US Electric Vehicle Sale." ​Green Tech Media,​ 7 Jan. 2019,

www.greentechmedia.com. Accessed 1 Apr. 2019. This site helped me with data on car

sales in America.

Rong, Blake. "Evolution of the Combustion Engine." ​Popular Mechanics,​

www.popularmechanics.com. Accessed 1 Apr. 2019. This site helped with information

on combustion engines.

UCSUSA. "How Clean Is Your Electric Vehicle." 3 July 2016. ​UCSUSA,​ www.ucsusa.org.

Accessed 1 Apr. 2019. This source provided data on car emissions.

US Energy Information Administration. "How Much of U.S. Carbon Dioxide Emissions Are

Associated with Electricity Generation?" ​EIA,​ www.eia.gov. Accessed 1 Apr. 2019. This

site helped me with data on CO2 emissions.

 Annotated Bibliography

APPEA. "Where Are Oil and Gas Found." ​APPEA,​ www.appea.com.au. Accessed 1 Apr. 2019.

This source helped me with the locations from which America gets oil.

Edison Tech Center. "History of Electric Cars." ​Edison Tech Center,​ edisontechcenter.org.

Accessed 1 Apr. 2019. This source gave information on the history of electric cars.

Energy Department. "Reducing Air Pollution with Electric Vehicles." ​Energy.gov​,

www.energy.gov. Accessed 1 Apr. 2019. This site helped with general info on the

benefits of EV cars.

EPA. "US Carbon Emission." ​C2ES.org​, www.c2es.org. Accessed 1 Apr. 2019. These graphs

helped me with specific percentages of emissions.

Ergon Energy. "Benefits of Electric Vehicles." ​Ergon Energy,​ Energy Queensland Group,

www.ergon.com.au. Accessed 19 Feb. 2019. This helped me form my argument and

provide consumer reviews.

Global Carbon Atlas. "CO2 Emissions." ​Global Carbon Atlas,​ www.globalcarbonatlas.org.

Accessed 1 Apr. 2019. This source provided a visual of the countries who emit the most

CO2.

Green Peace. "Fracking." ​Green Peace​, www.greenpeace.org. Accessed 13 May 2019. This

source was primarily used as both background and primary research for my argument on

fracking.

Kennedy, James. "How More EVs on the Road Can Advance a Renewable Grid." ​PV
 ​Magazine,​ 17 Dec. 2018, pv-magazine-usa.com. Accessed 13 May 2019. This website

helped me provide evidence that EVs have the potential to be dependent on renewable

energy sources.

Powell, Tarika. "Is Your 'Natural' Gas Actually Fracked?" ​Sightline Institute,​ 30 Oct. 2017,

www.sightline.org. Accessed 13 May 2019. This source helped to provide me with

statistics on fracking.

Loveday, Steven. "11 Reasons People Don't Buy Electric Cars (and Why They're Wrong)." ​U.S

News and World Report,​ 16 Apr. 2018, cars.usnews.com. Accessed 19 Feb. 2019. This

helped with my concession to the opposite view.

Pyper, Julia. "US Electric Vehicle Sale." ​Green Tech Media,​ 7 Jan. 2019,

www.greentechmedia.com. Accessed 1 Apr. 2019. This site helped me with data on car

sales in America.

Rong, Blake. "Evolution of the Combustion Engine." ​Popular Mechanics,​

www.popularmechanics.com. Accessed 1 Apr. 2019. This site helped with information

on combustion engines.

Schmidt, Eric. "Unlisted: Top 12 Reasons Why Electric Cars Are Better than Gas Cars."

FleetCarma​, GEOTAB, 6 Sept. 2017, www.fleetcarma.com. Accessed 19 Feb. 2019.

This source helped support my thesis and provide more detailed info on electric car

statistics.

UCSUSA. "How Clean Is Your Electric Vehicle." 3 July 2016. ​UCSUSA,​ www.ucsusa.org.

Accessed 1 Apr. 2019. This source provided data on car emissions.

US Energy Information Administration. "How Much of U.S. Carbon Dioxide Emissions Are

Associated with Electricity Generation?" ​EIA,​ www.eia.gov. Accessed 1 Apr. 2019. This

site helped me with data on CO2 emissions.