Free Environmental Studies Dissertation Introduction Sample

COMPARATIVE STUDY OF LIFE CYCLE ASSESSMENT OF ELETRIC VEHICLES AND GASOLINE VEHICLES

COMPARATIVE STUDY OF LIFE CYCLE ASSESSMENT OF ELETRIC VEHICLES AND GASOLINE VEHICLES

Introduction:

The society at large mainly depends on road transportation to move from one region to another. It is the form of transport that is used widely due to the nature of people having to commute for one region to another by use of road. Very few travels are made by plane because they are always periodic except for people who move from country to country all the time for various reasons.
The use of vehicles has been identified to be of two broad categories. Gasoline vehicles as well as the electric vehicles are widely used by the people of the current society. However, there are related implications to the use of the two forms of engines. In making clear comparisons between the two forms of vehicles, emphasis is drawn on the efficiencies of the performance of the two forms of vehicles. People are looking out for cars that will be convenient for their service at all times when it comes to fueling and other related factors. Therefore, making the two comparisons clearly gave the electric used vehicles a priority by most people over the gasoline used vehicles.
Electric vehicles realized a series of advantages when compared to the gasoline used vehicles. First, people need a clean environment in which they can coexist. The use of electric vehicles has the ability to maintain a clean environment. Kimberly et al. (2012) examined the environmental impacts of gasoline vehicles, hybrid vehicles, and battery electric vehicles in California taking into account the lifecycle energy usage, CO2 equivalents and air pollution emitted. There are no cases of burning fuel that has to produce a series of gases that are harmful to the people who live around. The use of electric vehicles offers an efficient way in which an individual will rarely experience cases of gas draining out on them when they are traveling from one end to another. In this case, they are efficient enough for use to the people who have an advantage over gasoline used vehicles.

Purpose of the study:

The purpose of the study entails Investigation of the environmental impacts of electric vehicles in Alberta, comparison of Electric vehicles versus Gasoline vehicles. In the initial stages of the research, various literature reviews were reviewed include the following:
Nordelöf, Messagie, Tillman, LjunggrenSöderman, and Van Mierlo (2014) document the assumptions and results of electric vs. gasoline vehicle LCA studies in their paper. This will be a useful source for checking our calculations.
Kimberly et al. (2012) examined the environmental impacts of gasoline vehicles, hybrid vehicles, and battery electric vehicles in California taking into account the lifecycle energy usage, CO2 equivalents and air pollution emitted. The method, assumptions and base cases in this article will help us shape our project.
Gaines, Sullivan, Burnham, and Belharouak (2010) performed a life cycle analysis on lithium-ion batteries used for electric vehicles and concluded that battery production contributes only to a small degree to the overall environmental burdens of electric vehicle usage. This paper will help guide our calculations for unique components of electric vehicles.
Considering the nature of electric vehicles where they do not need a battery for powering, most of the issues that are developed from them are cut down. Most vehicles would have kick off problems when their batteries have a problem. In the event the lights are left on by mistake and the battery is completely drained, there could be problems of starting the vehicle unless another fully charged battery is connected. The levels of inconveniences that are realized, therefore, clearly indicate that with the battery powered vehicles, one is viable to related issues in the event of running into complications.
The use of electric vehicles also offers an added advantage when it comes to the battery lifetime. It is challenging to maintain the battery depending on the nature of the car battery that has been installed in the engine system. Therefore, they will have to be replaced after a certain period of time. In this case, the users have to consider all the overlying factors when it comes to measuring the level of efficiency and life cycle between the two forms of cars. Electric cars offer an easy way of operation. They are environmental friendly and do not involve the complications that come along with the battery powering system compared to the gasoline used vehicles in the automobile industry.
The One Million Electric Vehicles by 2015 February 2011 Status Report projects that the number of electric vehicles will be one million. In this case, the goal of the president Obama is to maintain the same growth indicating that in ten years to come the number of electric vehicles will be almost 2 million in number to increase the efficiency of road transportation.

References

Fuhs, A. E. (2009). Hybrid vehicles and the future of personal transportation. Boca Raton: CRC Press.
Matsuhashi, R., Kudoh, Y., Yoshida, Y., I, H. I., Yoshioka, M., & Yoshioka, K. (2000). Life cycle of CO 2 -emissions from electric vehicles and gasoline vehicles utilizing a process-relational model. International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment. doi:10.1007/BF02977584
Nerad, J. R. (2007). The complete idiot's guide to hybrid and alternative fuel vehicles. New York, NY: Alpha Books.
Retrieved from https://www1.eere.energy.gov/vehiclesandfuels/pdfs/1_million_electric_vehicles_rpt.pdf