Driving Cars is Terrible for the Environment and We Need to Use More Sustainable Fuel
Written By Uk Dararath
In 2000, one person had one vehicle, and it is expected that there might be over 2 billion vehicles by 2020. It is further demonstrated that one person drove approximately 8000 miles (Sperlin & Gorden 2009, cited in Chazal & Rogers 2013, p. 80 & 197). The global dramatic increase of the number of cars has raised the awareness of people concerning over environment issues. Solutions to secure the environment suggest the innovation of sustainable fuel to replace fossil. This essay discusses negative impacts of using fossil cars to the air conditions and the ozone layer, and examines the solutions of electric and hybrid cars.
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There has been increasing interest in sustainable fuel in recent years. Sustainable fuel can be defined as “fuel that is used to provide heat or power and able to continue over a period of time (Cambridge Advanced Learner’s Dictionary- 4th edition).” For example, the Toyota car company produces green vehicles called “Prius”, which are hybrid that use sustainable fuels. In other words, these kinds of vehicles are to help the environment by avoiding using non-renewable fuel. Similarly, even in the United States, the demand for hybrids has increased. These examples demonstrate that sustainable fuels have been globally encouraged by both governments and non-state sectors.
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The number of cars keeps increasing, which increases the amount of carbon dioxide (CO2). The gases containing CO2 from car operations are dangerous for the atmospheric conditions. The car emissions from vehicle operations and refueling react with nitrogen oxides in the presence of sunlight to form ground level ozone (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency EPA Office Of Mobile Sources, 1994). The Carbon dioxide and a greenhouse gas hydrocarbons effect the atmosphere by the burning of fossil fuels (Cathles, 2011). To put it simply the gasses from cars can pollute the quality of air environment in ground level.
Another negative effect from using cars is that the pollutants from cars can destroy the Ozone Layer. The substances released from car operations might interact with others to form more dangerous ozone layer destroyers, such as CFCs and HFCs. For example, those substances spread over the atmosphere like a blanket and they will break down ozone molecules, reducing UV and the capacity of absorbing radiation (Union of Concerned Scientist, n.d). In other words, the substances from cars’ operation and fueling can enormously weaken the capacity of the layer in preventing the heat from the sun to the earth. The rising of awareness of the effect of greenhouse on the ozone layer, moreover, has led to new inventions of sustainable-car technologies to overcome these issues.
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The new engines of electric and hybrid cars are known to be environmentally friendly. Electric cars are powered by an electric motor instead of a gasoline engine by consuming exclusive energy stored in its rechargeable batteries, which are recharged by common household electricity (Berman, 2014). Hybrid cars share more or less the same technologies with those of electric cars, and are equipped with a capacity to switch its power to fossil fuel when batteries run out. Studies shows that the adoption of electric and hybrid cars can reduce atmospheric emissions (Cruicksnak & Kendall 2012, cited in Chazal & Rogers 2013). However, short battery life and limited access to charging point are still a major concern of these alternative cars.
conclusion, driving cars negatively contributes to the earth environment damage, the air quality and the ozone layer capacity, and, therefore, sustainable fuel-consuming cars, such as electric and hybrid cars, are important to help reduce the negative impacts from fossil engines. There are still doubts how much these alternative cars can help the environment and when they can be used to replace the non-renewable fuel cars. It requires more research and extensive innovation of technologies. There is still an optimistic belief that electric and hybrid cars will, one day, be fully used for friendly environment.
References
Crane, Kinderman & Malhoda 2010, cited in Edward & Rogers, 2013, p. 205, Oxford EAP Intermediate/B1+, Oxford: Oxford University Press
Cambridge Advanced Learner’s Dictionary- 4th edition
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency EPA Office Of Mobile Sources, 1994 Automobile Emissions: An Overview retrieved from https://www3.epa.gov/otaq/consumer/05-autos.pdf
L. M. Cathles, January 7, 2011, “Assessing the Greenhouse Impact of Natural Gas”, Greenhouse gas sources. Retrieved fromhttp://www.geo.cornell.edu/eas/PeoplePlaces/Faculty/cathles/Natural%20Gas/Cathles-%20Assessing%20GH%20Impact%20Natural%20Gas.pdf accessed on July 14th, 2016
Union of Concerned Scientist, n.d retrieved fromhttp://www.ucsusa.org/global_warming/science_and_impacts/science/ozone-hole-and-gw-faq.html#.V4eu1fl97IU accessed on July 14th, 2016
Brad Berman, 2014, Plungin Car, “What Is an Electric Car?” retrieved fromhttp://www.plugincars.com/electric-cars accessed on July 14th, 2016
