As students are starting to acquire their permit or license, they are learning that the prices of gas are slowly increasing. Some are wondering if electric cars are a better option?

In my opinion, even though gas prices are rising, gas-powered vehicles are my preferred vehicle. Although electric cars are fairly new and are starting to gain in popularity, maybe the students interviewed in this article will be able to change my mind. 

“Electric cars are much better for the environment so I would say electric; that isn’t to say they don’t have their flaws though. Electric car batteries take many valuable resources, some that aren’t needed for gas-powered cars; although gas-powered cars consume petroleum gas and excrete massive amounts of carbon monoxide into the air,” sophomore Andrew Inghram stated. 

Gas vehicles are still the most sought-after vehicles. Nonetheless, many people are considering the electric car to be the best option. Some reasons for this include electric cars being environmentally friendly and more efficient. I argue that the electric car’s pitfalls outweigh its benefits. 

The main problem with electric vehicles is the battery itself. The batteries are made with scarce metals, have known issues requiring replacement, and require charging stations that can be hard to find and very expensive to install in home environments.

“I would rather have a gas car…because why would you want to drive a car that sounds like an alien spaceship,” sophomore Courtney Cannon exclaimed.

Cannon does have a point, they are foreign to us because they are so new. I believe that we can be sure that electric cars will, someday, be the only option at the dealership. I hold fast, however, that because electric vehicles also require natural resources that are more scarce, they are not the solution to our energy crisis. Just more of the same problems are seen in the oil industry which is similar to that of the scarce resources in the electric car industry.  

“It’s a lot right now [money wise for the prices of gas and I’m kinda broke and so it kinda sucks,” sophomore Rhiannon Sloan declared.

Let’s not forget that there are still a lot of coal plants fueling our electricity needs and that the power used for these vehicles is not necessarily green and will also increase in price as natural resources become more scarce. 

There are so many ups and downs with having an electric or gas car. For example, a gas car needs a lot to take care of and it costs more overall annually. For an electric car, it is environmentally friendly, but then again, it can only go so far before needing a charge.

“If everyone in America was to have an electric car the grid would not be able to hold all the electric cars, meaning that if everyone were to buy an electric car it would be a waste because everyone’s prices would skyrocket,” Cannon reflected logically.

Also, I’d like to see some numbers on energy availability for charging every vehicle in the US as demands increase in modern society. Electric vehicles make it easier for the government to control the monies associated with energy, so maybe one of the reasons electric prices would be higher is that the government might need a little more funding since money is becoming somewhat less valuable?

The truth behind this is that gas prices are rising. Gas is starting to become harder to find and there is less and less of it. Gas prices are rising, just like electric car prices will rise in the future.

https://ypte.org.uk/factsheets/electric-cars/what-are-the-downsides-to-electric-cars  (Sources)