The Car of Choice by Miranda Clark, Earl Marriott Secondary With forest fires raging, icecaps melting, and extreme weather events dominating our news cycle, the shift to renewable energy is gaining momentum. Provincial and Federal governments are collaborating to advance this transformation in our country. This is evident in reading, “Powering up for more EV charging demand” by Tom Fletcher, May 14th, 2019. Humanity is beginning to recognize our abundant, destructive and unsustainable patterns of behaviour, yet it is essential that our means of progression towards sustainability are truly beneficial. Illustrated in “Powering up for more EV charging demand,” Fletcher reveals how B.C. and Canada are teaming up to provide a rebate for consumers interested in shifting to green transportation. He familiarizes the community with the fact that Ottawa has “a new point-of-sale rebate of up to $5,000 taking effect May 1, added to the $5,000 provincial rebate for qualifying zero-emission new vehicles.” This is phenomenal as a leading way to promote change in our society is providing a monetary reward. In reading this article, the suitability of electric vehicles and the capability of hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles came into question. Which is the better alternative?
Extensive research has assured citizens that electric vehicles are in fact superior to gas automobiles; however, they are far from sustainable. According to the “Cleaner Cars from Cradle to Grave” report, published by the Union of Concerned Scientists, a mid-size battery-electric car creates 68% more manufacturing emissions than gas-powered vehicles. Electric vehicles require metals and other impactful resources to produce their lithium-ion batteries. Unfortunately, this exacerbates the demand for mining. Despite the initial emissions, the Union of Concerned Scientists suggests, “battery electric cars make up for their higher manufacturing emissions within eighteen months of driving.” These percentiles, however, vary significantly dependent upon the type of energy utilized to charge the BEV (Battery-Electric Vehicles). In B.C., with hydro as our prominent energy source, our electricity is rather clean. Nevertheless, various regions use coal or other damaging resources to generate power. Overall, while electric car companies are working to reduce manufacturing emissions, and B.C is using hydro energy to charge batteries, electric vehicles can lower but not eliminate our transportation pollution problem. Another option to reduce our carbon footprint is hydrogen fuel-cell cars (Fletcher), which produce energy by a process of electrolysis. Electrolysis involves creating a chemical reaction by passing an electric current through water, resulting in hydrogen and oxygen being separated. This requires zero fossil fuel extraction and results in zero pollution. Refueling a hydrogen fuel-cell vehicle looks similar to gas stations today, yet instead of pumping litres of fossil fuels into vehicles, tanks only pump cold, compressed hydrogen. This hydrogen will mix with the oxygen outside the vehicle, allowing the chemical reaction to occur. It seems clear that hydrogen fuel cell cars are far greener than electric vehicles, but as this technology is fairly new, stations to refill are scarce and very expensive. With 33 stations so far, California is leading the development of this technology. British Columbia has plans to establish a six-station hydrogen fuel-cell system, again showing the innovative approach of our province. As Tom Fletcher discussed, with the B.C.’s point-of-sale program, citizens can receive $5000 by acquiring an electric vehicle or “up to $6,000 for a hydrogen fuel-cell vehicle” so the incentive is there to change the way we move. I truly believe B.C. and Canada will be major players in the revolution to stop climate change. Promoting electric cars and preferably hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles is an excellent initiative that will contribute to reducing our green-house emissions and saving our beautiful planet.
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