Have you thought about switching cars? Even if not, you may be thinking that EVs are the future of transportation decarbonization—or so we’ve been told. A study has just uncovered the catastrophic mistake you are unknowingly making—indeed, you have done more damage to the planet than we could ever imagine—and the brands have just announced something historic as a result.
The EVs trap you have fallen into: what is happening with emissions
A recent study by Emission Analytics, a company specializing in monitoring vehicle emissions, shed some light on how environmentally friendly electric cars might be. This was done with a battery of EVs, and the independent research organization examined various factors under real-world driving conditions.
The process revealed some shocking factors regarding the emissions of the cars in question compared to normal petrol and diesel cars. The detailed research was based on the assessment of exhaust emissions tests of various mobile mainstream EV models under different speeds and driving patterns.
In more detail, researchers decided to apply a portable emissions measurement system (PEMS) to accurately measure actual emissions under real-world driving conditions on roads. The results refute the conventional wisdom that EVs have smaller environmentally burdensome footprints.
Experts don’t believe what you have just discovered: are EVs not harmful?
A recent study revealed that electric cars emit more emissions than gas cars, as evaluated based on the emissions that occur throughout the complete lifetime. This totals up to include the fumes that are given off in the process of operating the car, more so those released when the car is being manufactured.
This research involved assessing seventy hybrid and fully electric vehicle models and showed that, for the full vehicle life cycle, hybrids emitted forty percent more than their gas counterparts, while fully electric vehicles constituted seventy-eight percent more emissions than gasoline vehicles.
This is due to emissions related to mining resources, producing EV batteries and other substances, and producing energy for electricity generation. While the car does not emit pollutants, such as carbon dioxide, the emissions are generated during electricity generation.
This somewhat goes against the long-standing belief that EVs are undeniably good for the environment. Though they have local benefits for air quality through zero emissions close to the ground level, the analysis reveals that their emissions footprint is mainly relative to the electricity grid in which they are charged.
Not only pollutants, they can also be toxic: a detail you didn’t know until now.
New studies reveal that electric vehicles create environmental impact with higher toxic emissions than gasoline vehicles in specific scenarios. Due to their higher weight, each EV contributes more poisonous particulate matter from tires and brake pads.
The EPA considers particulate matter a toxic air pollutant and is associated with respiratory and cardiovascular illnesses. It has also been reported that the emissions of particulate matter from the tires and on the brakes of an EV as it uses up its tire wear and brake pad lining are up to five times more than those of gas.
It notes that the health cost edge of the above automobiles only holds when such uses draw power from renewable sources. But if the grid from which the EV derives its charge is driven by fossil energy, then the car’s emission of toxic substances is normally greater than that of a gas vehicle.
At this point, we have to ask ourselves: What problem does society have with EVs? One could be the limited range, another the limited extension of charging points, and another the high price (even with federal subsidies). However, their emissions are the most serious, far from the zero we were promised more than ten years ago.