Car Pollution Facts

When human life began on this planet, humans survived by adapting themselves to their environment. But as civilization grew, humans invented stuff to make life easier and more comfortable. And one of these greatest inventions was the car. It made traveling less tiring, and also cut down the duration. But there is no denial to the truth that, among the several machines built for the human race, the car has had the biggest impact on the environment. Today, we have reached a stage wherein, we do not live with what the environment provides us, but we remake it for our convenience. One of the primary pollutants emitted into the air comes from the car, and that is carbon monoxide. As reported by the American Lung Association, in the year 1998, nearly 30,000 people died due to car emission. Some deaths occurred only because of car pollution, while in some cases, pollution was a major contributor.

Impact of Car Pollution

• One of the most important facts about car pollution is related to the quality of air we breathe day in, day out. In urban areas, nearly 80% of air pollution is the result of the exhaust of so many vehicles, emitting different chemicals into the air. Hydrogen, nitrogen, sulfur, carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide are the main pollutants emitted by a car. In cities, majority of respiratory problems is caused by car pollution
• SUVs pollute the air more than other type of cars
• Many are of the view that cars have made the world a noisy place to stay in. Studies show that about 80% of noise pollution in urban areas are said to be caused by cars. Some experts have even presented their views that the noise can be so damaging that it can affect even the structures of historic buildings, apart from causing permanent hearing damage. And not only this, high noise levels can intensify the stress levels in humans and animals. Many cases have come up wherein, it has been responsible for impairing the heart and the immune system as well. It is surprising to know that annually, thousands of people succumb to the automobile noise
• No one could have imagined the relation between the invention of a car and the drastic climate change that is happening all around us. I am talking about global warming. Coming back to statistics, automobiles contribute to about 25% of the carbon emission in the world. And in the USA, it is 33%. With more number of cars hitting the streets, our Earth will get hotter and hotter with time, and climate and weather would get more unpredictable
• Continuing this session on car pollution, we always tend to miss out one very important point which is 'the Earth has enough for our need, but not for our greed'. How many of us really ponder on the question of 'what would we do if the Earth's oil reserves go completely empty?' We would use bicycles! But is this the solution? Out of the total oil output in the world, a staggering 57% is utilized by ground vehicles. And to tell you the fact, half of this 57% is burned off in private cars. People have still not realized the importance of buying cars according to the mileage it gives. All they can see is the brand, the make, style, not to mention, luxury

Quick Facts

• Cars along with trucks and buses, are associated with nearly 3000 cases of cancer
• In China, doctors come across 400,000 cases of respiratory illnesses annually; a major contributor being car pollution
• Speaking of electric car, while the car may cause negligible air pollution, the electricity that is generated to recharge the car, is no less polluting than vehicles running on petrol or diesel

Hope you would take away something informative from all these facts about car pollution. If you ask me about what I took away from reading them, is a question to myself "Is it better to use my car wisely now, or what it would be like to buy a bicycle later for all my traveling?"..