Government/Environment/Electric cars

GOVERNMENT/ENVIRONMENT/ELECTRIC CARS
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Introduction
There exists a controversy about the significance of the total impact of electric vehicles to the environment. Electric vehicles impact the environment through levels of pollution, energy consumption and reduction in greenhouse gas emissions compared gasoline driven vehicles. Government incentives and subsidies are important in increasing access to electric vehicles because these vehicles significantly lower the negative impact on the environment. The problem presented in this paper centers on demystifying whether driving vehicles on running electricity rather than gasoline is a good choice. The argument indicates that vehicles running on gasoline have more damaging impact to global warming and pollution than electric vehicles. This argument holds water regardless of the type of energy used to generate power for electric vehicles. Electric vehicles’ contribution to global warming gas is mainly attributed to the various types of energy used to generate electricity used to power them such as coal, natural gas, nuclear power, solar power and wind power.
In 2009, the US government pledged its support to the manufacture and subsidies on purchases of electric vehicles, batteries and components. President Obama envisioned assisting the deployment of about one million vehicles by2015. About twenty four governments globally subsidize electric vehicles purchases. In Quebec and Ontario in Canada, UK and US governments offer subsidies of C$8500, £5000 and $7500 respectively. In the US, customers in some states enjoy tax incentives for instance, in West Virginia; customers receive a credit worth $15000 on purchase and $10000 for erecting a personal charging station (Zehner, 2013). Establishment of these subsidies and incentives policies is aimed at allowing the US to drastically reduce the amount of greenhouse gases in the environment, as well as counter dependence on oil as the primary source of energy.
Opposing views
Those opposing the government’s stance to subsidize electric cars acquisition particularly the conservatives, often cite that grants and credits hurt public policy and the overall economy. Some environmentalists indicate that government subsidies and inducements to buy electric vehicles such as free parking are unnecessary. They indicate that such policies are geared towards expediting the occurrence of the impeding environmental crisis. They allude to assessments about increased greenhouse gas emissions during manufacture of electric vehicles, the type of energy used in generating electric power and the eventual disposal of the vehicle. Their assessments conclude that greenhouse gas emissions’ effect of electric vehicles over a lifetime has damaging effects on health and environment and that these effects exceed the effects of oil fuelled vehicles (Hoffman, 2013). They evaluate the emissions ...