There is so much new conversation that varies from social media platforms like TikTok and mainstream media sites such as The New York Times that pour into our everyday life about what electric vehicles actually hold for our future. The opinions between people switching to electric or staying with their cars using gasoline is actually quite split.
“I know a lot of people, who are into cars, like to hear the [sound of the] engine, but of course, but as we all know, electric vehicles are better for the environment. The argument is very 50/50, where half are hating the idea, and the other half are loving it, so we’ll see what’ll happen in the future,” said senior Cat Le, whose family owns a gasoline powered car.
There are various pollutants that harm the environment. Gasoline powered cars contain greenhouse gasses where the gasoline and diesel fuel emits severely toxic gasses and chemicals.
Gen Z is the generation that has the most positive impact and change on climate change and are aware of how fast paced its effects are on our future. 82% of Gen Z is distraught over the severity of climate change, which leaves 72% who have changed their impacts and behavior on the environment that change for the greater good. Using electric vehicles has various benefits that help depart away from the negative effects climate change can bring upon society. They specifically produce no tailpipe emissions, which means that they emit less greenhouse gasses than your average gasoline powered car.
“I heard it’s good for the environment, and also my mom owns a Tesla which leads me to believe that electric vehicles have a cleaner and sleek look and also contribute to a good upkeep of our environment,” said senior Cindy Ni.
Gen Z has a strong track record of climate advocacy, from attending rallies in cities to volunteering at environmental clean-ups, fueling widespread excitement within this generation about the potential of new technologies to benefit society.
With electric vehicles, there are various features that come along with most electric vehicles that are uncommon in many gasoline powered cars. These include hands-free driving, also known as autonomous driving, where the driver does not actually have to steer or control the car. Along with this, there are unique smart connectivities and new battery advancements that come along with an electric vehicle.
These many aspects that arrive with an electrical vehicle have caused a massive purchase in the market by many individuals. Unfortunately, older generations are not switching from a gasoline powered car to electric, leaving the statistics that find only 3% of people 50 and older actually switching to electric vehicles.
There are unfortunately a few disadvantages that come along with owning electric vehicles. Firstly, the batteries have issues on their own. To make the battery itself, it needs to have rare metals such as lithium that take a long time to mine in rich cobalt deposits in foreign countries. With the making of batteries being difficult, it takes a long time to charge the car itself, where putting gas in takes 5 minutes at most. It takes a significantly longer time to charge an electric vehicle, even if you have the fastest battery on the market. They also travel shorter distances because they use more battery while traveling, specifically 125 miles each day.
“I believe that gasoline powered cars are just overall more convenient for our everyday lives, and changing to a whole new system of cars is just too much of a hassle for us today,” said senior Sibgha Fatima.
Overall, Gen Z takes into account the fact that there are many aspects that as a whole satisfy the prediction of society’s environmental future and Earth both globally and personally. Electric vehicles provide a healthier and cleaner quality of life that have heavily shifted societal norms into the direction of decreasing the very possible future of climate change.
