Why is Using Electric Scooters Good for the Environment?
Electric scooters are a great way to get around. While navigating all the traffic, you can be content while enjoying the benefits of an electric scooter. One of the benefits is the sense of doing something for the environment. Electricity is more environmentally friendly than driving, as it releases exhaust gases into the atmosphere. However, is using an electric scooter good for the environment?
Some people may be concerned that their electric scooters are not as environmentally friendly as they think. You want to make sure you make the right choice in terms of your mode of transport and its eco-friendly features. However, we read many messages that tell us otherwise.
Even if your scooter doesn’t affect the air quality, there may be some things you don’t know. For example, you may not know what your Electric Scooter is made of or the CO2 cost of charging it. That’s why you might be wondering if your electric scooter is ecological.
If you have any of these thoughts, you’ve come to the right place. Now let’s see how green electric scooters are and what you can do to reduce their environmental impact.
What are electric scooters made of?
The first thing to remember is that an electric scooter is small compared to a car. So it already has huge environmental benefits.
If you think about it, a car has to bear the weight of its passengers and occupants. But you must also be able to move your own weight. The average weight of a car is 1.4 tons, and SUVs – almost 2 tons. Heavier vehicles are less efficient and therefore require more energy to move. Additional energy needs are met by burning polluting fuels.
An electric scooter engine contains the same rare earth minerals as an electric car or wind turbine, but in much smaller amounts.
If you want to reduce your carbon footprint with an electric scooter, you can choose wisely to minimize your environmental impact. An electric scooter with a quality motor and a reliable and long-lasting battery will have the least harmful impact on the environment. A good electric scooter with quality components will last longer. So you don’t have to buy new ones or change the battery too often. You also get much better battery life.
Quality Not Quantity;
Choosing a scooter with quality components is not just a good thing. By purchasing a long-lasting electric scooter, you get the most out of it and benefit our planet.
Most electric scooters are made of aluminum. Manufacturers use it because it is light and very strong. Aluminum is plentiful, but mining and extracting it from the ground requires a lot of energy.
However, recycling of aluminum is easy and efficient. The aluminum recycling process uses 95% less energy than extracting the original aluminum ore. Therefore, electric scooter manufacturers should choose building materials that are easily available and can be recycled. So you can be sure that your aluminum scooter is made in a reasonably sustainable manufacturing process.
However, electric scooters with many plastic components, such as carbon fiber, are less durable. Carbon fiber is lightweight and practically invincible. This can help protect the scooter, but when other components fail and the scooter needs to be replaced, carbon fiber is impossible to recycle.
Is a personal electric scooter better for the environment than a rental electric scooter?
When you use an electric scooter, there is no exhaust gas as it is only driven by an electric motor. Therefore, it has no effect on air pollution during your travel. Of course there are CO2 costs when charging, but electricity costs less CO2 than petrol or diesel. The car’s CO₂ emissions are 650 g/km. The energy required to carry your own e-scooter on the same route is about 65 g, and your rental e-scooter is about 202 g.
That’s why traveling with a rental electric scooter is two-thirds more environmentally friendly than traveling by car. This is a huge improvement as more and more people leave their cars at home to rent electric scooters.
How About Buying an e-Scooter?
But if you have your own scooter, you can be three times as green. The problem with rental scooters is not the scooter itself, but the support services provided by rental companies. This makes them significantly more environmentally friendly than your own e-scooter.
Every morning, electric scooter rental companies bring their scooters to where people need to take them. Then at the end of the day, they pick up where the tenants left off. Electric scooter rental companies use diesel vans and trucks that pollute the air.
But other problems with rental electric scooters are not as obvious as they are harmful to the environment. For example, scooters are used so much that their lifespan is much shorter than personal electric scooters. Therefore, they are sent to the landfill much earlier. The average lifespan of rental electric scooters is about 18 months, although modern electric scooters are more durable. However, this period can be much shorter due to vandalism and people being thrown into canals, lakes and the sea.
Is Electricity Generation Environmentally Friendly?
As mentioned earlier, electricity is much more environmentally friendly than gasoline or diesel. But how sustainable is electricity as a travel fuel?
The world is finally waking up to climate change, so some countries are turning to more renewable energy sources to generate electricity. Examples include wind turbines, solar panels and tidal generators. They all produce energy sustainably and use almost no resources other than their production.
Power plants use coal and gas to generate electricity, and recovering them from the soil has an impact on the environment. But mining rare minerals like neodymium, which is needed to build wind turbines, can be just as bad for the environment.
There is always a trade-off between different options, but we have to think long-term. The benefits of solar and wind energy are far better than using non-renewable fossil fuels. Therefore, using a scooter is good for the environment as long as the electricity is produced in an environmentally friendly way.
Final Thoughts
Almost everything has a carbon footprint. Their manufacture, use or transportation generates CO2 costs for the end user. Emissions occur during electric scooter manufacture and battery charging. However, the e-scooter’s smaller and lighter design puts it far behind the car in terms of environmental compatibility.
You can reduce your environmental impact by riding an Electric Scooter Adults. Buy a device with a quality motor and battery, and make sure most of the materials are recyclable. Also learn how to maximize the autonomy of your electric scooter and dispose of it responsibly at the end of its life.
Once you learn how to extend the life of your electric scooter and its battery, you will be able to continue riding with satisfaction. When you drive with gas, you can be sure that you are doing everything you can to contribute to a healthier and greener environment.