The car company, General Motors (GM), has recently announced their company’s plan to slowly phase out gas and diesel using cars in favor of electric cars by 2035.

At the moment, they are working on perfecting electric car technology on trucks. Their Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Marty Barra, says that electric car technology can help to “establish a safer, greener, and better world.”

This shift from regular, gas using cars to electric cars will have many effects on us. I asked a few La Salle students what they thought about the situation, especially on the high school level. After all, the way cars are owned and operated could effect new drivers in numerous ways.

Mia Castellon says that for new drivers, the switch could be more beneficial, “because the conditions of the environment that they live on would vastly improve without the detrimental effects of fossil fuels.”

The state of the environment could be changed dramatically if the world came to stop depending on fossil fuels. Eliminating their usage in cars could have a number of positive effects. This could help lead to the “greener world” Barra talked about.

Although it might be hard for people to learn to charge their cars and whatnot, and some (like gas station workers) may be out of a job, the overall benefits outweigh the possible negatives in the long run. Junior Katrina Diaz-Balart says that on top of positive environmental effects, “an increase in electric car sales… can inspire [new drivers] to buy and electric car as well…”

Finding reliable sources of renewable energy for automobiles is a huge step towards a more unified, environmental friendly world. With the efforts of GM and other motor companies, it may become a reality.

As high school students, we should keep our minds open to developments like this one, so that we can play a role in the rehabilitation of our own earth and in the further development of high speed technology. One does not have to be sacrificed for the other.

With such a positive outlook on the fast improving electric car technology, it is not so far off to assume they will be the way of the future.