Emissions from cars and transportation are undoubtedly some of the largest producers of CO2 emissions that we can see today. However not all hope is lost as companies such as Tesla have attempted to become more sustainable and limit CO2 emissions. These are seen with electric cars that have become very widespread today. Tesla was founded with long term sustainability efforts in mind as opposed to the current trend of trying to lessen environmental pollution but not get at the source of the problem. Electric cars charged on a power grid emit 4,000 lbs of CO2 as opposed to gasoline vehicles which emit 11,000 lbs of CO2. Better yet, electric cars that are charged on renewable forms of energy such as wind and solar emit 0 lbs of CO2. Despite the fact that batteries for electric vehicles create more pollution during construction than combustion-engine vehicles, because of the lower emissions over the entire life of the electric vehicle, the pollution is less overall than combustion-engine vehicles. With the average commute to work being 28 minutes, driving an electric vehicle as opposed to a gasoline powered vehicle is the more sustainable choice. Tesla also states in its website that end-of-life products such as electronics with a size of up to 25cm can be returned to be recycled at Tesla locations at no cost. To return other products an appointment can be scheduled for the take-back. Electric cars seem to be a very important step towards a more sustainable future.
Works Cited:
https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/sis/resources/earth-day-ff.pdf
https://www.pca.state.mn.us/air/electric-vehicles#:~:text=Much%20like%20with%20greenhouse%20gases,operating%20and%20during%20power%20generation.
https://www.tesla.com/en_IE/support/sustainability-recycling
https://www.imd.org/research-knowledge/articles/tesla-becomes-a-model-for-sustainable-leadership-david-and-goliath-revisited/
Owen I think you point out an encouraging statistic 11,000 lbs of CO2 is excessive, but I think the question for Tesla should be one: how to reduce the emissions of coal facilities currently charging electric cars and two: how to make their cars more affordable for the more people faster? This might imply the need for a Tesla monopoly at least in the short term from my limited knowledge of economics, but if you’re stats are any indication of how vital electric cars can be it seems at least environmentally worth it.
Recycling cars is such a wild concept! And I agree that electric cars would be a great way to reduce GHG emissions, however I’m not sure how long it’ll take before Americans (and maybe other global citizens?) are ready to drive them regularly. There is some thinking that electric cars are less reliable that standard, fuel inefficient cars.
I wish more companies adopted that cradle to grave concept. It would make recycling various materials so much more efficient. Imagine if Apple did this… The gap between transportation emission levels and other industries is quite large so one can only imagine if more electric cars were used how much that could close the gap.