Are Electric Cars as Eco-Friendly as They Claim? By: Cara Kelly

As we become more and more concerned with the environment--or just simply concerned with being trendy--electric cars have been on the rise. I have always heard that they’re either better for the environment, or much worse for the environment. I wanted to learn the truth for myself, so I began my research. I currently have a hybrid, but since I want to help the planet in any way I can, I wanted to see if an electric car would truly make a huge impact.

The benefits of electric cars are well-known due to their popularity. They don’t emit environmentally-harmful greenhouse gases or life-threatening nitrogen oxide. This fact alone demonstrates that electric cars are simply safer to own or to be exposed to. Electric cars are appealing due to the fact that they can help you save money as well. For example, if you are consistent in charging your car every night before you drive it for the day, you may never have to go to a gas station ever again. Since gas prices are constantly on the rise, having an electric car could possibly save you thousands of dollars every year.

These benefits all sound amazing for both your convenience and the health of the environment, and it may seem like the electric car is 100% safe. However, there are factors that can be very harmful to the environment. For example, electric cars require much more energy to create due to their complex batteries, which means that more greenhouse gases will enter the atmosphere. These batteries also cause an increase in mining due to the fact that they are made from materials such as copper and cobalt. Mining can lead to toxic tailings being exposed to ecosystems and humanity, which can be extremely dangerous. Another harmful factor can be that if your electric car runs on electricity from fossil fuels, it really makes no difference, for it would still be running off of the gases it claims to not release. The appeal of a fancy new car can also cause people to turn away from public transportation and instead get a car, which would also cause the atmospheric conditions to worsen.

However, if you are aware of the environmental costs by electric cars, you can actually help your electric car or hybrid to truly be better for the environment. For example, if you make sure your car uses electricity from a clean source such as wind or solar power, you could help the environment improve. What makes an electric car environmentally friendly isn’t the design of the car, but the owner.

Would you ever consider getting an energy-efficient car? Why or why not? Do you make a conscious effort to get from place to place in an environmentally-safe method?

Works Cited

Deutsche Welle. “How Eco-Friendly Are Electric Cars?: DW: 04.08.2017.” DW.COM, www.dw.com/en/how-eco-friendly-are-electric-cars/a-19441437.

“Electric Vehicle Benefits.” Energy.gov, www.energy.gov/eere/electricvehicles/electric-vehicle-benefits.

InNewsThe Crash Course. “Are Hybrid or Electric Vehicles the Most Environmentally Friendly Cars?” Schaefer Autobody, 5 June 2019, www.schaeferautobody.com/most-environmentally-friendly-cars/.

Kiley, David. “For All The Talk About Electric Cars, Why Hybrids Are Still King of Green.” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 30 July 2018, www.forbes.com/sites/davidkiley5/2018/07/30/for-all-the-talk-about-electric-cars-why-hybrids-are-still-king-of-green/#55c619bb73f1.

The Significance Behind Earthquakes- By Ruthika Kella

Many people all over the world don’t know about the fascinating world of earthquakes. Ever since people were little, they would assume that the ground was shaking for no reason during random times and in random places. But this, however, is not the case because earthquakes do happen for a reason, and they do not happen at random places. Earthquakes are among the most destructive types of natural disasters, so they should be taken seriously when one does occur because it can negatively impact the environment.

Before discussing the environmental impacts of earthquakes, one must know about how earthquakes are formed. Earthquakes are usually violent shaking due to the movement of the earth's crust. The earth has four layers known as the crust, the mantle, the outer core, and the inner core. The crust moves due to the heat of the inner core creating matter in the mantle to move. As the heat rises, it begins to cool and sink in the mantle. This cycle causes the mantle to move, thus, allowing the crust to move as well. This process is known as plate tectonics. The crust is filled with broken pieces known as plates. The plates move in three different ways which are known as plate boundaries. They can diverge which means they pull away from each other, they can converge which means they go towards one another but one is on top of the other one, and finally they can transform or slide past each other. These boundaries can cause an earthquake. 

Additionally, what are the environmental impacts of an earthquake? Some of these impacts are disruption of ecosystems, the adaptation of flora and fauna, the loss in life and landmass, and the cause of environmental pollution. The disruption of an ecosystem can lead to habitat loss, loss in biodiversity, and extinction of native species due to the increase of invasive species. The lack of biodiversity will contribute to the adaptation of flora and fauna in an ecosystem. Environmental pollution caused by an earthquake can contaminate drinking water, and it can create broken factories releasing pollutants into the atmosphere. This also comes in to play with waste management being another issue in environmental pollution. 

Although there are many environmental impacts, earthquakes can be caused by human activity. What I mean by human activity is that companies that are mining or fracking oil or natural gas are mining and fracking on the edge of a tectonic plate which triggers an earthquake. We should be more mindful of what we are doing to not create deadly natural disasters. How can we stop these human activities to prevent some earthquakes? What can we do to help the environments that have undergone destruction from the earthquakes? What are your thoughts about why we should care about earthquakes?

Sources:

http://www.scielo.org.mx/pdf/spm/v60s1/0036-3634-spm-60-s1-16.pdf

https://earthquake.usgs.gov/learn/kids/eqscience.php

https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/where-do-most-earthquakes-occur.html

https://www.nbcnews.com/mach/science/what-are-earthquakes-what-causes-them-ncna1041871