Cleaner Roads, Clearer Skies: 3 Surprising Benefits of Electric Vehicles
EVs not only save more on fuel but also help save the planet and our future generations. Here's how.
In addition to lower maintenance and fuel costs, electric vehicles also have some other far-reaching advantages that usually don’t get the spotlight. That includes improved health and a greener impact on our environment. EVs also transform our usual daily commutes, which are clogged with smog and noise pollution, into clean, less polluting journeys. Let’s go through the 3 most notable benefits of electric vehicles.
The Impact of EVs on Our Daily Life
Imagine a scenario where the typical smoggy atmosphere is replaced by the fresh, revitalizing air that flows through your open car window when you drive into the city on a bright morning. The absence of that harsh exhaust gases is immediately noticeable as you drive along. Less noise pollution and a more peaceful driving experience is possible when your car drives smoothly and quietly in the absence of the continuous buzz of an internal combustion engine.
All of this could very well be the new reality if the EVs are adopted on a massive scale for daily commutes. EVs have zero tailpipe emissions, unlike gas-powered vehicles that release carbon dioxide (CO2) and other dangerous pollutants in huge quantities. No matter what the condition of the car is, an EV will emit fewer carbon emissions during its operational lifespan than gasoline-powered cars.
With more EVs, there is also a notable decrease in pollutants that cause smog and poor air quality on the road too. This reduction in emissions not just reduces air pollution but also makes the urban environment more livable for everyone.
According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), a gasoline vehicle emits roughly 4.6 metric tons of CO2 annually and we can decrease this impact on our environment by switching to electric vehicles. Our cities and towns would have healthier air quality due to significant reduction in emissions – one of the major benefits of electric vehicles. This will eventually make them a better place to live and work.
The Impact of EVs on Global Health
There are several and significant health advantages of driving an EV. Less air pollution directly means better overall health, fewer respiratory problems and a lower risk of cancer. For families, this means fewer medical visits and less time lost to illness-related absences from work or education.
Less air pollution also reduces asthma-related symptoms and other respiratory disorders, specifically in children. In the studies published in the Journal of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology, it has been found that traffic-related air pollution is associated with lung and breast cancer in adults, as well as major health problems including leukemia in children.
Here are a few statistics: According to the Canadian government, traffic-related air pollution is responsible for about 2.7 million acute respiratory symptom days and 1,200 premature fatalities each year in Canada alone. Inhaling car exhaust fumes can also trigger various symptoms such as headaches, nausea, dizziness and irritation in the eyes, nose and throat.
Did You Know: In addition to carbon dioxide, gasoline vehicles also release toxic air pollutants such as particulate matter (PM) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs).
EVs can dramatically reduce the severity of all such health disorders as it lowers the hazardous emissions to keep the air cleaner and fresher. Imagine the relief that comes from knowing that your daily commute is helping to create a cleaner environment for your kids (and grandkids) to grow up in, free from the risk of health problems caused by pollution.
Impact of EVs on Global Climate
Global climate goals depend heavily on the environmental advantages of electric vehicles. One of the biggest contributors to greenhouse gas emissions is transportation and to slow down the climate change, we have to reduce our dependency on fossil fuels.
Here’s an alarming fact: one gallon of gasoline, when burnt, produces 19.2 pounds of CO2. The most common rumors about EVs are that they may be more harmful to the environment than gas-powered automobiles because of emissions from power plants but the EPA confirms that EVs usually have a far lower carbon footprint than gas-powered vehicles even when we consider the electricity required to charge the vehicle.
Auke Hoekstra, director of energy transition research at the Eindhoven University of Technology has explained in The New York Times that almost every study agrees that electric vehicles save between 50-70% CO2 equivalents and that the time needed to recoup the additional emissions caused by battery production is just one to two years. And if you drive more, you’ll recover it faster.
Such a decrease in toxic emissions on daily basis helps to make the air and water cleaner, which benefits not just us humans but also entire ecosystems and wildlife as well.
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