Gas vehicles account for a major part of CO2 emissions and have proven to have a negative effect on the environment by contributing to global warming. Electric vehicles (EVs) are a simple solution that countries such as China are quickly shifting towards, making sales of gas vehicles prohibited in certain areas. One common reason for Americans not getting EVs is lack of access to charging ports. On a smaller scale, Lawrenceville faculty and staff have access to one dual charging port. Our goal was to find an example of a school that has taken a leap forward into EVs, and see how they did it. We reached out to Mr. Joshua Hahn, a former Lawrenceville teacher who is now Assistant Head of School at The Hotchkiss School, and an expert in the field of sustainability. We asked Mr. Hahn two questions about EVs and how they have affected Hotchkiss.
In order to fully understand how Hotchkiss has taken initiative with pushing EVs on their campus we asked Mr. Hahn, what was the benefit of putting in 12 charging ports on campus? In response to this, Mr. Hahn stated, “it has incentivized our faculty and staff to move to EVs.” Faculty at the Hotchkiss school are more likely to purchase a new EV as there are 12 nearby charging ports to support them. The image on the left shows the 2 charging ports at Hotchkiss open to the general public out of their 12, as well as others in the area. Currently here at Lawrenceville we have 1 dual charging port, which discourages our faculty from buying an EV.
Some buyers are turned away from purchasing EVs because of the CO2 emitted when mining for Lithium used in the battery. Fear not, because researchers at M.I.T state “even when accounting for the initial emissions associated with manufacturing the battery, electric cars still emit less CO2 than gas-powered cars.” There is still a greater benefit in EVs than a regular gas powered car in terms of CO2 emission. Another positive when comparing EV’s to gas fueled vehicles is that they do not produce smog, haze or produce any health issues. Conventional vehicles produce direct emissions into our environment.
MIT’s En-Roads simulator is a reputable and valuable tool which is used in political debates about improvements or shifts countries need to make to help reduce global temperatures in the future. The simulator focuses on all aspects of global warming, but our interests lie in the electrification category. In its detailed settings, there are a few smaller categories which stand out: Building charging infrastructure to meet future demand, and electric transport subsidies. If you slide it to building charging infrastructure to 100%, then the global temperature reduces by 0.1, which is a lot considering it is just a small category inside of a larger section. This also means that it is vital to the progress of EVs, as it will allow every car owner in the world to own an EV and be supported, reducing the amount of carbon emissions from gas cars.
Electric transport subsidy is money that the government gives to providers and consumers of EVs, which can make them more affordable. This increases the amount of people that can have access to EVs, which can start a motion to get rid of gas cars. The default settings of the simulator have it at 0%, which means that there is no government funding that goes towards EVs. The simulator allows you to move the slider with a maximum of 50%. The simulator calculated temperature by 2100 similar to the first setting, going down by 0.1 degrees. The amount of electric car sales goes up by over 16%, predicting that in 2100 almost 70% of all car sales will be electric. These two settings provide an insight into the future of EVs, and allow people to see what the results of a change will be. Electric car sales are expected to increase significantly by 2100, and can keep rising if the right actions are taken by governments and people.
Mr. Hahn and the EnRoads simulator provide insights as to how the world can reduce carbon emissions on a global scale, and what a campus is able to do to help lead the charge. There are several factors in electric transportation that can have a major effect on the world’s carbon emission, which are better described by Mr. Hahn in his initiative for the Hotchkiss school to become an epicenter for the greater areas EVs. Hopefully Lawrenceville can be inspired by Hotchkiss and other schools who are taking similar approaches, and in the future we can have a greater EV population making our campus greener.
Works Consulted
Crawford, I. (n.d.). How much CO2 is emitted by manufacturing batteries? Climate Portal. https://climate.mit.edu/ask-mit/How-much-co2-emitted-manufacturing-batteries
Alternative Fuels Data Center. (n.d.). U.S. Department of Energy. Retrieved February 25, 2025, from https://afdc.energy.gov/vehicles/electric-emissions
Hahn, J. (2025, February 16). [E-mail interview by the author].
MIT. (n.d.). EnRoads Simulator [Chart; Software]. https://en-roads.climateinteractive.org/scenario.html?v=25.2.0
