Danger of Electric Vehicles (EV)
Anthony Hernandez
Volunteer at Scobee Education Center and Educational Volunteer (NASA-STEM), Planetary Society-Member
Going green sounds like a great idea to rely less on fossil fuels and protect the environment. When many of the significant vehicle manufacturers started to improve electric vehicle battery technology. California is leading the nation in encouraging the purchase and use of electric vehicles. California plans to ban the new gas-powered passenger cars and trucks by 2035.
The current electric grid has not been upgraded, nor have additional sub-power stations, nuclear power plants, or coal electric plants helped California recharge the vast numbers of electric vehicles the State wants to replace gas-powered cars. Of course, state officials have not even considered or planned for the master plan of electric cars. The electric grid will end up failing or causing burnouts or power shutdowns during the hot summer months and during the winter months when electrical consumption is at its highest.
The other problem with electric vehicles is in the case of automobile accidents where the car catches fire. A single fire engine that can carry 700 to 2,000 gallons of water will not be enough to put the fire out. An electric vehicle will require three times or more water to extinguish the fire. For many of the accidents that do occur on U.S. Highways, the closest fire hydrant can be a mile to several miles away.
Even at the Ford F-150 plant, where the EV vehicle was being charged and caught fire, the fire spread to two other vehicles. Electric Vehicle (EVs) have been an enormous problem, and manufacturers state the best way to stop the fire from spreading to other vehicles in multiple vehicle accidents is to pull the EV away from other automobiles and let the fire burn out. California has two severe problems advocating for people to change from gas-powered vehicles to EVs.
Lithum-ion batteries are wonderful in storing mass amount of electric energy. The problems with Lithum-ion, when drivers are involved in an automobile accident, these batteries have been known to cause fires and even explode, this endangers the driver and occupants inside the vehicle. Once a EV vehicle, catches fire, there is no way to save the vehicle, consider it a total loss.
The power grid will not be able to handle the extra power consumption, which can cause brownouts and shutting of electric sub-power stations. The second issue is that California has a water shortage, and that water will need to be used for drinking, showers, agriculture, and water treatment plants.
The state must thoroughly plan for these two future issues of adding all EVs and no more gas-powered vehicles. EV fires are a firefighter nightmare for those who respond to such calls. Many fire departments have developed procedures and methods for controlling EV fires, but there are yet to be set national standards to combat EV fires. The National Association of Fire Protection is conducting ongoing research and study on how best to control EV fires.
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