Electric Cars
Electric Cars:
History and Future
We need to energize the future. Where will that energy come from? Definitely not fossil fuels! Fossil fuels are polluting the environment. But if we can’t use gasoline powered cars then how will we get places? Electric cars are the answer. Everyone thinks electric cars are new and a breakthrough in technology. But electric cars are way older than most people think. In fact, the very first cars were electric.
Electric cars were invented in the 1830s by Robert Anderson of Scotland. Robert Davidson and Thomas Davenport made vehicles that ran on electric power cells. But when their energy was depleted, they had to be replaced. Two Frenchmen created the lead-acid battery- a car battery that could be recharged. It powered a vehicle by sulfuric acid eating away lead to make a chemical reaction. Then, it makes an electric charge which powers the car. There were problems with the car though. For instance, the cars batteries died fast and the cars speed wasn’t. Soon, gas cars were created, therefore making electric cars as popular as horse-drawn carriages are today. Almost a century later, in 1973 a gas shortage caused many drivers to think about switching to electric cars. Gas car drivers were given as little as 1gallon of gas.
How are prehistoric plants polluting our air? China’s air, for example, is so polluted that people wear gas masks outside. How did this terrible fuel get underground, waiting to be obtained? A really long time ago, plants died and sunk into the ground. The pressure on top of them makes the carbon inside of the plants into fossil fuels, like coal. What can fit in a teacup and lift a thousand pounds 1,000 meters
The answer: Gas!
About 20 years after the fuel crisis, an electric car (the GM EV1 Impact) was made. It was a very popular car and people loved it. The only problem was that they were not buyable. They were lease-only. Why were they not buyable? Where did they go after they were returned? People did not know for a while. They eventually found out the truth. What happened was gas and oil companies forced them out of production because they would lose their jobs and were not ready to change from making gas and gas cars, to charging stations and electric cars. The cars were taken to the same place they were tested and were crushed and destroyed.
Now, people are starting to realize the consequences of driving gas cars, and switching to hybrid cars and electric cars. In fact, some gas cars can go way farther and faster than electric cars. The Nissan Leaf, for example has a 107-mile drive range, but can cost as little as 14,000 dollars. That is cheap for an electric car, since some cars can cost 80,000 dollars! That would be like buying a house, but a little less expensive. If everyone is going to start using electric cars, then we will have to get rid of gas cars first.
For years we have been trying to switch from gas cars to electric cars, but gas and gas car companies keep saying “Give us more time”! And it has been way too long. We must put an end to this before we say goodbye to gasoline powered cars.
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