Advantages & Disadvantages of Electric Cars

Advantages
~ a safe way to convert fossil fuels into automotive power

~ more efficient than gas-powered vehicles because their fuel
can be harnessed from any source of electricity, which is available
in most homes and businesses

~ the electricity created by electric cars is created by the burning
of fossil fuels at power plants, instead of in an internal-combustion
engine which pollutes the air.

~ the only new system required for electric cars is one that
charges the batteries, and major automakers are working
on creating a standard system for battery charging

~ electric cars change the chemical composition of the
pollution for the better

~ Michael Quanlu Wang of Argonne National Laboratory used
a computer simulation to compare the use of electric and
gasoline cars in four large U.S. cities. The results showed
that electric vehicles would reduce hydrocarbon and
carbon monoxide by 98%. These two gases are
responsible for many environmental problems, including
the depletion on the ozone layer. Emissions of nitrous oxide,
another cause for ozone depletion and deadly acid rain, also fell.

~ electric vehicles produce "zero emissions" in urban cities, where cleaner air is much needed. This is because the polluting power plants are situated far from the urban areas and therefore will improve the air quality in polluted urban areasDisadvantages
~ electric vehicles have not been widely adopted because they are rather impractical

~ Due to the lack of modern battery technology, electric cars are limited as to the distance that can be driven before the complete failure of the battery. Today, the average lifetime of a lead-acid battery is only about 100 miles.

~ Electric cars also cannot cruise, accelerate, or climb fast enough to compete with gasoline-powered cars, and accessories, such as air conditioning and radios, drain the battery even further.

~ Because electric cars are usually created by replacing the fuel tank and gasoline engine of a conventional car with electric motors, batteries, chargers, and controllers, the result is a car that is heavier and less efficient then a car solely running on electricity

~ more expensive because the manufacturer cannot fully recover the cost of the discarded parts.

~ electric vehicles are not completely "emission-free". If the electricity used is produced in a coal- or oil-fired generator, this only transfers the emissions from the tailpipe to the power plant.

~ They also change the composition of the pollution for the worse, by increasing the amount of sulfur oxide ( a key cause of acid rain) and ultra-fine soot particles which also have negative health effects.