Scrapping your gas-powered car right now would actually be better for the planet than fixing it, study says
If you really want to reduce your transportation emissions, it would actually be better to scrap a brand new gas-powered car and switch to an electric vehicle instead of waiting until that gas car stopped working. That’s true even when factoring in the emissions from mining the materials, making each component, and assembling and shipping the cars, as well as powering your new EV with an electric…
A recently published study in Science suggests that scrapping a brand new gas-powered car and switching to an electric vehicle (EV) is more environmentally friendly, even when accounting for emissions from manufacturing and the energy source powering the EV. Lead author Elliott Campbell, an environmental studies professor at the University of California Santa Cruz, conducted the study with his team, examining the emissions associated with gas-powered cars versus EVs.
They considered factors such as mining, manufacturing, assembly, shipping, and vehicle usage while comparing gas-powered and electric vehicles. The findings showed that in 92% of the scenarios they modeled, it was more beneficial to replace a gas-powered car with an EV, even if the gas car was a newer, more efficient model. This is because gas-powered cars are significantly less fuel-efficient, with only 20% of the energy in gasoline used to move the vehicle, while the remaining 80% is lost as heat.
Conversely, EVs have a higher energy efficiency, with 80% of the electricity used to power the vehicle contributing to movement. Additionally, the study highlighted that EVs can be recycled, recovering up to 98% of the minerals inside the batteries for reuse. In contrast, burning the petroleum used to power gas cars releases the carbon dioxide, resulting in lost petroleum resources.
As the U.S. transportation sector accounts for over a quarter of the nation's greenhouse gas emissions, transitioning to EVs could have a significant impact on reducing emissions. The study also points to the growing potential for EVs to become even more environmentally friendly as renewable energy sources become more prevalent and EV technology continues to advance.
Written by urgent.news from Fast Company's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — it may contain errors, so check the original before relying on it.
