The Effect Cars Have on the Environment

The effect Cars have on the Environment

After the significant shift in the transportation industry in the twentieth century, cars have become an integral part of the society. They have a prominent role in advancing the industrial economy. Despite their significance, cars have significant adverse effects on the environment with the main impact being the pollution of the environment due to the emission of toxic byproducts from the fuel used in automobiles. Cars are therefore contributors to global warming and urban congestion, especially in urban areas. 

However, as independent modes of mobility from one place to the next, cars revolutionize the lifestyles of people and are therefore indispensable (Hofacker & Knorra, 2016). This essay, therefore, attempts to weigh the effects of cars as necessary components of the society to the environment whose sustainability is crucial for the survival to future generations. By evaluating the effects cars have on the environment, the essay creates a real understanding of the implications of using automobiles, the existing interventions that combat pollution and makes a basis for improving the future developments that counter the negative impacts of cars on the earth’s atmosphere.

Background

The development of the car as an automobile is one of the many ways humankind has tampered with the ecosystem of the earth. After the past significant technological advances in Europe, other parts of the world adopted the introduction of automobiles with Henry Ford being one of the pioneers that became automakers (Noppers et al., 2014). The progress increased the necessity of cars to could perform distinctive tasks such as going to work and visiting people in distant locations in a faster and more convenient manner. The rapid transformation of the automobile industry into a global giant, however, presents noticeable effects on the adjacent environment where plantations were cleared to build roads and create passageways to ease transportation. These significant effects are felt today due to the need for more roads and large passageways (Noppers et al., 2014).

Effects on the Environment

In the recent past, there is a growing concern for the global temperature change and the visible adverse environmental impacts due to human activities. Today’s society makes extensive efforts to increase green strategies despite the industrial growth of the transportation industry. With this in mind, cars have massive effects on the environment from the time of manufacture to the point of disposal in the junkyards despite their vital roles (Noppers et al., 2014). They pollute the air, land, and water, consume space and transform the land. 

Noppers, Keizer, Bolderdijk and Steg (2014) in ‘The adoption of sustainable innovations: Driven by symbolic and environmental motives’ note that the environmental degradation caused by cars has prompted an inquiry into the effects of cars on the environment. It is important to evaluate the car as an invention that was fueled by the human necessity to find a comfortable mode of transport (Noppers et al., 2015). From the manufacturing process to disposal, cars pose a significant threat to the ambiance of the environment despite their importance in mobility.

The manufacture of these automobiles includes the use of unfriendly materials such as glass, plastic, and rubber which are not decomposable. The extraction of iron ore, petroleum lead and bauxite consumes the limited resources that are necessary to process aluminum, rubber, steel and other raw materials in the manufacturing process. The extraction of such materials and the pits left in the aftermath present enormous repercussions to the environment. Furthermore, the location of the manufacturing and mining facilities takes massive environmental space.

In agreement with Nopper et al., 2015, Rodrigue, in his article ‘The Environmental Impacts of Transportation’ asserts that a multidimensional approach to the car as influencing significant changes in the environment is crucial (Rodrigue, 2016). He says that the process of production of these cars consumes a lot of energy from the environment while the waste is a significant pollutant to water bodies, air, and land adjacent to the manufacturing plants. 

After production is complete, the cars are ready for takeoff and need fuel to enable their usability (Tanaka et al., 2012). The fuels include petrol and diesel, which prompt drilling of the land to get the fuel deposits underground. The process of drilling and refining of the petroleum products further destroys the ambiance of the environment. 

Despite being consumers of oil and gas, cars need customized pathways to suit their mobility. The construction of the roads takes up a large part of the environment while the same time, the combustion of the fuel produces polluting gasses from the engines. This makes them conventional pollutants accounting for the most production on carbon monoxide despite the development of strict emission standards in developed countries. Cars impact on ozone pollution through the production of fine particulates that constitute of nitrogen oxides that have serious threats to human health especially in urban settlements (Noppers et al., 2014).These greenhouse gasses are growing with the increased motorization. 

On another scale, cars affect the landscape of nature by influencing the shapes. Places that were in the past known as forests are now cities and towns. This is because, with the use of automobiles, people can travel to a distant place in minimal time and have therefore come to appreciate working in different locations of residence from their homes. They, therefore, explore and settle in new areas with opportunities, which eventually grow into towns and cities. Small towns grow into large towns and the large cities are reshaped to occupy more space through the construction of roads, bridges and tunnels in the mountains. 

In the process of reshaping landscapes, people are now overcrowded in cities and towns thereby impacting on the increase of waste products to locations that were in the past covered in plantation or water bodies (Rodrigue, 2016). Additionally, vacant land is now connected by streets and roads. Other constructions that replace lands and environmental space include parking lots, fuel stations, driveways, car dealerships and businesses that sell spare parts. 

However, there are positive implications of cars such as the transportation of people that improve the ambiance of the environment. Most people that have adopted positive environmental habits use roads as a way to spread their environmental conservations to various regions that are connected by roads thereby enhancing car transportation. Additionally, vehicles enable residents of polluted cities to travel to rural areas where they have the chance to experience and enjoy the fresh air and panoramic views. People enjoy and meditate in scenic environments which improve their drive towards conserving the environment.

Interventions

Due to the importance of adopting green technologies to reduce the effect of industry on the earth’s atmosphere, there is a shift in focus on the manufacture and development of new cars. As compared to different manufacturing endeavors, cars have low pollution rates as an adverse effect on the environment. Environmental policyholders have successfully shifted responsibility to manufacturers to limit the pollution standards due to the rising grave concerns over the deterioration of the environment (Tanaka et al., 2012). One of the conditions that the automobile manufacturer has to meet to keep the process running is to produce sustainable models that ensure there is a preservation of the remaining environmental resources. 

The focus on reducing emissions released into the earth’s atmosphere is an effort to reduce the air pollution that affects the ozone layer. By developing hybrid cars that lessen the rate of toxic production of organic compounds to the atmosphere is one of the efforts car manufacturing companies have adopted to reduce pollution. Such new models switch between the use of fuel and electricity which is not a pollutant. When these cars use fuel to drive at speed on roads that stretch across vast lands, the gear switches to rechargeable electric energy that is not a pollutant. The hybrid cars counter the problem of noise, air, and land pollution. They do this by having ‘silent’ engine when in traffic, do not produce oil wastes from the cars and are easy to maintain therefore do not increase the levels of stress in their owners (Tanaka et al., 2012). The high dependency on transportation can, therefore, depend on hybrid technologies that are cost efficient and environmentally friendly.

However, the hybrid intervention is a challenge when it comes to the process of manufacture because the production includes higher energy consumption and higher emission levels than producing a conventional car. A recommendable methods needed to combat this counter productivity is the production of lightweight materials that use aluminum and carbon fiber to make car bodies. Research is therefore needed to deal with this issue so as to maintain the required atmospheric conditions to improve environmental sustainability. Studies focused on improving feasibility for the adoption of the hybrid technology shall be useful in increasing the compatibility of new models of cars with environmental sustainability.

Despite air pollution being the most popular environmental concern for most cities, traffic noise also factors the intensity of contamination by the residence. This form of noise pollution includes the steam whistles, the grinding gears, and screeching brakes, dangling bells, noisy drivers and factory machinery. With less gravity than air pollution, it is still a requirement to reduce the noise to a minimum by adopting the use of advanced engines that produce less noise than the conventional models. This is because the noise pollution factors cause increased stress levels and can ultimately result in hearing loss especially in cities. 

As a policy, some of the developed countries raise taxes on fuel so as to discourage the use of fuel to significantly reduce carbon emissions (Tanaka et al., 2012). Another way is setting standards of fuel production so that processors safer fuel options. The urban development patterns that affect the increased car ownership also 

Today cars are dependent on fossil fuels that emit toxic forms of gasses into the air, cause noise pollution and degrade the space where nature formerly existed because of the growing need to maintain extensive roadway systems. In comparison to the benefits of natural transportation, the negative effects of cars are outstanding. It is true that car exhausts are polluting the atmosphere and the environment and atmosphere despite an increase in their demand due to the growing population on a global scale. Furthermore, the automobile industry attracts a ton of profit by producing new models that appeal to the community needs without enough consideration for the deteriorating environment. 

However, most leaders in different global fronts are aware of these need and to sustain the environment, have initiated the goal of searching for less toxic fuel resources despite the various limitations. The constant change in climate changes is a wake-up call for environmental policyholders who have to take to account the growing status of global warming. The continued dependency on cars for mobility and globalization through road transportation makes automobiles indispensable. Therefore, the adoption of pure combustion engines will play a significant role in reducing the rate of air, water, and land pollution. Additionally, alternative fuel technologies such as biodiesel, hydrogen, and natural gas are also implementations that shall save the environment.

References

Hofacker, A., & Knorra, U. (2016). Life Cycle Assessments Cars and Environment.  ATZ worldwide ,  118 (4), 8-13.

Noppers, E. H., Keizer, K., Bolderdijk, J. W., & Steg, L. (2014). The adoption of sustainable innovations: driven by symbolic and environmental motives.  Global Environmental Change ,  25 , 52-62.

Rodrigue, D. (2016).  The Environmental Impacts of Transportation .  People.hofstra.edu . Retrieved 11 November 2016, from https://people.hofstra.edu/geotrans/eng/ch8en/conc8en/ch8c1en.html

Tanaka, K., Berntsen, T., Fuglestvedt, J. S., & Rypdal, K. (2012). Climate effects of emission standards: the case for gasoline and diesel cars.  Environmental science & technology ,  46 (9), 5205-5213.