The Best Cars for the Climate
Provided by: Hot Mess|Published on: April 27, 2021|Last updated: September 26, 2026
Grades: 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12
Type: Videos
Subjects: Physics, Engineering
Authors: Hot Mess
Location: Earth, North America > United States
This resource has been reviewed by SubjectToClimate's climate scientists and verified for scientific accuracy and up-to-date information. Learn about our review process →
This resource has been reviewed by SubjectToClimate's climate scientists and verified for scientific accuracy and up-to-date information. Learn about our review process →
Synopsis
- This video from Hot Mess discusses what kinds of cars have the lowest impact on climate change.
- In their assessment, they include total emissions, not just on-road emissions, and discuss the pros and cons of electric and hybrid cars.
Teaching Materials
Positives
- This video uses graphs and examples to clarify the points they are making.
- The video asks questions and then answers them clearly and concisely.
Prerequisites
- There may be an ad before the video, and there is a sponsored message at the end.
- Students should be comfortable reading graphs, using fractions, and interpreting percentages.
- Students should be familiar with traditional, hybrid, and electric cars.
Differentiation & Implementation
- A possible activity would be to have students rank modes of transportation by their impact on climate change and then have the students pick the type of transportation they would use and explain why.
- A science class could use this video when learning about batteries or combustion reactions.
- Some related resources are this lesson plan Green Transportation: Electric Cars vs. Bicycles and this StC lesson plan Comparing Travel Emissions: Math Lesson.
The video evaluates the contribution of CO2 emissions and energy consumption from fossil fuel-powered cars, electric vehicles, and hybrid vehicles. It also spotlights their entire life cycle and emissions from the value chain. Although EVs consume more energy from the production phase, they are eco-friendly in terms of usage over the life of the vehicle. This resource is insightful and recommended for teaching.
Teaching Tips
Standards
Resource Type and Format
Scientist Reviewed
This resource has been reviewed by SubjectToClimate's climate scientists and verified for scientific accuracy and up-to-date information. Our review process ensures that every resource in our library reflects the current state of climate science.
Learn about our review process →
