Do gasoline or electric vehicles pose more of a threat to the

environment?

Ethan Holst

Senior Project Advisor: Kyle Edmonson

Abstract

Climate change is one of the most pressing issues today’s world. The United States needs to take
action like reducing greenhouse gas emissions to slow the heating of the planet. Greenhouse gas
emissions come from a variety of sources, but one of the biggest is the transportation sector. This
paper dissects the debate on whether gasoline or electric vehicles have better environmental
benefits, as well as how to make more efficient vehicles for the future. The research touches on
all of the major factors that influence vehicle emissions, including production, operation, and
disposal. Research indicates that electric vehicles are distinctly better for the environment, and
they will continue to improve as time goes on. The best way to support the transition to electric
vehicles is to be patient with the slowly growing electric vehicle infrastructure and put pressure
on the government to implement policies to improve the energy grid and battery composition,
which will further enhance the emissions reduction efficiencies provided by electric vehicles.
However, further research needs to be done on what type of regulations would work best to
support the electric vehicle market.

12th Grade Humanities

Animas High School

11 March 2019

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 Part I: Introduction

The average person drives 1,077,920 miles in their lifetime. Driving that many miles with a

Honda CR-V that gets 28 miles per gallon (mpg) means that you have emitted 290.94 tons

(581,880 pounds) of CO​₂​, and driving a Toyota Tundra that gets 17 mpg for that many miles

emits 427.31 tons (854,620 pounds) of CO​₂​. Driving a Toyota Prius C that gets 48 mpg would

only emit 113.555 tons (227,110 pounds). A Toyota Prius emits 74% less, and a Honda CR-V

emits 32% less than a Toyota Tundra. Why are these statistics important? The world is currently

in a climate crisis. Scientific consensus is that our planet is heating up due to man-made

greenhouse gas emissions. If people do not take drastic action soon, we will see global changes

that threaten our way of life, including rising sea levels, increasingly severe weather conditions,

and possibly mass extinction of living creatures. There are a few ways that society can take

action on reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and one of the most easy and accessible ways is to

transition from gasoline to electric vehicles. Although there are some factors that make electric

vehicles (EV or BEV) seem worse for the environment, in fact they are almost always produce

fewer greenhouse gas emissions than a typical internal combustion engine vehicle (ICEV)1.

Part 2: Historical Context/Background Knowledge

In 1808, the first engine was created, which was powered off of solely hydrogen.

However, the first internal combustion engine, better known as the gasoline powered car engine,

wasn’t conceptualized until 1870 by Siegfried Marcus who used it to power a pushcart. This was

the fundamental influencing idea that set the stage for all future ICEVs to be created. Later in

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Internal combustion engine vehicles are the same as gasoline powered vehicles
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1880, the 4 stroke engine was patented by Nikolaus Otto, and at about the same time, the 4

stroke diesel engine was created by Rudolf Diesel. These 4 stroke engines are the types of

engines in every gas powered vehicle today. The first production vehicle was made in 1885 in

Germany by a man named Karl Benz2. This car was ran off of a 1 cylinder 4 stroke engine.

Finally, ICEVs made their way to the US in 1908 when Henry Ford created the Model T. The

Model T went into mass production in the US in 1913, and by 1927 over 15,000,000 Model T’s

had been produced.3 The number of ICEVs has steadily increased since then, and the world has

over 1.2 billion (1,200,000,000) ICEVs on the road today.

Ironically, cars with internal combustion engines were not the most efficient cars on the

road. In fact, electric powered and steam powered cars were invented long before the internal

combustion engine, and were much more efficient. It was simply cost that drove4 people towards

the ICE vehicles that we see on the road today. Since the price of ICE vehicles was so low, they

were mass produced and offered to a much wider range of people. This revolutionized travel as

we know it. However, having more cars also comes with having more emissions. We are

beginning to see the implications now, with an greenhouse gas emissions crisis looming over us

all.

Steam powered automobiles were first produced in 1858, were very practical and gave

off virtually no emissions. The steam engine took off in the early 1880’s and were a huge

success. On the other hand, they took up to 45 minutes to start up in cold weather, and were

significantly louder and more expensive than their counterparts, which led customers elsewhere.

Many of the issues with the steam engine have been solved, except there is not enough research

out today to determine the practicality of using steam engines. That is why they are not

2
The company Mercedes Benz is named after him
3
Before Henry Ford produced the Model T, he and Thomas Edison did years of research on how to make cheaper
EVs.
4
No pun intended :)
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considered in this thesis.

Unlike steam powered automobiles, there has been significant research on electric

vehicles and battery technology. Electric automobiles were first conceptualized in 1828, when a

man named Ányos Jedlik5 built a tiny model car with his motor. In 1834, a blacksmith from

vermont named Thomas Davenport invented the first American DC motor, which he used in an

almost full sized model car that traveled along a track. Using Davenport’s work, Scotsman

Robert Davidson designed the first electric locomotive in 1838 capable of going 4 mph. There is

a bit of debate behind who actually designed and built the first EV. Robert Anderson created an

all electric carriage in Scotland in 1839, although the battery technology at the time period only

allowed it to go 5 mph. Also, there were no roads designed for cars at this point, so it was

basically unusable. These factors greatly limited its success, and it never made it to a production

stage.

In November of 1881, Gustave Trouvé, displayed a working 3 wheel EV at the

International Exposition of Electricity in Paris. Electric vehicles began to be massed produced in

1890 by William Morrison, a chemist from Des Moines, Iowa. Electric Vehicles popularity

skyrocketed from 1890 through about 1900, and in 1905 about 40 percent of vehicles on the road

were electric, compared to about 30 percent gasoline6. People prefered these vehicles over

gasoline vehicles because of their quiet ride and lack of smelly pollution. These cars were limited

by about a 20 mile range, but they were perfect for the time because cars were only needed for

short trips within cities, whereas roads connecting cities were in questionable condition. In the

late 1910’s and the early 1920’s road conditions improved, and longer range cars were needed.

Battery technology was not at a point where longer range batteries could be designed, so EV

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Who invented the electric motor
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The remaining 30 percent were steam powered
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sales sharply declined. EVs actually received their fatal blow in 1908 when Henry Ford released

the Model T. The Model T was much more affordable than the other options, and could be

purchased for just $650, a third of the price of its electric counterparts. EVs reached their demise

in 1932, when production was cancelled.

Throughout the last century, as battery technology has improved, EVs have attempted to

make multiple comebacks. The most notable was in the 1980-90’s when there were

environmental and gas price concerns. Each of these attempts was terminated, from General

Motors (GM) EV-17, to the Toyota and Honda EV program8. In the meantime, to address climate

change concerns, within the last 10-15 years we have seen the electric vehicles on the rise once

again. Some current automobile manufacturers and oil companies are not in favor of EVs, and

they have released evidence contrary to the fact that EVs are better for the planet. Others have

supported EVs, and announced they are going all electric. In this thesis paper, both sides of the

debate will be included, with more than enough evidence to help prove that driving an EV is

much better for the environment than driving an ICEV.

There are a variety of different types of battery powered vehicles, and differentiating

between them is key to understanding this thesis. The first is a fully battery powered electric

vehicle (BEV or EV). A few examples of fully battery powered electric vehicles are the Nissan

Leaf and the Tesla Model S, Model X, and Model 3. The second type of battery powered

vehicles on the road are plug in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs). PHEVs have a battery that can

be plugged in to charge, but also have gasoline engines for when the charge runs out. A few

examples of this are the Chevy Volt, and the hybrid Honda Clarity. Last, there are regular hybrid

vehicles (HEV). HEVs have a miniscule battery with a small range that is charged whenever

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The EV-1 was an extremely popular vehicle only available for lease in California, that was recalled and destroyed
due California legislation and pressure from oil companies
8
Toyota and Honda produced competitors to the EV-1. They were never sold because GM recalled the EV-1s, and
gas prices dropped.
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braking is applied. A few examples of hybrid vehicles are the Toyota Prius9, and the Toyota

Camry Hybrid. Research has shown that HEVs and PHEVs have small environmental benefits,

but they are marginal compared to that of BEVs or EVs. That is why this thesis is focused on the

debate between electric vehicles in contrast to gasoline vehicles.

Part 3: Research and Analysis

The primary reason why electric vehicles are much better environmentally than gasoline

vehicles is that an electric vehicle’s greenhouse gas emissions after production is 57 percent

lower when powered off of the average United States power grid, than a typical ICEV.

The phrase “greenhouse gas emissions” is referring to a few things, the first of these

being emissions from operating/driving a vehicle on a day to day basis. It is widely known that

electric vehicles emit less on the road, but to clear up any doubt it is directly stated in a multitude

of sources including in a scholarly article ​Cleaner Cars from Cradle to Grave​ by the Union of

Concerned Scientists. They say that

“Driving an average EV results in lower global warming emissions than driving a

gasoline car that gets 50 miles per gallon (MPG) in regions covering two-thirds of the

U.S. population, up from 45 percent in our 2012 report. Based on where EVs are being

sold in the United States today, the average EV produces global warming emissions equal

to a gasoline vehicle with a 68 MPG fuel economy rating” (Nealer 3).

This is a significant difference (over 57 percent less) from the typical “new gasoline car’s

average fuel economy of 29 MPG” (Nealer 11). With this said, there are still places in the U.S.

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However these can also be bought as PHEVs
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powered by dirty electricity grids. Having a dirty electricity grid means that the electricity that

would be used to power electric vehicles comes from coal powered and natural gas powered

plants. In these types of places, driving a ICEV has almost equivalent emissions to driving an

electric vehicle. However, according to even the current dirtiest electricity grids in the entire US,

(most of West Virginia and Ohio) an EV manages to get the equivalent of 35 mpg. This is still 6

mpg better than average new ICEV.

A good counter argument for the claim that electric vehicles have less emissions after

production, is that electric vehicles have a much larger emission impact in the production

process. This is true, except not to the extent that you might think. According to

Coolgreenscience.org,​ it is true that “Production related emissions range from 38 to 356 kg CO​₂

per kW-hour of battery capacity” (Schlesinger 2). This means that “For an electric vehicle with a

30 kWh battery pack, this can be equivalent to 4.6 tons of CO​₂​ just for the production of its

batteries” (Schlesinger 2). To give some perspective, most battery packs on electric vehicles

nowadays are around 3 times this size, or 90 kWhs, which means they give off somewhere

around 13.8 tons of CO​₂​ during production. This may seem like a lot, but consider this.

According to the EPA, “A typical passenger vehicle emits about 4.6 metric tons of carbon

dioxide per year” (EPA 4) We have already established that electric vehicles emit 57 percent less

than their gasoline counterparts, which means they emit 1.96 tons of CO​₂​ per year when charged

on the average U.S. grid. This means that electric vehicles will offset 2.64 tons per year of

carbon emissions, and will offset all 13.8 tons of production emissions in just under 5 years and

3 months. According to Consumer Reports, as of November 6th of 2018 the average lifespan of a

car is 11 years. For each car you own, you will be putting 15.24 less tons of CO​₂​ in the air if it

lasts 11 years. Also, according to Consumer Reports, the average lifetime for cars is increasing

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steadily by an average of 3 years every 12 years. So, even though it is true that production costs

of EVs are more emission heavy, they offset the emissions on the road easily given the average

lifespan of an EV, and it is only going to get easier as the average lifespan of electric vehicles

increase.

The emissions comparison between electric vehicles and ICE vehicles changes

dramatically if electric vehicles are powered off of solar on a house. In fact, an EV will get an

equivalent of 350 mpg when powered off of solar generated electricity. This is 12 times better

than the average new ICEV. There may be a good majority of people who don’t want or can’t

afford solar on their homes, but ​Green Tech Media​ says “A 2013 survey of new EV owners in

California, which represents more than 40 percent of the market for EVs, found that 32 percent

of respondents had solar photovoltaic (PV) systems in their homes. An additional 16 percent

indicated they planned to install a PV system in the future” (Gerdes 6). Also, it is true that only

1.4 million homes in the US have solar which is just 0.4% of the US population according to

worldometers.info. This is a pretty good indicator that buying an electric vehicle and investing in

solar energy come hand-in-hand. There is an argument to be made that EVs are currently so

expensive that only a rich demographic can buy them, which is the same type of population that

would also take the steps to install solar power on their homes. As of December 2018, the

average price for a car right now is $37,577 USD, compared to $67,004 for an EV. Nonetheless,

the survey above about solar was done in 2013. Electric vehicles like the Nissan Leaf and the

Tesla Model S were still in their early stages, and the only investors for these new technologies

were most likely richer people. The price of EVs has declined since then by about 2.6 percent

each year, and will continue to decline as cars like the $35,000 Tesla Model 3, and the $29,900

Nissan Leaf are released.

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 Another way that electric vehicles will see their emissions decrease is with improvements

to the energy grid. The energy grid historically has been composed of nonrenewable energy,

which is energy made from nonrenewable resources like coal and natural gas. Be that as it may,

with climate change crisis looming the energy grid nowadays is shifting towards much cleaner

sources like wind and solar. Based upon the state of the energy grid in 2013, it is evident that

driving an EV is worth it. However, the energy grid is continuing to improve at a steady rate,

which is going to further the benefit of going electric. In 2017, 18 percent of US energy came

from renewable sources, up from 15 percent in 2016, and 9 percent in 2008 according to

Fortune.com​. If energy continues to improve linearly at this rate, the US will be 100 percent

renewable in 208910. If the US is able to achieve anywhere close to 100 percent sustainable

energy, than we would see drastic improvements to EV emissions. ​Cleaner Cars From Cradle to

Grave​ gives us the hypothetical that

“if the nation’s grid relied on renewable energy for 80 percent of its power supply by

2050, the emissions from BEVs (including manufacturing emissions) would be 60

percent lower than those under the average U.S. mix today. That level is roughly

equivalent to a gasoline car that achieves more than 300 MPG ghg” (Reichmuth 25).

This is more than 10 times better than our gasoline vehicles of today. Having a 100 percent

renewable energy grid is the goal in the end, but there are a multitude of steps that society can

take now to get closer to that goal. One easy step the US could take would be, installing personal

solar panels on all new buildings that are constructed. This allows for emissions free charging for

electric vehicles, and also emissions free energy use to run the building. The EPA says that

transportation and home and corporate energy use consist of 61 percent of the world’s emissions,

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Even though logistic growth in renewable power generation is more likely
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so taking this step would have major benefits down the road11.

It is true that electric vehicles have been around for just as long as internal combustion

engine vehicles, although there has been significantly less research put into electric vehicles than

internal combustion vehicles for cost benefit purposes for car manufacturers. In fact, the first

company to really dive into exploring battery technology was Tesla Motors. Tesla has started a

race to see who can build the best electric vehicles, and has invested billions into the research of

battery technology. They have set the bar for the future of electric vehicles, and other

manufacturers are still behind technologically. Knowing this, I met with a Tesla executive

employee and interviewed him about Tesla and their battery technology. The Tesla executive

was extremely helpful, and talked about battery technology and its history. He also mentioned

some of their future battery technology, but could not say too much because the future

technology is a trade secret. The main points that he revealed about improvements in battery

technology were:

“Tesla’s newest batteries contain only 1.7 percent lithium, and are mainly composed of

magnesium and zinc. This decreases performance slightly but allows for 20 percent

increase in range, and makes for a much less toxic and energy heavy recycling process.

They also cost only $12,000.”

This is a significant improvement in battery technology, which improves the efficiency as well as

decreases the amount of rare earth metals used in the production process. This has great

environmental benefits, because rare earth metals are hard to come by and are also not good for

the environment unless properly disposed of. Another interesting quote about battery technology

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Once again, no pun intended
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that the Tesla executive brought up was:

“The battery technology for Tesla has gotten incrementally better throughout the last 10

years. In the beginning, our 2008 Tesla Roadster battery was made for $75,000, only

went for 150 miles, and took well over 10 hours to charge. When we started producing

the Model S in 2012 and the Model X in 2016, we used a significantly better battery. It

costed about $35,000-$50,000 depending on the range of the vehicle, which was up to

240 miles. These cars could charge in roughly 2 hours, and with our current

supercharging capabilities can be charged to full capacity in about 40 minutes. We make

our newest battery for $12,000, and it can go up to 335 miles on the Model S.”

This is evidence that battery technology has improved significantly in the past 10 years. This

means that battery technology is likely to keep improving in the near future. The last piece of

information that the Tesla executive brought up was that

“Tesla’s future batteries will be solid state batteries and will have no lithium whatsoever,

and will be able to be produced for under $1,000 with much better performance and

range. Our new Roadster is built with this technology. This battery will also be able to

charge 80 percent in under 5 minutes.”

All of these developments have happened within the last 11 years, due to extreme advances to

the performance and cleanliness battery technology. In the 1920’s battery technology may not

have made the cut, but now the world is finally at a stage in time where battery technology is

becoming far more advanced than our engine technology, which has been plateauing throughout

the last 20 years. In fact, every major manufacturer in the world has realized this and is moving

towards an electric lineup. The Tesla Executive told me that “All major manufacturers (top 15 in

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the world) are realizing the distinct benefits from producing electric cars, and will have a full

electric lineup by 2025. The only exceptions are Toyota and GM, who will have full electric

lineups by 2030”. A full electric lineup means that there will be an electric variant to every

gasoline vehicle. This means that we as a society need to walk away from ICEVs that we have

been researching deeply for well over 100 years, and move into more efficient, relatively

unexplored new technology.

The historical primitiveness of battery technology has allowed it to drastically improve

over the past 15 years, which is fantastic for a lower emissions future. With that said, we may not

fully understand the implications of switching to electric vehicles, like for instance how the

excess of battery chemicals will impact the environment. The Tesla executive says, “the best way

to minimize the impacts of battery chemicals is to make better batteries, and to recycle the old

ones.” Tesla is evidently making better batteries, because as stated in the interview,

“Tesla’s newest batteries contain only 1.7 percent lithium, and are mainly composed of

magnesium and zinc… and makes for a much less toxic and energy heavy recycling

process.” and also “Tesla’s future batteries will be solid state batteries and will have no

lithium whatsoever”

It is unrealistic that every car manufacturer will have the environment in mind when producing

batteries, but that is where government policy has a role to play. Currently there is no

government policy on the composition or emissions from batteries, and this is an important step

that must be taken to ensure that BEVs have the smallest environmental impact possible. To read

more about government policy, see Paragraph 4 of Part 4 titled “Discussion and Conclusion”.

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 Part 4: Discussion and Conclusions

At this point, it is evident that electric vehicles are substantially more efficient than their

gasoline counterparts. However, the degree to how effective electric vehicles will be at reducing

greenhouse gas emissions will depend on a few factors.

Future electric vehicle efficiency is heavily dependent on the future improvements to the

energy grid. If society can shift to 100 percent renewable energy use, there is a good chance we

can slow or stop the impacts of climate change. There is a common misconception that it is

impossible for a country to be run on 100 percent renewable energy, but this is not the case. In

fact, renewable energy has almost universal applicability. Iceland, Sweden, and Costa Rica are

all countries who have achieved the 100 percent renewable energy goal. Many cities in the US,

such as Aspen, Colorado; Burlington, Vermont; Kodiak Island, Alaska; and Rock Port, Missouri;

also run off of 100 percent clean energy. Making a universal transition of this magnitude is going

to require a lot of pressure from the people, as well as a bit of government persistence, but is

very achievable.

Another factor that will impact the effectiveness of this EVs is the lack of infrastructure

to run EVs.12 Charging stations for EVs are not currently as widely distributed as needed and can

be hard to come by for EV owners. In contrast, the US has gas stations everywhere we have ICE

vehicles. In addition, there are fewer mechanics specialized in fixing EVs; however, there are

mechanic shops everywhere for ICEVs. If people want EVs to be successful, we will need to be

patient with the lack of infrastructure, and be willing to lose some conveniences that we currently

have with ICE vehicles. This problem should cease to exist as the world shifts towards electric

vehicles, but it makes it very difficult at the current point in time to make the transition. The best

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Tesla is building their own infrastructure with their supercharging stations
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way society can ensure the success of EVs and make a cleaner planet a reality, is to be patient

with the slowly growing EV infrastructure and put pressure on the government to implement

policies to improve the cleanliness of the energy grid, which will further enhance the emissions

reduction efficiencies provided by EVs.

The last thing that can ensure that electric vehicles have the lowest possible

environmental impact is by implementing government policies to force manufacturers to meet

certain standards for battery composition, as well as standards for how to properly recycle or

dispose of batteries Most batteries contain toxic metals like lithium and magnesium, which are

detrimental to the environment if not disposed of properly or recycled. If EV manufacturers are

not restricted, these chemicals could end up being disposed of in the environment improperly.

Further research needs to be done to determine the best way the government can regulate

manufacturers, and how to properly recycle the toxic battery metals.

To summarize, there are steps that still must be taken to ensure the complete success of

electric vehicles like improvements to battery tech, the energy grid, and infrastructure, but it is

clear at this time that EVs have minimal environmental impact in comparison with ICEVs.

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