There are over 250 million cars and trucks that use a traditional exhaust system on US roads. Less than one percent of that 250 million SUVs and light-duty trucks on the road are electric. According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency, a typical passenger gasoline vehicle emits about 4.6 metric tons of carbon dioxide per year. Gasoline vehicles also produce methane, nitrous oxide and hydrofluorocarbon emissions, which have a higher global warming potential than carbon dioxide. By decreasing the amount of harmful gasses emitted by driving electric vehicles, we will benefit our environmental health status.

According to the Union of Concerned Scientists, “driving on electricity produces significantly fewer emissions than using gasoline.”

By analyzing all the emissions from fueling and driving both types of vehicles, the Union of Concerned Scientists were able to compare the climate changing emissions from electric vehicles to gasoline powered cars. For a gasoline car, research is found by looking at emissions from extracting crude oil from the ground, moving the oil to a refinery, making gasoline and transporting gasoline to filling stations, as well as combustion emissions from the tailpipe. For electric vehicles, the calculation includes both power plant emissions and emissions from the production of coal, natural gas and other fuels power plants use. When analyzing all these factors, driving the average electric vehicle is responsible for fewer global warming emissions than the average new gasoline car everywhere in the US.
“In some parts of the country, driving the average new gasoline car will produce four to seven times the emissions of the average electric vehicle,” Union of Concerned Scientists member David Reichmuth said.
Although there are roughly more benefits than disadvantages to an electric vehicle, there are some elements that make these vehicles not completely environmentally-friendly. The large batteries that electric cars use are made with lithium, which needs to be mined, producing a large amount of greenhouse gasses. It takes about eight to 17 electric tons of carbon dioxide to produce one electric car, depending on the size.

According to Donut Media, a smaller electric car, like a smart car, “may take only two metric tons of carbon dioxide,” while an internal combustion vehicle “may take up seven metric tons.”

Another important aspect to keep in mind is where these electric cars get their electricity.

In 2021, about 4,116 billion kilowatthours of electricity were generated at utility-scale electricity generation facilities in the United States according to US Energy Information Administration. About 61 percent of this electricity generation was from fossil fuels—coal, natural gas, petroleum and other gasses.

The impact of driving a zero-emission vehicle in those regions that use more coal power plants is more detrimental to the environment than driving an electric vehicle in a place with clean energy, like solar, wind or hydroelectric power plants.

As these types of energy become more common and popular, the efficiency at which an electric car operates will only get better according to Donut Media.

According to Industry and Research Analysis by IHS Markit, by 2035, about 45 percent of new car sales could be electric. With the rising number of electric cars in the future, it’s important to know their benefits and how you can play a part in reducing harmful emissions into the air.