General information:
Karl Benz filed for a patent for his “Motorwagen” in 1885. It had three wheels and was similar to what we consider to be a car. Even before the invention of a “Motorwagen” people had thought about the possibility of cars. Also, in the 19th century electric cars were already available. However, one could only drive short distances with electric cars, so cheaper gasoline fuelled cars became popular.
Pro – argumen t | Contra – argument |
The invention of cars has made travelling more comfortable and flexible. | As many cars around the world are still gasoline fuelled, some nations can gain political power through their oil resources. There have already been many political disputes and wars due to oil. |
Cars allow for travel of great distances | The pollution produced by cars is a major contributor to global warming. |
The owner can decide the destination and personalise the travel route. | Fossil fuels (coal, petroleum, natural gas, oil, shales, bitumens, tar sands and heavy oil) are non-renewable resources; they are formed over millions of years. Pure fossil fuels have been mixed with biological plant-based fuel to create E10, a bio fuel which can reduce car emissions by 35%. |
Humans are no longer fully dependent on public transport. | In order to produce E10, land needs to be cultivated, which makes the land unavailable for food production. However, this problem would only arise if E10 was used as the main fuel source for most cars, which is not the case (only 12.4% of car owners use E10). |
Unlike in public transportation, there is no two-class system for cars; although, more expensive cars are seen as prestige possessions. | Electric cars are slowly gaining popularity; however, there still is not a reliable network of charging stations in Germany. |
Most people can afford a car as they are available at various prices. | The energy for electric cars should be produced in an environmentally friendly way. This keeps emissions as low as possible. |
The production and sale of cars has a big market share. Numerous people work in this sector. |
Ethical implications:
An ethical question arises about the wars and disputes due to oil: Some countries might get involved in the affairs of countries containing large oil reserves in order to benefit from their resources. However, an involvement can lead to the economic and political destabilisation of these countries.
Gasoline fuelled cars produce pollution and thus, contribute to global warming → look at the conflicts surrounding living standards and global warming. Electric cars do not produce emissions; however, the energy to charge them does → look at the arguments of energy production. If humanity can find a way to keep living standards the same and produce clean energy, it might be possible to stop global warming. Reversing it, however, is probably impossible.