Green cars (electric cars) - Essay Example

Section/# Green Cars Outline I. What defines “Green” Thesis sentence: The term Green technology is thrown around with a great degree of reckless abandon these days; as such, the purpose of this analysis will be to determine what “green” actually means as it relates to automobiles and how it is measured.A. How will we measure “green” successB. What product offerings fit under the umbrella “green” technologyC. Which of these offerings meets the needs of the current market 1. Electric 2.

Bio fuel 3. CNGII. Current “green” technology and the gaps that exist which need to be overcomeThesis Sentence: Although many alternatives to traditional gasoline cars now exist, the fact of the matter is that each of the so-called “green alternatives” presents a host of drawbacks which has worked to keep them from gaining widespread popularity within the general public.A. Electric rangeB. Time to chargeC. Availability of charging terminalsD. Current electric grid build-out and costIII.

Electrical generationThesis sentence: Though no one can argue that electricity is a form of “clean energy” as compared to traditional fossil fuels, the fact remains that this electricity must be generated in some way: whether from coal, nuclear, or hydro stations – all of which represent a definite environmental drawback. A. Nuclear power electrical generation drawbacks to the environment B. Coal power electrical generation drawbacks to the environment C. Hydro power electrical generation drawbacks to the environmentIV.

Environmental impact of battery technologyThesis sentence: A tangential problem to electrical generation that few people spend much time thinking about concerns the material that is used to make the batteries which will store the electrical power for the vehicles.A. Damaging effects of Nichol hydride battersB. Damaging effects of cadmium battersC. Damaging effects of lead battersV. Total environmental impact of the production process as compared to total carbon output and green technology/electric/hybrid vehicles as compared to the environmental effect s of traditional automobile manufacturingThesis statement: As factories will need to retool and diverse supplies of “rare earth” materials will need to be utilized in order to create these batteries, there will be a net loss of the earth’s resources as compared to traditional automotive manufacturing; as such, this analysis asks how this loss will be measured.A. Toll on the earth’s resources as compared to traditional automotive manufacturingB.

Total carbon output of one “green” car as compared to one traditional vehicleReferencesEspejo, R. (2010). Cars in America. Detroit, Mich: Greenhaven Press.European Commission. (2010). European green cars initiative : towards an electric future. Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union.Fletcher, S. (2011). Bottled lightning : superbatteries, electric cars, and the new lithium economy. New York: Hill and Wang.