08 Feb Becoming a Greener Business, Electric Cars Might Be the Solution
Becoming greener is on the agenda for many businesses, but it’s difficult to know where to start. Some associate going greener with increased costs on some schemes, especially when it comes to reducing carbon footprint.
London’s Pollution Is Increasing
The toxic air quality has recently reached ‘black’ alerts. The government advises that even normally active, healthy people avoid strenuous activity. These high levels come on the back of traffic density and cars being stationary for long periods of time.
What Can Be Done to Combat Pollution?
The Mayor of London advised that people should take public transport where possible, and turn off their engines if they were still for more than a minute. This advice can help reduce pollution, but it’s not an easy way to do it. Many modern cars do turn off the engine if left stationary at traffic lights, but to really tackle the pollution crisis and become greener, a better alternative is needed.
Scotland Yard Seeks Bold New Solution to Pollution
Scotland Yard have taken the step to becoming greener by rolling out a 250 new electric cars to add to their 4,000 strong fleet. The expansion of 250 new electric cars is welcome after London’s pollution levels have reached a dangerous level just a few days into 2017.
Why Are Electric Cars the Answer?
Electric cars are an answer to the large problem of pollution in built up cities like London. Electric cars produce fewer greenhouse gases and don’t pollute the air with the smell of petrol. Even when electric cars are charged with electricity produced from burning coal, they still use half as much fossil fuel as conventional petrol cars.
Other Advantages to Using Electric Cars
Electric cars also have a variety of other advantages to drivers. Electric cars are increasingly available for the general public to buy and continual improvements are being made all the time. It takes roughly £2 to charge an electric car for roughly 100 miles of distance. For many people living in urban areas or who have short commutes, an electric car is ideal. Long journeys may need to be more carefully planned but many car parks and service stations have charging ports for electric cars.
Electric Car Myths
As electric cars are relatively new, and not yet mainstream, many people believe there are some issue with them. A key concern is the origin and disposability of the electric car batteries. Many electric car batteries are made from lithium-ion which are safe for landfill. However many electric car batteries can be recycled to use for storing energy generated from wind and sun. The batteries also contain many metals that can be repurposed.
Another concern is the cost of electric cars barring many people, but there is in fact a grant available from the UK government for people looking to purchase a new electric car. More information is here on eligibility and models of cars accepted.
No Comments