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Annotated Bibliography

Is the Electric Car as “Green” as People Believe and Will They One Day Take Over the Gas-

powered Vehicle?

Ryan Morrow

Professor Malcolm Campbell

UWRT 1104

October 23, 2018

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Annotated Bibliography

James R. Healey, and USA TODAY. “Electric Cars vs. Gas Cars.” USA Today. EBSCOhost,

librarylink.uncc.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com.librarylink.uncc.edu/

login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=J0E124353845113&site=ehost-live&scope=site.

Accessed 21 October 2018.

This source is a scholarly article found within the UNCC Atkins Library through a

database called Academic Search Complete. This article is about the major differences

between the electric car and the gas-powered vehicle, especially in regards to cost and

environmental factors. In the beginning of the article, the author provides information

about how the electric car cost one-third the price of the gas-powered vehicle for the

same distance driven. However, the author then dives into specific costs of gas and

electricity per mile and how the electric car ultimately burns more fossil fuels which is

bad for the environment. Next, the author analyzes the prices of electric cars in relation

to gas-powered vehicles in order to show how the sticker price of electric cars is more

expensive. A Ford Focus powered by gasoline costs about eighteen thousand dollars

while the electric version of the car costs buyers about thirty thousand dollars. The

author concludes the article by providing statistics on the overall costs between the two

cars and how the value of the cars either holds or does not hold as time goes by. The

author of this source is James Healey. Healey is a writer for USA Today and has been

writing for them since 1988. He specializes in transportation and has written many

articles on cars, one of them being the electric car. Healey is very experienced in the
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field which makes this source very credible and useful for this research. Compared to the

other sources in this annotated bibliography, this source provides insightful information

about both the electric car and the gas-powered vehicle. I find this source to be one of

the more helpful sources because it directly compares the two types of cars with factual

information. I am now able to see many different positive and negatives for both cars

which will help me draw some kind of conclusion in my research.

Matulka , Rebecca. “The History of the Electric Car .” Energy.gov, 15 Sept. 2014, https://

www.energy.gov/articles/history-electric-car. Accessed 21 October 2018.

This source is derived from a reliable website called energy.gov. The article being used

from this website goes through a timeline of the electric car. The author starts out by

talking about the birth of the electric car. The birth of the electric car is thought to be

around the 1890s when the first electric car was introduced in the United States. As the

article progresses, the author begins to talk about the early rise and fall of the electric car.

In the early 1900s, people were gaining access to electricity which made it easier to

charge the electric car. Many brilliant people such as Ferdinand Porsche and Thomas

Edison created versions of the electric car which became popular amongst people.

Unfortunately, for the electric car, Henry Ford’s gas powered Model T was much more

affordable due to the mass production. This ultimately ended the electric car for the time

period. The author wraps up this article with information on how the electric car finally

began to become popular again around the 1990s. People in today’s society are

concerned for the environment and are looking at the electric car as a possible solution.
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The author for this reliable website source is Rebecca Matulka. Rebecca is a former

digital communications specialist for the Energy Department and now covers

information about energy efficient things, such as the electric car. This proves her

expertise in this subject matter and shows how this source is credible as well. Along with

these credentials, Rebecca references the New York Times and the ARPA-E which further

proves how reliable this source is. Compared to the other sources, this source allows for

me to analyze the whole timeline of the electric car and how it has developed into what it

is today. With this source, I am now able to gain knowledge about the early stages of the

electric car and how it died off. I am also able to learn why the demand for the electric

car has resurfaced and whether or not it will take over the gas-powered vehicle. Based on

this article, the gas-powered vehicle surpassed the electric car in the early 1900s, so it

will be interesting to see if the electric car can make a comeback.

Raphelson, Samantha. “U.S. Utilities Look To Electric Cars As Their Savior Amid Decline In

Demand” Here and Now. 29 March 2018. National Public Radio. https://www.npr.org/

2018/03/29/598032288/u-s-utilities-look-to-electric-cars-as-their-savior-amid-decline-in-

demand. Accessed 21 October 2018.

This source is an article from the website NPR.org, which stand for National Public

Radio, a radio newscast website. This particular article talks about the future of the

electric car and some of the statistics projected to be seen as electric cars become more

popular. In specific, how the United States utilities companies will benefit from the

electric car. The author starts out by mentioning the increase of renewable energy and
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natural gas and how this has drastically hurt the utility companies. It was stated that

thirteen percent of the demand for electricity was dropped in result of this. The author

then begins to talk about the future of utility companies in relation to the electric car. A

specific statistic is shared by the author about how if all cars and trucks in the United

States were to become electric, 774 terawatts of energy would be added to the demand

for electricity. The author finishes up talking about specific car companies, such as Tesla

and GM, and how incentives by the government will no longer exist as more electric cars

are produced. This ultimately makes the competition more competitive. The author for

this source is Samantha Raphelson. She is a production assistant for National Public

Radio and has written many articles about modern day events in the world. Throughout

this developed article from a popular source, Raphelson uses facts from sources such as

Bloomberg along with quotes from relevant people such as Elon Musk. This ultimately

makes this source very credible. Compared to the other sources in this bibliography, this

source allows me to gain information on how the electric car can be positive for certain

people or companies. I found this source to be very helpful because it shows the

arguments and points of people who believe the electric car is going to be a dominant

vehicle in the future. I am now able to compare arguments from both sides in regards to

the future of the electric car which will allow me to produce information that shows both

of these sides and why they are right and/or wrong.