Air Pollution! Your Car Is to Blame
Air Pollution! Your Car is to Blame. America is an Automobile Society! Buses, trucks, vans, SUV’s, cars and motorcycles are what move Americans in and around US cities. Just as the southern US was historically a Slave Society, every aspect of our daily lives are dependent upon or made possible by automobiles. These modern day tools provide required mobility and a declaration of class that is uniquely American. It would not be farfetched to think a second Civil War could ensue between environmentalist and automobile enthusiast - as a result of governments attempting to take away personal vehicles. This quintessential, American love affair with the personal automobile has fueled significant environmental problems. Respiratory issues, urban blight, and tainted water supplies. Most importantly automobiles are causing poor air quality in cities.
During the summer months, the morning news will spend a few seconds covering that day’s air quality outlook. There is typically an on screen scale of 1 – 10, and each meteorologist alerts viewers to that day’s air quality ranking. Populations with respiratory issues will be more or less affected because of that day’s air quality index. An advisement for those people to act accordingly will likely follow. If you have ever pondered the causes of such news worthy air quality variations, we now have an answer. Experts say “your automobiles” (Arkansas). According to the EPA, in typical urban areas, cars, buses, trucks, and off-highway mobile sources such as construction vehicles and boats produce at least half of the Hydrocarbons and Nitrogen Oxides (NOx) expelled into the air (EPA 2). These Hydrocarbons and Nitrogen Oxides are two of many chemicals and particulate matter that make up air pollution. Although automobiles do not account for 100% of these Hydrocarbon and Nitrogen Oxide (NOx) emissions, there ranking as a 50% contributor is quite significant. Automobiles are in fact the largest single producer of air
During the summer months, the morning news will spend a few seconds covering that day’s air quality outlook. There is typically an on screen scale of 1 – 10, and each meteorologist alerts viewers to that day’s air quality ranking. Populations with respiratory issues will be more or less affected because of that day’s air quality index. An advisement for those people to act accordingly will likely follow. If you have ever pondered the causes of such news worthy air quality variations, we now have an answer. Experts say “your automobiles” (Arkansas). According to the EPA, in typical urban areas, cars, buses, trucks, and off-highway mobile sources such as construction vehicles and boats produce at least half of the Hydrocarbons and Nitrogen Oxides (NOx) expelled into the air (EPA 2). These Hydrocarbons and Nitrogen Oxides are two of many chemicals and particulate matter that make up air pollution. Although automobiles do not account for 100% of these Hydrocarbon and Nitrogen Oxide (NOx) emissions, there ranking as a 50% contributor is quite significant. Automobiles are in fact the largest single producer of air
Cited: • Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality. "Cars and Air Pollution." ADEQ. Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality, Jan. 2010. Web. 19 Feb. 2012. . • Blank, Chris. "Reasons for Urban Decay." EHow. Demand Media, 14 July 2009. Web. 19 Feb. 2012. . • "Catalytic Converters." International Platinum Group Metals Association. Jan. 2010. Web. 19 Feb. 2012. . • EPA on the internet. Jan 1993. Environmental Protection Agency. 02/19/2012 • HOLSTEIN, JARED. "Five Bestselling Hybrids." Car and Driver. Car and Driver, July 2008. Web. 19 Feb. 2012. . • Ucsusa on the internet. 04/04/2008. Union of Concerned Scientists. 02/19/2012 < http://www.ucsusa.org>. • Wikimedia Foundation. "Interstate Highway System." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 19 Feb. 2012. Web. 19 Feb. 2012. .