Gas Powered Cars are Superior to Electric Vehicles

Why Gas Vehicles are Better than Electric Vehicles

Electric vehicles (EVs) are touted as being the best option for reducing carbon emissions and saving the planet with regards to daily transportation. Yet when one looks at it, one can see that gas vehicles are actually better for the planet in many ways and do not require a total overhaul of the national infrastructure. There are other reasons EVs are problematic as well: for one thing, drivers of EVs have to deal with range anxiety—i.e., not being able to go as far as they may like without having to stop somewhere and recharge for a long amount of time. Another problem with EVs is that if everyone were to switch to them, there is simply not enough resources in the world to cope with the demand. This essay will argue and explain, therefore, why gas vehicles are better than electric vehicles in four ways: gas vehicles are already largely safe for the environment (cows are far bigger polluters in terms of carbon emissions than are cars); there is no existing infrastructure for EVs and it would require trillions in infrastructure overhaul to provide it; gas vehicles can go virtually anywhere and be within striking distance of a gas station whereas trips with EVs have to be carefully planned ahead of time because EV charging stations are not nearly as prevalent and charging takes a lot of time; and, finally, EVs require resources that would lead to strip mining for rare earth minerals and likely war as nations fight over control of regions rich in rare earth minerals.

Gas vehicles are better than electric vehicles because they are cheaper than EVs and do not actually cause the kind of pollution critics think they cause (UN, 2006). As the United Nations report shows, rearing cattle is a bigger source of pollution than driving a gas-powered vehicle: “When emissions from land use and land use change are included, the livestock sector accounts for 9 per cent of CO2 deriving from human-related activities, but produces a much larger share of even more harmful greenhouse gases. It generates 65 per cent of human-related nitrous oxide, which has 296 times the Global Warming Potential (GWP) of CO2. Most of this comes from manure” (UN, 2006). The fact is that gas-powered cars have been unfairly targeted by climate activists, and those activists are used by industrialists like Elon Musk and other EV investors to market their own products as better and as more environmentally-friendly to consumers. But this is not true. Gas-powered cars have been through so many modifications and overhauls over the years that their emissions are very clean and cause little to no pollution.

Another reason gas-powered vehicles are better than EVs is that gas vehicles are already backed by sufficient infrastructure to support their transportation. There is almost no substantial infrastructure for EVs and to make anything comparable to the existing infrastructure that gas vehicles have would require, as some estimates have it, nearly $10 trillion of investment (McKinsey, 2022)—and that may be on the lower end of things. Gas vehicles around have an infrastructure in place, and there is no reason to do away with that infrastructure simply so that the EV market can be supported. The EV is an inferior product in terms of being supported by infrastructure. Not only are the energy resources for EVs not plentiful, there is no recharging solution that is comparable to refueling stations for gas cars, and there is no garage solution that is comparable: there are many mechanics today who can work on gas vehicles, but there are few mechanics willing to work on EVs because the battery technology is so limited; companies like Tesla will not even allow other mechanics to work on their cars.

The third reason gas vehicles are better than EVs is that drivers of gas vehicles have a much easier time finding a pump and refueling than drivers of EVs have of finding a charging station and recharging quickly. EVs take considerable time to recharge, and because EVs are not that commonplace, there is the problem of having to plan routes and make sure one has enough time to stop and recharge. On the other hand, a driver of a gas vehicle can simply hop in the car and go, knowing that whenever the tank runs dry he will be able to pull off the highway and refuel at the nearest gas station. EV drivers do not have that luxury and thus have instead something known as range anxiety: they become anxious over how much range their battery will give them. If they are recharging at home they have to make sure they do not forget to plug in at night—otherwise when they come out to move the car for work in the morning they might find their battery dead and the car unable to go. A driver of a gas vehicle has no such problem; so long as there is gas in the tank, the car will go—no need to remember plug in the car or anything like that. The gas vehicle places fewer demands on the driver and is far less maintenance in terms of everyday usage is concerned. It can sit for days without worries. But the EV owner must constantly check to make sure the battery has not drained. It can be a major headache for many.

Finally, to manufacture EVs, companies like Tesla must obtain rare earth minerals for the batteries, and that means strip mining (which hurts the environment), and it means making sure one has access to parts of the world where these minerals (like lithium) can be had. However, with nations facing off over resources, it is very likely that wars will break out over resource-rich lands; and because nations are pushing for all-EV roads, there will be huge and unsustainable demand for rare earth materials (Nayar, 2021). Mining these metals is costly and can cause friction between nations especially as supply chains break down and green standards go up. Oil, on the other hand, is plentiful and already has infrastructure in place; America could be energy independent once again if it opened up more drilling in the US, and gas prices would come down, and gas vehicles would be even more affordable. But it is this push for green energy by the government that has led to skyrocketing fuel costs, and that in turn is not going to make owning an EV any more affordable.