The Internal Combustion Engine vs the Electric Car
By Kwaku, Science and Environment Staff Writer
The Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) has been around since the 17th century and has gone through many changes throughout the years, but is now arguably coming to the end of its life. As it grows nearer and nearer to its end, its heir rises to the throne, the electric vehicles (EV), but there are some who refuse to accept this.
Due to recent efforts to reduce things like carbon footprints and in turn save our environment, the electric car has become, for many, the future of automobiles. It offers higher torque than the average petroleum ICE car, no tailpipe emissions, being cheaper to operate in many parts of the world and home recharging.
But in spite of all these benefits there are some caveats like electric cars being generally more expensive to buy, having a low range, and one of the biggest things stopping people from buying EVs, not seeming to be as good for the environment as some might say.
Even though there are some noticeable problems with the electric car, it is still a better option that the ICE car and here is why.
The main basis for the argument against EVs is that the electricity used in powering the car could be taken from power plants which use fossil fuels, pollute the air, nuclear power, potentially producing waste that will remain for tens of thousands of years, and other sources of energy which are damaging to the environment.
So the argument is that by using EVs we are just shifting the problem away from us but what people don’t understand is that by moving the emissions from the tailpipe to the power plant, the country can become greener, by simply adjusting the methods we use for power, instead of changing each individual car every few years.
Some methods that could be utilised by the national grid include; wind energy, solar energy, hydroelectricity and more. This means that throughout the lifetime of the car, it will become more environmentally friendly, as the national grid does. Car owners can make their impact by using solar panels to get electricity for charging their cars.
In addition to this, the problem of the electric cars short range is gradually going away, due to the technologies behind it rapidly improving. As well as this the price of EVs are sure to drop in coming years, as more and more brands produce models.
In conclusion, I think that the electric car is already a brilliant step up from the internal combustion engine, due to its ability to become greener as the national grid does, or even the owner and will only improve in the coming years, enabling us, as humans, to look after our planet better as well as the other life around us.