When we mention vehicles, we tend to think of all the advantages that they bring, such as the freedom of movement when and where we want it. Yet, we often neglect to consider another side of the automobile, which is more relevant to cars, and is that of their environmental impact. Cars made it possible to change the nature of transportation, which is also the main cause of pollution, climate change, and the use of natural resources in the environment.
In the situation that more cars are being driven on the road in every passing year, the related to car environmental challenges become more and more difficult to be ignored consequently. The other positive factor is that the industry is in the process of changing to be greener in their technology, transportation means, and production facilitites. Here we will analyze the environmental impact of cars and the efforts to reduce their negative impacts on the environment.
- Carbon Emissions and Climate Change
One of the biggest environmental impacts of cars is attributed to the greenhouse gases they produce like carbon dioxide (CO2). When fossil fuels such as gas or diesel are used for running an engine, they discharge CO2 into the atmosphere this being a primary cause of climate change. This is the main contributor to global warming and climate change.
The transportation sector is responsible for the largest share of energy-related CO2 emissions, accounting for about 24% of global CO2. Driving is an ongoing activity that leads to the addition of more CO2 in the atmosphere each time you turn on your car exhaust, which causes the greenhouse effect or impeding the disposal to earth, causing temperature rise.
The climatic change due to the increase in temperature has an effect on the weather patterns, it is the cause of an occurrence of more extreme weather events (such as hurricanes, droughts, and floods), and is also a reason of the melting of the polar ice caps, thus,the rise of the __ sealevel. These are not only issues in the environment but also have implications in society and the economy such as, shattered communities, food finds, and economic instability.
- Air Pollution
Cars are not the only ones who produce carbon dioxide, they also emit other air pollutants that are harmful and reduce the quality of the air. Those are including:
-Nitrogen oxides (NOx): These hazardous gases are the major culprits to the hazy weather and the rain that acidity, thus, destroying ecosystems and buildings.
-Particulate matter: Tiny particles emitted from vehicle exhaust can seep into both the lungs and the bloodstream, leading to respiratory infections and heart disease.
-Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs): These are volatile organic substances that evaporate in the atmosphere and are the main source of the ground-level ozone, which is another part of the smog.
Car smog is a major health concern in the world. As per the World Health Organization (WHO), outdoor air pollution, the main part of which results from car traffic, is the cause of millions of premature deaths annually. The steady inhalation of polluted air is liable to bring about chronic diseases like asthma, lung cancer, and cardiovascular disorders.
Cities, wherecar traffic is heavy, are the most affected areas for overstepping air pollution levels. The children, the elderly, and the people with diagnosed health problems are affected the most from the effects of cruel air quality.
- Overpopulation and Energy Consumption
The production of cars would not be complete without looking into the question of what the negative effects of this in terms of natural resources are. The majority of cars that run on gasoline make use of finite resources like oil. The actual extraction and processing of these fuels consume not only Earth’s reserves but also result in the environmental damage.
Oil drilling is one of the worst consequences of oil spills, which are seriously harmful to the marine world and the seaside vegetation. The transportation of oil across oceans also adds the risk of spills. Besides that, the production of gasoline from crude oil needs large volume of energy and releasing the gases can be dangerous to health.
Making cars also needs heaps. The materials being the reasons aforementioned usually leads us to severe consequences such as habitat destruction, water pollution, and deforestation. As a result, these activities cause so much damage that they are a threat to the life of all living creatures in an ecosystem.
- The Environmental Cost of Car Production
The truth is, the pollution of the atmospheric air with the smoke from an automobile exhaust pipe is just one of the bad things about this issue. The entire production process of the cars consumes huge amounts of energy, water, and raw materials. The mate is every step of the production chain, not only the final assembly but even the metal industry that is responsible for such environmentally damaging activities in companies such as Hyundai.
For instance, steel, aluminum, rubber, plastics, and glass are included in the production of a single car, each of which has its own emissions footprint. Soil crusts can be washed away exposing them to the effects of erosion when these substances are extracted and processed. Moreover, the discarded items in this process may cause streams and rivers to be contaminated or even areas to be deforested.
Similarly, the companies that are involved in the automotive and automotive component sector are often the ones that burn more fossil fuel and thus to add to carbon emissions. This picture is still a part of ongoing efforts on many fronts to switch to a more sustainable approach while the numbers remain quite high concerning the production of millions of cars every year.
- Are Electric Vehicles: A Cleaner Alternative?
One of the most hopeful ways to deal with the negative side effects of the cars is the development of the electric vehicle (EV) r STEEP analysis, where we analyze social, technological, economic, environmental, and political factors) and creation of ecologically friendly electric vehicles are crucial to Nissan, and other car manufacturers.
However, one major hunger must be addressed first before the environmental effect of electric vehicles would be measured. In places where the electricity comes from coal or other fossil fuels, the improvement in the environment through EVs maybe decreased. Onc>However, one major hunger must be addressed first before the environmental effect of electric vehicles would be measured. In places where the electricity comes from coal or other fossil fuels, the improvement in the environment through EVs maybe decreased. However, it is noted that as most areas switch to renewable sources of energy, so the opportunity for electric vehicles to have emissions reduced has been found to be greater.
Additionally, along with the removal of the tailpipe emissions, the materials used in the batteries of the electric vehicles pose a variety of environmental problems. At present, the three most rarely mined metals for batteries to be produced are lithium, cobalt, and nickel. As a result, materials for batteries must be mined first, a process that has adverse effects on the environment including soil degradation of natural lands. Using them in electric vehicles also presents materials issues due to the consumption of materials. In addition, one of the major untold stories of this business is the labor practices of mines. However, apart from new processes of battery recycling and the development of sustainable methods of mining other issues could be solved as well.
It is still accurate to say that electric vehicles are not a fix-all, but they will surely be a big change in the environmental pollution of transportation.
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