Electric cars should be adopted, while limiting gas-powered cars

A wonderful job by my opponent. The key issue of the debate is whether electric cars should be adopted now while limiting gas-powered cars. The opposition has not provided a date in round one, therefore the date the model is set as now. I completely agree that electric cars could be beneficial in the future. However, now, due to the cost and lack of efficiency electric cars are not viable. Model My opposition has failed to provide a model as the affirmative, so the model is for either side that replies first. As always it must be based on the stock topic. I will be kind and provide a fair model for both sides. Electric cars will be pushed, while a tax is placed upon those owning a gas-fuelled car throughout the world. Key issues 1. Pro has refuted my points 1 and 2, claiming that coal is used less and less every day. This is the truth but the debate is implementing the model now. So, what this means is my points 1 and 2 still stand. Electric cars are, as of right now far less efficient, thus more detrimental to both people and the environment. Pro has pointed to the countries, America for example, that don't use coal. (a) They mainly rely on natural gas or nuclear fission. These methods of producing power are admittedly better than coal yet are still detrimental to the environment, thus people. (b) These countries have a relatively low total population contrasted to the countries that use coal, mainly 3rd world countries. Some examples being India and China (It is a 2nd world country). The total population of the countries mainly using coal vastly outweighs those that don't, 89% to 11%. This means that the amount of coal used is very high. Sources: http://www.quora.com... http://www.prb.org...; http://www.jstor.org... 2. My opposition stated here "My opponent bluntly stated, "My opposition here has fallen for a stereotype that people want strong, powerful cars. This just isn't true. We are in the 21st not the 20th century". My opponent failed to produce any numbers, surveys, studies, or cites confirming that the general public is less interested in powerful cars." However finding surveys for this is very difficult. A far easier solution to this is to take a walk. Take a stroll around suburbia; the average of a countries population lives there. My opposition provided statistics stating, "Ford Mustang sales are through the roof. In the stroll taken around suburbia, how many muscle cars and Ford Mustangs did you find? Very little. The average person can be seen not to want muscle cars. Sources: http://www.abs.gov.au... 3. As to statements without support, my opponent stated several times that the general public is not educated about electric cars. However unlike my statement that is supported with a simple walk, there is not support for my opposition's statement. It is fallacious. 4. My opposition has continuously stated how this model will benefit people below the poverty line. However, as seen in my upcoming arguments it is a detriment to the people below the poverty line. Key arguments 1. The main drawback of electric cars now? The price. The average price of an electric car is $40,000. That is a hell of a lot of money. As my opposition stated the average engineer earns "$68,804.00 a year" and I must point out, my opposition showed that the average engineer is above the poverty line. The average engineer, my opposition referred to, would hardly be able to afford to buy an electric car at their current price. Keeping this in mind, imagine the people below the poverty line. How can we force upon the misfortunate people that reside below the poverty line, the vastly detrimental tax put in place, as the core model stated. This will place them even lower in the socio-economic climate. People who buy electric cars are of a higher socio-economic standing (See source). Studies show that the owners of electric cars are middle aged, affluent, men and women, people who do not have to worry about the $40,000 price tag. We cannot force upon people right now the extreme expense issued by electric cars. Perhaps in the future they will be cheaper, but right now they are far to expensive. Sources: http://www.forbes.com... http://www.usatoday.com... http://www.wnyc.org... 2. Electric cars are not nearly developed enough to populate the roads as of now. As stated in the first source, it is impossible to drive most electric cars more than 60 miles a day. This can be extremely detrimental to our society. 60 miles is nothing. Imagine trying to go on a holiday trip. Imagine the commute everyday citizens face. Many will face more than 60 miles to work and back. The biggest drawback of electric cars is not range, but refuelling time. A few minutes spent at a gas station will give a conventional car 300 to 400 miles of range. In contrast, it takes 20 hours to completely recharge a Nissan Leaf (High end electric car) from 110V house current. An extra-cost 240V charger shortens this time to 8 hours. However even 8 hours is a very long time to charge a car and only adoptable for those with large wallets. How can we expect the average citizen to charge his/her car for 20 hours? It is insane. In city traffic, it has been observed take 4 hours to got 10 miles. After this time, all the cars would be flat, pulled over on the side of the road. While this may not happen often, think of driving 20-30 miles at 10 Mph. Electric cars are not yet viable to put on the roads in numbers. They haven't got the range and their refuelling time is ridiculous. They may be viable in the future, but certainly not now. Sources: http://www.forbes.com... Conclusion Electric cars are not yet ready to be placed on roads. They are far too expensive, limited in range and have a ridiculous refuelling time. For the opposition As to your questions, both one and two, I would answer them with the fact that electric cars can be a viable method to combat these issues in the future. I believe more investment and research is needed before electric cars are implementable. Just a tip: Remember to state your model in your first argument. I created a reasonably fair model, but there are other who will not act in this way. Great job though!