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Should people switch to electric cars for the environment?
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Electric cars cut back on air pollution

Air pollution has been a pivotal environmental issue for decades. Air pollution is one of the causes of global warming and causes health problems. If the amount of air pollution was cut down, it would make the environment tremendously healthier.

The Argument

Unlike regular cars, electric cars don’t produce air pollution. Over the years, air pollution, such as carbon monoxide, has caused health problems and destroyed the earth’s atmosphere.[1] Electric cars use electricity to function, so they don’t produce carbon monoxide. If most of the global population used electric cars, the ozone layer would stop degrading.

Counter arguments

Although electric cars don’t produce carbon monoxide, they still require fossil fuels to operate. Power plants use fossil fuels to create electricity.[2] This means that harmful fumes are still being released into the atmosphere. Therefore, the idea of electric cars as an environment friendly car is flawed.

Proponents

Premises

[P1] Electric cars don’t produce air pollution. [P2] Air pollution causes health problems and destroys the atmosphere. [P3] If electric cars were used globally, it would benefit the environment.

Rejecting the premises

[Rejecting P1] Although electric cars don’t produce air pollution, the electricity it needs is made from burning fossil fuels. [Rejecting P3] Using electric cars globally would increase the amount of fossil fuels used in power plants.

References

  1. https://www.livescience.com/22728-pollution-facts.html
  2. https://sciencing.com/how-electricity-made-4623242.html
This page was last edited on Tuesday, 7 Apr 2020 at 10:29 UTC

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