For years, there was talk about the possibility of electric vehicles becoming widely available at some point. It was an aspiration for a species that knew fossil fuel-burning vehicles harmed the planet, but who were also helpless to come up with a better method of personal conveyance.
Eventually, though, hybrid vehicles started appearing at a reasonable price point for most people. A couple of decades later, the era of the electric vehicle arrived.
Now, you have a chance to get a gas-powered vehicle, a hybrid, or a fully electric car. This third option is something you should strongly consider if you do not own one yet.
Some people felt for a while like they wanted to keep getting fuel-burning cars because many of their favorite models were not available as electric vehicles yet. That is no longer a valid excuse, though. Many of the most popular vehicles, like the Silverado Nevada, are now available in fully electric versions.
If you get an electric vehicle, there’s also no denying the good that it will do for the environment. Let’s talk about that in greater detail right now.
Why is This Truly the Era of the Electric Vehicle?
The problems associated with going electric with one’s personal conveyance plagued the scientific community for years. It’s not hyperbole to say that engineers worked on electric cars for decades in the hopes of eventually making them available for the average consumer.
It became possible only recently. You can attribute the rise of the electric car to the confluence of a few key events.
One was the lowering of purchase costs. It’s true that if you’re struggling to pay rent then the purchase of any new vehicle, electric or otherwise, is out of your reach. However, if you are in the market for a new car and can comfortably afford one, you can usually get an electric vehicle for less than $30K.
Lower overall manufacturing costs are what allow individuals who are in the market for electric cars to now afford them. There’s one more factor that has brought about this change in how many people can buy electric vehicles. That is the massive improvements in battery life.
The better and more reliable batteries in each of the new electric cars that hit the market was the last piece in the puzzle. By cracking that code, vehicle manufacturers have brought about an age where a consumer who’s not particularly wealthy can finally afford to make the switch.
Climate Goals
Getting back to climate goals, it has been known for quite some time that fossil fuel-burning cars were harming the planet. There are other culprits that cause pollution, such as industrial manufacturing processes, but that’s hardly something on which the average consumer can focus.
All you can do is to look at your own carbon footprint, and driving an electric vehicle is one of the biggest daily changes you can make in your life. By purchasing and driving an electric car, you are reducing your adverse impact on the environment a great deal.
The US and China are both trying to control the electric vehicle market, with other countries in the race as well. There are a total of 17 countries at the moment who have stated that their goal is to go to 100% zero-emission vehicles by 2050. That’s only a quarter of a century away, and the positive impact such an accomplishment would have on the planet can only be guessed.
The Hard Numbers
If you look at the hard numbers of two of the world’s most populous countries, you can easily see why there’s reason for hope if you’re worried about humanity’s environmental future. In 2020, China had sold more than 3 million fully electric vehicles. The number is much larger now.
In the US, the country has seen a jump of 40% in electric vehicle purchase since 2016. This indicates that many of the individuals who were leery about buying the first electric vehicles to hit the market are now willing to do so.
This is due, in part, to the lower prices and the proliferation of so many different electric vehicle models. However, you can also look at the increased number of public charging stations all over the country, particularly in many of the major cities where there’s population density.
Cash Incentives and Better Emission Standards
There is also a tax incentive being offered by the US government of $12,500 for individuals who buy electric vehicles. That is up from the $7,500 that was being offered before.
There are several states that are making emission standards tougher for fuel-burning cars. California is leading the charge. It is constructing and installing more charging stations than any other state. The California Energy Commission predicts that by 2030, just five years from now, there should be 7.5 million electric cars on the road there.
The Bottom Line
If humans got rid of all the fuel-burning cars on the road, it would reduce the amount of pollution by about one-fifth. That would mean cleaner air, which benefits everyone. That is far from the only positive impact, though.
Many of the planet’s worst conflicts that have taken place over the past century have been related, either directly or indirectly, to the desire to control oil reserves. There have been countries that have become tremendously wealthy because they discovered that they had a ready supply of oil.
Many of them adopted highly repressive or even violent regimes, though. If their oil was rendered irrelevant, it would mean less conflict by those who wanted to control those oil pipelines.
The planet will benefit immeasurably if humanity as a whole would agree to completely stop manufacturing fossil fuel-powered vehicles at some point. It seems like that is probably going to happen.
It’s not clear exactly what the timeline will be, and there will likely be older gas-powered vehicles on the road for some time after that, but it’s evident the end is near for gas guzzlers.
