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Disclaimer—This paper partially fulfills a writing requirement for first year (freshman) engineering students at the University
of Pittsburgh Swanson School of Engineering. This paper is a student, not a professional, paper. This paper is based on publicly
available information and may not provide complete analyses of all relevant data. If this paper is used for any purpose other
than these authors’ partial fulfillment of a writing requirement for first year (freshman) engineering students at the University
of Pittsburgh Swanson School of Engineering, the user does so at his or her own risk.
ELECTRIC CARS SUCH AS THE TESLA MODEL 3 HELP REDUCE AIR
POLLUTION ALL OVER THE WORLD
Zachary Swier ([email protected])
AIR POLLUTION AND ITS NEGATIVE
AFFECTS ON SOCIETY AS A WHOLE
All over the earth there are many issues with air
pollution that cause several problems for most people in
society. Air pollution affects the ways in which our
bodies respond to certain stimuli. When air pollution
begins affecting us, it gets into our bodies and messes
with our immune systems to the point where we begin to
get sick. Air pollution has some pretty terrible effects on
the human body such as respiratory issues, brain damage,
and cancer. Not only does air pollution affect the human
body, but it also affects the earth as a whole. As air
pollution gets worse and worse the earth becomes
warmer and warmer. All of this air pollution starts to
result in some form of global warming whether large or
small. On the website of the Natural Resources Council
of Maine, there is a quote that states ”Global warming is
caused by a blanket of pollution that traps heat around the
earth. This pollution comes from cars, factories, homes,
and power plants that burn fossil fuels such as oil, coal,
natural gas, and gasoline” [1]. This just goes to show that
as cars run more frequently, the heat from the byproducts
will heat up the earth resulting in global warming. When
air pollution starts to get bad enough, it will affect an
entire population of people and the world around them
and it will only continue to get worse until something is
done to fix the problem.
The fossil fuels that are used in factories as well as
many cars are the main causes of air pollution. The
gasoline that burns within the car engines are what cause
the most air pollution because these engines burn that
gasoline and all of the byproducts go straight to the air.
As more and more cars are manufactured to run on
gasoline, the amount of air pollution will only continue
to increase day by day. With an increase in air pollution
we get a decrease in air quality and that will end up being
a very large issue some day in the near future.
REDUCING AIR POLLUTION WITH
THE USE OF ELECTRICITY IN CARS
University of Pittsburgh, Swanson School of Engineering 1
11.01.16
The quality of the air around us is hindered by all of
the gasoline byproducts that are added to it every single
second of every single day. Gasoline powered cars have
been around for a very long time now and as more and
more people are able to afford these cars, they are
becoming an even more popular form of transportation.
With the number of cars increasing all over the world,
that means that the amount of air pollution is also
increasing. The best way to decrease the amount of air
pollution released every day is to eliminate its cause all
together. On a website designated to explaining the use
electronic vehicles, the author of the website can be
quoted as saying “It's incontrovertible that electronic
vehicles don’t have a tailpipe, and therefore provide a
real benefit to improving air quality for you, your family,
and your community” [2]. With electronic cars not even
having a tailpipe, there is no possible way that any bad
byproducts can come from these types of cars. The
easiest way to eliminate gasoline byproducts being
released into our atmosphere, is to make use of electricity
within our vehicles as much as possible. Electric cars
have proven over the years to be quite successful,
however their popularity has only begun to increase very
recently. Electric powered cars are a form of
transportation that reduce the amount of air pollution all
over the world. The reduction of air pollution helps
everyone as it makes the earth a much safer place to live.
Electric cars, unlike gasoline powered cars do not
have toxic byproducts that they release into the
atmosphere. They use electrical currents to power their
motors rather than gasoline. The electrical currents have
no feasible way to produce any toxic byproducts.
Therefore, the use of electric cars will only help the
environment to become a much safer place for everyone
to live in. Although many people are drawn away from
getting an electric car solely because of the prices, there
are a few types of electric powered cars that are becoming
more affordable to the public. These types of cars are
many plug-in cars. These cars do have batteries, but are
different from the original form of the electric powered
vehicles.
Zachary Swier
cars. There was one car that truly caught my eye. That car
turned out to be a Tesla. At the time, I was not able to tell
what kind of car it was because it had those big red ropes
around it so that you could not go near it. But, as the
weeks went on I could not stop thinking about this car. A
few weeks later I saw a man getting into the same car that
I had seen at this car show. It was the same color and
everything. I asked the man what kind of car it was
exactly and he explained everything to me. It seemed
unimaginable that this man was driving around an
electronic car that all he had to do was go home and plug
it in to be able to drive it. But, that is what it was. As the
years have gone by I have only become more curious
about these Tesla cars and as I continue my research into
them I continue to become more and more interested in
them. I know how the work, how they look, the new
advancements that the new models are going to have, and
I want to work with these vehicles. With the new
advancements of these plug-in cars, I hope that one day
one of those jobs will fall into my lap and allow me to
fulfill a dream of mine to work with electronic vehicles.
So, as you can see, not only do the environmentally
friendly plug-in cars help the overall quality of our
society and the health of the atmosphere, but they also
help the engineering field as well as myself.
PLUG-IN CARS ARE ONE OF THE
HEALTHIEST FORMS OF
TRANSPORTATION
Behind riding a bike, running, or walking from
place to place, electric powered vehicles are the
healthiest form of transportation for our environment. As
stated before, electric cars are much better for our
environment because they do not produce any toxic
byproducts that are then released into our atmosphere.
Plug-in cars do this as well, but they are even more
efficient than the first forms of electronic vehicles. For a
plug-in car to recharge all you need to do is plug your car
right into an outlet outside or in a garage and let it charge
up just like you would with your phone. As with many
phones, the charge of an electronic car can last for several
hours, even several days, depending on how far you are
driving. Most plug-in cars nowadays range anywhere
from 80-200 miles per charge [3]. When talking about the
mileage range of one of the newest electronic vehicles,
Campbell states “Its rated range is 244 miles” [3]. This
just goes to show that as these plug-in cars become more
advanced, they will be able to go farther and farther on a
single charge. A plug-in car only takes a few hours to
charge and that single charge can last you several days if
need be. As soon as you get home for the day you can put
your car in the garage and plug it in overnight and then
when you wake up in the morning your vehicle is charged
and ready to go. Gas pumps become useless to you when
you have an electronic vehicle and if more people would
get electric cars the amount of gasoline used every day
would go way down.
These plug-in cars not only affect society by giving
people a safer place to live, but they also affect the
engineering field as a whole. With all the new technology
needed in making these new plug-in cars, there are a lot
more jobs available to engineers coming out of college.
The new advancements in technology used in these cars
had to come from somewhere and that place that they
came from was every single branch of engineering
imaginable. There are so many different parts needed to
make these cars work that some form of every type of
engineering was involved in their creation. These plug-in
cars created a way for engineers to advance technology
as well as the engineering field itself by expanding the
knowledge of many different people which then turned
into other new inventions using the same technology.
As I just stated, there are many new jobs to be had
because of the creation of these environmentally friendly
electronic vehicles. I have always wanted to work with
these cars. Ever since I was a young boy I have always
been interested in cars and the inner workings of different
kinds of machines. I can remember one year when I was
about 13 or 14 years old I was at a car show with my
father. As we walked around and I saw all the different
THE TESLA MODEL 3 IS GOOD FOR
EVERYONE AND EVERYTHING
Tesla has just recently released the concept for the
Tesla Model 3 which happens to be one of the most
advanced electronic vehicles yet. Just like I talked about
earlier, the Tesla Model 3 is one of those plug-in vehicles.
The charge for the Model 3 can be fully completed over
night and on a full charge the Model 3 can operate for
around 200-250 miles. The new advancements in the
Tesla Model 3 are what allow it to run for the longer
distances. They added more power through torque ratios
and gave it more horsepower while still allowing the
battery to run for a longer period of time on a single
charge. The Tesla Model 3, like all electric cars is very
good for the environment as it releases no toxic gases and
it prevents any extra pollution from going into the
atmosphere. The advancements in the new Model 3 show
how much engineering is advancing because even after
making the amazing step of making cars run using
electricity, engineers were able to improve the
technology even further. The engineering field continues
to make improvement onto these vehicles and it is
astonishing. Although it does not change the overall
environmentally friendliness of the Tesla cars, it is
important to note for the sake of the engineering
advancements that “Every Tesla Model 3 will have selfdriving hardware” [4]. This was found in an article
written by Miles Branman. The Tesla Model 3 is not only
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Zachary Swier
a huge help to our environment, but it is also a huge step
in engineering advancements.
The biggest advancement in the tesla Model 3 in my
eyes is the lowered price. Orcutt states, “The Model S
starts at nearly $70,000—twice the Model 3's $35,000
price tag” [5]. The lowered price of the Model 3 makes it
a much more affordable version of an electronic vehicle.
With an affordable form of an electronic car, many more
people will be able to purchase these kinds of cars. As I
stated earlier, it is the simple fact of the price that keeps
more people from buying an electronic car, but with this
reduced price that is actually lower than many gaspowered vehicles, more people will be able to afford the
cars that are going to save our environment. As we see
the prices decrease, we will see the amount in use
increase. With an increase in electronic cars being used,
there will be a much lower number of toxic fumes being
released into our atmosphere. This new Tesla model will
not only help the engineering field as a whole, but it will
also help the bigger cause which is the health of our
environment.
I, myself, will benefit from this new Tesla Model 3
as well for one simple reason. With the lowered cost of
the Model 3 I could one day purchase one for myself. To
own a Tesla would be a dream of mine and that could
now be fulfilled with the cheap Model 3 that has all the
capabilities to save our environment that all of the other
electronic vehicles have. If I were to purchase this Tesla
vehicle I would feel like I am becoming a big part of what
is changing the earth around us for the better.
renewing processes. The brilliant Tesla company owner,
Elon Musk, said “I think the tide of history very strongly
supports ... a sustainable energy future -- primarily solar,
and almost virtually entirely electric vehicles” [6]. This,
along with quotes from many other people, shows how
important people view these electric cars to be and if they
one day do make up the majority of the world’s vehicles,
then the earth itself will become a much healthier and a
much safer place for everyone to live in.
SOURCES
[1] “Natural Resources Council of Maine: Protecting the
Nature of Maine.” Global Warming and Air Pollution.
2016.
Accessed
10.26.2016.
http://www.nrcm.org/projects-hot-issues/clean-airclean-energy/global-warming-air-pollution/.
[2] “Plugincars.” Electric Cars Pros and Cons. 2016.
Accessed
10.28.2016.
http://www.plugincars.com/electric-cars-pros-and-cons128637.html.
[3] Campbell, Mary Kathryn. “Plug In America.” How
Far Can You Really Go? 2016. Accessed 10.28.2016.
https://pluginamerica.org/how-far-can-you-really-goelectric-vehicle/.
[4] Branman, Miles. “Digital Trends.” Tesla Model 3
Performance, Specs, and News. 2016. Accessed
10.30.2016.
http://www.digitaltrends.com/cars/teslamodel-3-performance-specs-news-rumors/.
[5] Orcutt, Mike. “MIT Technology Review.” The Tesla
Model 3 May Depend on This Battery Breakthrough.
4.1.2016.
Accessed
10.30.2016.
https://www.technologyreview.com/s/601178/the-teslamodel-3-may-depend-on-this-battery-breakthrough/.
[6] Sparks, Daniel. “The Motley Fool.” 8 Telling Elon
Musk Quotes on the Tesla Motors, Inc. – SolarCity Deal.
6.25.2016.
Accessed
10.30.2016.
http://www.fool.com/investing/2016/06/25/8-tellingelon-musk-quotes-on-the-tesla-motors-inc.aspx.
THE TESLA MODEL 3 IS AN
ENGINEERING ADVANCEMENT THAT
WILL SAVE OUR ENVIRONMENT
As soon as this newly designed Tesla Model 3 hits
the streets it will easily be the best car for consumers to
purchase. It will be extremely affordable, looks very nice,
and saves the environment. Everyone wants to save the
environment however they can, so once this car hits
production it will be easy for more people to jump on and
help start saving the planet. Every time that one of these
Tesla Model 3’s is purchased, that is one less person
driving a gas-powered car and every time someone stops
driving a gas-powered car, that begins to save our
environment. The highly reliable 200 plus mile range per
charge of the new Model 3 will allow people to travel
around for several days on one charge and then be able to
recharge their cars overnight by just simply plugging
them into an outlet in their garages. The simplicity of this
plug-in style electronic vehicle is something for everyone
to get behind and it helps the environment by burning less
fossil fuels. These plug-in Tesla Model 3s will give the
atmosphere some rest from taking in all those toxic fumes
and allow the atmosphere to begin its rebuilding and
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This paper was written over the span of several
days with encouragement from several different people.
The main people who helped me complete this essay
were my girlfriend, Peyton, and my friend, James.
These people kept me motivated to keep writing more
and told me not to stop. They helped me decide to
review and revise my essay several times throughout the
process to make sure that it was the best that it could be.
Everything in this essay was my own words, but these
two really pushed me to put my best words down onto
the paper.
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Zachary Swier
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