ITGS Portfolio Assignment #1 Improvement and use of electric cars, and its affect on the environment Area of Impact: 3.5 Science and Environment

International Baccalaureate Group 4 Projects

Portfolio Assignment #1
Improvement and use of electric cars, and its affect on the environment

Area of Impact: 3.5 Science and Environment

October 14, 2010

Word Count: 1000

Presentation of the issue:

As technology improves, more electric cars are being used in today’s society. Electric cars that recharge off the coal power grid are one type of electric cars that will be used more frequently in the future. Electric cars are supposed to reduce the amount of city pollution by having no emissions of any carbon dioxide or any other harmful particles, but studies have shown that burning coal for electricity can be just as harmful to the environment as using gasoline cars.

New electric cars are invented to keep up with the vast increase in technology, resulting in an issue regarding equality of access. The new electric cars that are being manufactured can have a higher price tag, due to the input of the newest technology; therefore not all individuals would be able to afford this type of car. Another issue would be regarding reliability. In order to run an electric car, it needs to be charged 10-12 hours to fully charge the vehicle, because of the electric car’s large need of time to be charged, efficiency and reliability problems can arise. Users may not be to use the car whenever they want and they may not be able to use it for as long as they want. Also, the invention of these electric cars that recharge off the coal power grid can in turn, increase the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, thus degrading our environment.

Information Technology Background of the Issue:

Electric cars have been around since the end of the 19th century and it has always been said that it can help improve the environment and the atmosphere, but that may not be 100% true. The increase amount of electric car usage and the increase of new technology built into the new electric cars can lead to an increase in pollution. Building more and more electric cars would mean having more people owning one. Recall that electric cars emission requires the process of burn coals, which leads to a large amount of carbon dioxide emitting into the atmosphere every year in US. Therefore, it is important to identify that creating more of these up-scaled electric cars may benefit our society, but it can also cause destruction towards our society, especially to the environment.

Electric cars are much quieter compared to our everyday gasoline cars, this is because it has been invented this way to subtract polluting sounds around in our community. Although having a quieter car might seem beneficial to everyone in the society, but it can be interpreted as a dangerous factor for people with disabilities. People who are blind has to rely on noise to hear the traffic conditions that are approaching, therefore, it can be very dangerous for people with this disability to step on the road with users of electric cars.

Impact of the Issue:

This issue impacts the society in a scientific and environmental way, as the development and use of electric cars can result in a more polluted atmosphere. According to the US Environmental Protection Agency, in order to burn coal in power plants for electricity, 48 tons of mercury goes into the water and air of Americans every year. So much intake of mercury in water and in the air would affect not only the environment, but also our health and daily lives. The implications on this topic falls on the issue of the future, and what electric cars can do to our environment and lives in the coming years of development. If the usage of electric cars continues to stay constant and even grow as technology improves hastily, it will be doing no good to anyone. If we don’t start using sources that are renewable, like solar, wind, to make electricity, more and more toxins with fill up the atmosphere with increase in numbers of electric cars being used.

While some may say that using electric cars contribute to the up rise of carbon dioxide and mercury in the atmosphere, some people believe that electric cars are very beneficial to the world. Beneficial qualities of using the electric car would be the replacement of harmful air pollutants that gasoline cars emit into the air. Using electric cars would be able to lower the amount of greenhouse gases and soon it will lead to the solution of climate change. Using electric cars can also benefit urban areas by minimizing the noise level of cars, in the alarming streets of an urban city. In the US, a company started a idea of having a “Better Place” for drivers to park their cars publically and charge their electrics cars, rather than having to go all the way back home to recharge the battery, recharging could be done anywhere at any time.

Solution for the Issue:

Problems with electric cars would relate to the high demand of them, as the ability of this technology improves. The process of making electricity by burning coal has increased the amount of carbon dioxide and mercury in the air. A solution for this issue is to find another way to produce electricity using renewable sources. This way, sources will never be completely used up and also, renewable sources like wind or solar won’t emit any form of pollutant. According to environmentalists, find a different source for making electricity is the only way to fix this problem. Although the idea of an electric car charged up by solar power has been thought of, the idea hasn’t been fully developed yet. The best and easiest solution would be to change the way we live and use utilities that are greener and that would help improve the environment.

The issue of the having the quieter electric car on the streets and people with disabilities is a hard issue to solve. Hopefully in the near future, technology would offer people who are blind the ability to sense what’s around them, even if the sound is minimal.

Bibliography:

“The Coal Truth: Will the Coming Generation of Electric Cars Just Be Coal-Burners, Once Removed?” Scientific American. 4 May 2010. 29 Sept 2010. <http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=earth-talk-the-coal-truth>
“ Dirty Electric Cars Powered by Dirty Coal.” Gavin Shoe Bridge. 3 Feb 2010. 29 Sept 2010. <http://www.gavinshoebridge.com/electric-cars/dirty-electric-cars-powered-by-dirty-coal/>
Brain, Marshall. “How Electric Cars Work.” How Stuff Works. 29 Sept 2010. <http://auto.howstuffworks.com/electric-car5.htm>
Sparkes, Matthew. “Electic vehicles dangerous for the blind?” Tree Hugger. 7 Mar 2010. 29 Sept 2010. <http://www.treehugger.com/files/2007/10/association_for.php>
“The electric car-a green transport revolution in he making?” European Environment Agency. 18 Jan 2010. 1 Oct 2010. <http://www.eea.europa.eu/articles/the-electric-car-2014-a-green-transport-revolution-in-the-making> ...

This is a preview of the whole essay

Bibliography:

“The Coal Truth: Will the Coming Generation of Electric Cars Just Be Coal-Burners, Once Removed?” Scientific American. 4 May 2010. 29 Sept 2010. <http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=earth-talk-the-coal-truth>
“ Dirty Electric Cars Powered by Dirty Coal.” Gavin Shoe Bridge. 3 Feb 2010. 29 Sept 2010. <http://www.gavinshoebridge.com/electric-cars/dirty-electric-cars-powered-by-dirty-coal/>
Brain, Marshall. “How Electric Cars Work.” How Stuff Works. 29 Sept 2010. <http://auto.howstuffworks.com/electric-car5.htm>
Sparkes, Matthew. “Electic vehicles dangerous for the blind?” Tree Hugger. 7 Mar 2010. 29 Sept 2010. <http://www.treehugger.com/files/2007/10/association_for.php>
“The electric car-a green transport revolution in he making?” European Environment Agency. 18 Jan 2010. 1 Oct 2010. <http://www.eea.europa.eu/articles/the-electric-car-2014-a-green-transport-revolution-in-the-making>

The Coal Truth: Will the Coming Generation of Electric Cars Just Be Coal-Burners, Once Removed?

Some analysts expect that existing grid capacity may be enough to power U.S. electric cars in the near future, yet they do not rule out the possibility of new coal or nuclear plants coming on line if renewable energy sources are not developed

| May 4, 2010 |

Dear EarthTalk: Isn’t the interest in electric cars and plug-in hybrids going to spur increased reliance on coal as a power source? And is that really any better than gasoline/oil in terms of environmental impact?
—Graham Rankin, via e-mail

It’s true that the advent of electric cars is not necessarily a boon for the environment if it means simply trading our reliance on one fossil fuel—oil, from which gasoline is distilled—for an even dirtier one: coal, which is burned to create electricity.

The mining of coal is an ugly and environmentally destructive process. And, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) burning the substance in power  sends some 48 tons of mercury—a known neurotoxin—into Americans’ air and  every year (1999 figures, the latest year for which data are available). Furthermore, coal burning contributes some 40 percent of total U.S. carbon dioxide emissions. The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) estimates that coal mining and burning cause a whopping $62 billion worth of environmental damage every year in the U.S. alone, not to mention its profound impact on our health.

Upwards of half of all the electricity in the U.S. is derived from coal, while the figure is estimated to be around 70 percent in China. As for Europe, the United Kingdom gets more than a third of its electricity from coal, while Italy plans to double its consumption of coal for electricity production within five years to account for some 33 percent of its own electricity needs. Several other countries in Europe, where green sentiment runs deep but economics still rule the roost, are also stockpiling coal and building more power plants to burn it in the face of an ever-increasing thirst for cheap and abundant electricity.

On top of this trend, dozens of electric and plug-in hybrid cars are in the works from the world’s carmakers. It stands to reason that, unless we start to source significant amounts of electricity from renewables (solar, wind, etc.), coal-fired plants will not only continue but may actually increase their discharges of mercury, carbon dioxide and other toxins due to greater numbers of electric cars on the road.

Some analysts expect that existing electricity capacity in the U.S. may be enough to power America’s electric cars in the near future, but don’t rule out the possibility of new coal plants (or new  plants) coming on line to fill the gap if we don’t make haste in developing alternate sources for generating electrical energy. And while proponents of energy efficiency believe we can go a long way by making our electric grids “smarter” through the use of monitoring technologies that can dole out power when it is most plentiful and cheap (usually the middle of the night), others doubt that existing capacity will be able to handle the load placed on even an intelligent “smart grid” distribution network.

Environmentalists—as well as many politicians and policymakers—maintain that the only viable, long-term solution is to spur on the development of renewable energy sources. Not long ago, the concept of an all-electric car charged up by  or some other form of clean renewable energy was nothing but a pipe dream. Today, though, such a scenario is within the realm of the possible, but only if everyone does their part to demand that our utilities bring more green power on line.

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=earth-talk-the-coal-truth

February 3rd, 2010 at 3:31 pm

Dirty Electric Cars Powered by Dirty Coal
in:

One of the most common questions electric vehicle proponents are asked is,“Aren’t you just moving the pollution from the tailpipe to the smokestack?”, when it comes to using electricity generated from burning coal.

Most people are aware that coal is a dirty way to produce electricity, but what does this mean for electric cars that recharge off the coal power grid? Are they just as polluting as their gasoline counterparts?

Several investigations on this subject have been conducted from many different institutions and sources, but they all have one thing in common: Electric cars running off coal-fired electricity produce less Co2 per mile than gasoline cars.

What the reports can’t decide on however, is exactly how much cleaner electric cars are, whether or not to include the high efficiency of electric cars in their calculations, and whether or not to include pollutants with the Co2 output.

For example, The American Government Accountability Office reported that an electric SUV recharged via coal-powered electricity is only around 15% cleaner than it’s gas counterpart.
On the other hand a study from Environment Texas shows that electric cars powered by the same dirty coal generated power are 27% cleaner than gasoline powered cars.

In fact the same study states that “more than 40 recent studies show that plug-in cars produce lower carbon dioxide than traditional gasoline-powered cars”. This is good news for countries which have 100% of their electricity from coal (though fortunately, these countries don’t exist).

In countries which have cleaner electricity like France (mostly hydro & nuclear) the electric car produces 12 grams of CO2 per kilometer, compared to 120 grams for current ICE cars. That means the electric car is 90% cleaner to operate in France than it’s gasoline equivalent.

The promising news for environmentalists is that things will only get better from here on as most countries have clean or renewable energy plans already in action. For example, New Zealand currently produces 70% of it’s total electricity from renewable resources, with the goal of being 90% renewable by 2025.

Germany plans to be generating 100% of it’s electricity from renewable means by 2050. That’s certainly something to look forward to in the future. This means that if you’re fortunate enough to recharge an electric car from a completely clean and renewable resource, then the vehicle will operate without a single breath of Co2.

So for the time being you can relax. It seems you have nothing to feel guilty about when plugging in your electric car from coal generated electricity. The only question remaining is how many additional power stations are needed to cover the demands of all these electric cars

http://www.gavinshoebridge.com/electric-cars/dirty-electric-cars-powered-by-dirty-coal/

How Electric Cars Work

Charging an Electric Car

Any electric car that uses batteries needs a charging system to recharge the batteries. The charging system has two goals:

To pump electricity into the batteries as quickly as the batteries will allow
To monitor the batteries and avoid damaging them during the charging process

The most sophisticated charging systems monitor battery voltage, current flow and battery temperature to minimize charging time. The charger sends as much current as it can without raising battery temperature too much. Less sophisticated chargers might monitor voltage or amperage only and make certain assumptions about average battery characteristics. A charger like this might apply maximum current to the batteries up through 80 percent of their capacity, and then cut the current back to some preset level for the final 20 percent to avoid overheating the batteries.

Jon Mauney's electric car actually has two different charging systems. One system accepts 120-volt or 240-volt power from a normal electrical outlet. The other is the Magna-Charge inductive charging system popularized by the GM/Saturn EV-1 vehicle. Let's look at each of these systems separately.

The normal household charging system has the advantage of convenience -- anywhere you can find an outlet, you can recharge. The disadvantage is charging time.

A normal household 120-volt outlet typically has a 15-amp circuit breaker, meaning that the maximum amount of energy that the car can consume is approximately 1,500 watts, or 1.5 kilowatt-hours per hour. Since the battery pack in Jon's car normally needs 12 to 15 kilowatt-hours for a full recharge, it can take 10 to 12 hours to fully charge the vehicle using this technique.

By using a 240-volt circuit (such as the outlet for an ), the car might be able to receive 240 volts at 30 amps, or 6.6 kilowatt-hours per hour. This arrangement allows significantly faster charging, and can fully recharge the battery pack in four to five hours.

In Jon's car, the gas filler spout has been removed and replaced by a charging plug. Simply plugging into the wall with a heavy-duty extension cord starts the charging process.

http://auto.howstuffworks.com/electric-car5.htm

by on 10. 3.07

It's a topic that's been so many ; that hybrid and electric vehicles are silent, which may mean that people step out in front of them without seeing them. Some say that it's a danger; others say that people will simply learn to be more vigilant. However, if you can't see, then you can't check to see if something's coming. Some people have to rely on noise to hear traffic approaching.

Because hybrids run on electric power when moving slowly through cities - precisely when people are most in danger from being run over - they are very difficult to hear. While the U.S. National Federation of the Blind are fully behind green transportation, they do believe that there should be limits on how quiet a car is allowed to be.

The federation performed some tests to see just how difficult it was for blind people to detect the cars. "We did a test, and I discovered, to my great dismay, that I couldn't hear it," said Deborah Kent Stein, chairwoman of the U.S. National Federation of the Blind's Committee on Automotive and Pedestrian Safety.

Personally I think that there has to be a more elegant and efficient solution than having all hybrids made artificially noisy. After all, noise is pollution too. There must be some technological solution to allow the blind to detect quiet vehicles, and if engineers were inventive and talented enough to develop hybrid cars, then I'm sure that they can find one

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2007/10/association_for.php

The electric car — a green transport revolution in the making?

Document Actions

Published: 18 Jan 2010

The electric car finally seems to be on the verge of breaking through, offering significant environmental benefits, especially in urban areas. Innovative business models are on the way which should boost consumer acceptance and overcome the remaining barriers, such as high battery costs, green electricity supply and charging infrastructure.

Several European countries as well as the US, Japan, China and others, have recently announced bold plans for the introduction of electric vehicles. These include fiscal incentives, funding research on batteries and electric vehicles and plans for the deployment of a charging infrastructure. Major cities such as London and Paris have announced electric car-sharing systems, while public administrations and companies using large captive fleets are purchasing electric vehicles.

At the same time, utilities, car manufacturers, battery producers and academics are joining forces on initiatives such as the EURELECTRIC Task Force on Electric Vehicles and EpoSS, the European Technology Platform on Smart Systems Integration. Together with the European Investment Bank the European Commission has launched the , with EUR 5 billion partly dedicated to the research, development and manufacturing of batteries and electric cars and to demonstration projects.

This flurry of activity seems to indicate that the electric car is heading for a major breakthrough at last - but is it here to stay this time? History calls for caution. The production of electric vehicles began as far back as 1838 – 52 years before combustion engine vehicles. However, after 1913 the mass commercialisation of the combustion engine led to a rapid decline in electric vehicles. Attempts to reintroduce electric vehicles in past decades have for the most part been unsuccessful and they still represent a very small, niche market.

Yet today the future looks brighter. A great deal of progress has been made in battery technology and electric vehicles are expected to re-enter the market on a large scale within the next couple of years. Based on a moderate growth scenario, by 2050, electric vehicles could represent more than 60 % of new sales and constitute up to 25 % of the global car fleet. However, estimates of the extent of future deployment vary greatly, as there is still some uncertainty in relation to the development of technology and future consumer behaviour.

Electric cars: the silver environmental bullet?

Electric vehicles have zero tailpipe emissions, but there are, of course, emissions involved in the production of electricity. One major benefit of electric vehicles is the "displacement" of harmful air pollutants from urban to rural areas, where population exposure is lower. Noise levels are also lower, particularly in urban driving conditions.

Another major advantage of electric vehicles is their energy efficiency. With a tank-to-wheel efficiency in the range of 60 to 80 %, they outperform conventional cars four-fold. Generally, electric vehicles show greatest energy savings at low speeds and in situations involving frequently-changing driving dynamics, which is another reason why cities are a prime target market.

Thanks to their energy efficiency, and assuming that electricity generation will be even greener in the future, electric vehicles could contribute to a considerable reduction in greenhouse gases. Given the ongoing debate on climate change, this could prove to be an important factor. Indeed, transport is responsible for more than a fifth of the EU's greenhouse gas emissions and it is the only sector with growing emissions. While the improvement of internal combustion engines still offers considerable potential for reducing emissions per kilometre driven, reductions in greenhouse gas emissions over and above 50 % will require new technological solutions, such as the electric vehicle.

Compared to conventional vehicles, and based on the current average European electricity supply, electric vehicles have 50 % less emissions. Further benefits can be achieved if the carbon intensity of power generation continues to decrease with further greener and renewable energy sources.

There are, however, still some obstacles related to green electricity supply, the as yet expensive battery technology, the limited driving range and the need for a dense network of electric charging facilities. To overcome these obstacles, innovative business models are being developed to help transform automotive transport.

Integrated transport and energy concepts

To be a success, the electric car has to be introduced onto the market as part of an overall transport and energy concept rather than stand-alone technology. If millions of vehicles are to be connected to electricity grids without a negative impact on the environment, there must be an integrated approach to power supply and demand (from electric vehicles), to ensure the use of green electricity sources. Otherwise, the anticipated increase in peak load demand would require new investments in electricity generation and grid capacity.

Scientists and engineers from the automobile industry and electricity supply companies are already working on 'smart electricity grids' for the vehicle-to-grid connection interface. This will enable electric vehicles to become an inherent part of the electricity supply and distribution system. Electric cars would not only run on green electricity, but could also be used to store and supply electricity back to the grid when needed. In this way, electric transport would also boost the further development of green electricity.

Battery leasing and smart electricity grids

Today's battery costs have a price premium of EUR 15,000 to 40,000. As technological progress is made and economies of scale begin to kick in, this could decrease to under EUR 10,000 in the mid-term and EUR 5,000 in the longer-term. To compensate for these higher costs, some countries and cities have announced important incentives, such as tax rebates and subsidies, free parking in urban areas and exemption from congestion charges and road taxes.

Another promising way of limiting battery costs is the battery leasing formula, whereby the electricity company owns the batteries and leases them to car owners. The Norwegian THINK City electric vehicle initiative already offers such a battery-leasing concept. The vehicle manufacturer retains the ownership of the batteries, which also guarantees the supply of the most advanced battery technology and replacement in the event of deteriorating performance.

Currently, the driving range of electric vehicles is limited to around 200 kilometres. A dense charging infrastructure is needed in public spaces to permit frequent recharging during idle hours. There is also the time element to consider; recharging a battery can take from 3 to 8 hours, assuming a conventional plug-in to the electric grid. Given that vehicles are parked an average of 95 % of the time, this should not pose a problem if charging points are widely available.

In addition, innovative charging solutions are in the pipeline. High-power, fast charging stations could reduce the charging time to less than 30 minutes. Smart grid systems for the vehicle-to-grid connection interface could allow an optimisation of battery charging. This, in turn, could become attractive to utility companies with regard to the management of the electric grid and the fluctuating supply and demand of energy.

An important frontrunner in this regard is 'Better Place', a US start-up company that plans to build a dense network of battery charging and exchange stations for electric vehicles. Together with a Renault-Nissan alliance, Better Place has been developing prototype electric vehicles on which battery exchange takes only a few minutes. A leasing scheme will provide both the battery system and the energy supply. The subscription model, similar to that for mobile phones, would charge drivers of electric vehicles according to the distance travelled. The first charging networks are due to begin operating in 2010/11 in Denmark, Israel and Portugal. Similar projects are planned in other countries, including the US (California and Hawaii), Canada (Ontario) and Australia.

Getting the buy-in from consumers

For the electric car to achieve a large-scale breakthrough, technology and smart transport - energy systems alone will not suffice. Electric vehicles will only have a positive impact on the environment if they replace a significant amount of the mileage driven in conventional cars. A fundamental change in purchasing and mobility behaviour is therefore crucial. This is where lifestyle choices and mobility planning come in.

In Europe, more than 80 % of car journeys average below 20 km and Europeans drive less than 40 km per day. This means that most of our trips can be perfectly accommodated by a mid-size electric car. Yet people still tend to buy cars that greatly exceed their daily requirements, preferring to buy large cars that can also cover the occasional long distance holiday, for example.

To change this consumer behaviour, alternatives must be made available. For instance, electric vehicles could be used for short distances and daily trips, while a supplementary conventional or hybrid vehicle (rented or owned) could be used for the occasional longer journey. Recent research also shows that people are likely to become more open to flexible access to transport as time goes on and by 2020 they should be less dependent on their own car. Electric car-sharing services could further foster this development, and are already being piloted in cities such as Paris () and Oslo ().

Finally, electric transport also needs to be tied into an overall mobility concept that provides new links between different means of transport. A combination of electric car-sharing with mass transit services (e.g. train) would extend the network coverage of public transport providers far beyond their traditional nodes.

Policy-makers, researchers, car manufacturers and utilities will have to ensure that smart technology and new business models are available to ensure that electric mobility can deliver its potential environmental benefits to the full. Informed and supportive consumers are needed to make this happen.

Brain, Marshall. “How Electric Cars Work.” How Stuff Works. 29 Sept 2010. <http://auto.howstuffworks.com/electric-car5.htm>

“The Coal Truth: Will the Coming Generation of Electric Cars Just Be Coal-Burners, Once Removed?” Scientific American. 4 May 2010. 29 Sept 2010. <http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=earth-talk-the-coal-truth>

Sparkes, Matthew. “Electic vehicles dangerous for the blind?” Tree Hugger. 7 Mar 2010. 29 Sept 2010. <http://www.treehugger.com/files/2007/10/association_for.php>

“The electric car-a green transport revolution in he making?” European Environment Agency. 18 Jan 2010. 1 Oct 2010. <http://www.eea.europa.eu/articles/the-electric-car-2014-a-green-transport-revolution-in-the-making>