Cleaner Alternative Transportation

1650 Words4 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Effects of fossil fuels on the environment

When people think pollution, most think straight to automobiles producing harmful emissions which contribute to global warming or climate change. Well, this is true. Motor vehicles account for about half of the toxic air pollutant emissions in the United States. A large part of these toxic air pollutants is the need to rely on oil as a fuel source. The fact that oil is still the main source of energy for things like automobiles, when there are other alternatives like electric vehicles, creates many problems within our society. The United States’ dependency on oil causes incidents like the Deepwater Horizon. The estimated amount of oil released stood at 4.9 million barrels and polluted the area significantly. We as a country need to cut down on our dependency on oil and a few steps in that direction include stepping away from fuel inefficient automobiles. Automobiles are one of the biggest contributing factors to the oil dependency of the United States, and they are also one of the largest pollution causes also. The pollution from automobiles became so bad that the United States had to pass the Clean Air Act in 1970 which forced a series of rules to reduce pollution from vehicle exhaust, refueling emissions and evaporating gasoline. The act had to be amended two more times in 1977 and 1990 to set more goals in addressing hazardous air pollutants. Even though the Clean Air Act helped control the pollution a bit, it still did not fix the underlying problem: the U.S.’s fixation on oil and gasoline vehicles. Due to high environmental pollution, we should move away from the traditional gasoline automobiles and instead look for greener alternatives like electric or hybrid vehicles and improved public transportation. Automobiles have bec... ... middle of paper ... ...Quality Selected Facts and Figures. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Dept. of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration, 2006. 5. Print. "Public Transportation Benefits." American Public Transportation Association. APTA, Web. 1 May 2014. . Rose, Lynne H. "Comparison of Hybrid vs. Normal Cars: Which Saves Money?" SF Gate. Demand Media. Web. 29 Apr. 2014. "The Environmental Benefits of Riding Public Transit." State of Delaware. Web. 1 May 2014. http://www.dnrec.delaware.gov/dwhs/info/Pages/OzonePublicTrans.aspx "The Plain English Guide to the Clean Air Act." EPA. Environmental Protection Agency, Web. 1 May 2014. Westin, Jonas, and Per Kågeson. "Can High Speed Rail Offset its Embedded Emissions?" Transportation Research Part D: Transport and Environment 17.1 (2012): 1-7. Academic Search Premier Web. 29 Apr. 2014

Show More
Related

  • Essay On Auto Shredder

    801 Words  | 2 Pages

    Ever since the Environmental Protection Agency otherwise known as the EPA, and the Clean Air Act were enacted into law in 1970 the American Auto Industry has been inundated with many environmental challenges such as brake debris/tire particles, paint and coating, auto shredding residue, battery content, smog, and gasoline. For the first time in 14 years, cost reduction ranked 32% compared to environmental issues such as emissions and fuel economy which ranked 53% in consumer reports.

    Read More

  • Big Box Retailers

    2276 Words  | 5 Pages

    Pollution has always been a big concern for anyone who has seen films or pictures from some of the Southeast Asian countries, where smog sometimes fills the whole sky of cities. Indeed, pollution is a terrible thing, but unfortunately it is a real concern for our modern times. There is always a price to pay for advancing, and in many cases that price is the creation of harmful substances to the environment around us, and sometimes even to us. One shocking example of this happened not so long ago right here in the United States, when one of the five great lakes, Lake Erie, was so full of pollution around Cleveland that almost all of the wildlife died and people could literally walk across the top of the pollution on the lake. Obviously, nobody wants anything like this to ever happen again. Fortunately, the lake was eventually cleaned up, but the damage was done, both to the environment and to the psyche and mindset of the American people. Some people see big box retailers as a cause of much pollution, and for some people that’s all they need to hear in order to be eternally opposed against big box retailers.

    Read More

  • The Hazards of Ocean Pollution

    798 Words  | 2 Pages

    Because it is the most highly publicized of the different forms of ocean pollution, oil spills, oil leakages, and general oil contamination are something that we all seem to be aware of. Since the Exxon Valdez incident, the American public in particular has been more and more critical of oil companies.Each year, over 700 million gallons of oil end up in the ocean. Contrary to what you may have thought, most oil pollution doesn't come from tanker accidents. In fact, tanker accidents account for less than 90 million of the g...

    Read More

  • America Needs More Public Transportation

    1068 Words  | 3 Pages

    Pollution is a major problem for all of us. People need to recognize this situation so we can start making a difference to this problem. In order to start making a difference, the federal government should increase gasoline tax by one dollar a gallon. Fifty percent of this dollar will go towards public transportation, since passenger cars and trucks are a major contribution towards air pollution, according to the United States Environmental Protection Agency, E.P.A (10/4, http://www.epa.gov/autoemissions/emsns.html). Due to the expected increase after this is put forth, the remaining fifty percent of the dollar will go towards safety on these transits. When public transportation increases, air pollution will decrease, which will lessen the harmful health risks towards the environment.

    Read More

  • Persuasive Essay On Electric Cars

    1187 Words  | 3 Pages

    Gasoline fueled cars produce a number of pollutants. The most damaging pollutants that come from gasoline fueled cars are particulate matter. Particulate matter is a sequence of organic materials and inorganic substances. It includes ingredients such as lint and minerals. Nitrogen dioxide, produced when fuel is burned at high temperatures, can cause damage to the lungs and cause chest pains. One might ask, “Why are Americans still driving gasoline cars?” knowing the damage that they are subject to cause. I personally maintain that the government should push people to p...

    Read More

  • Mitigating Risk in Transportation Costs

    1279 Words  | 3 Pages

    Finding ways to move goods from one point to another at a reasonable cost and within an acceptable time frame is a growing challenge for global businesses today. The costs and risks associated with transportation are increasing with the advent of globalization and low-cost-country sourcing. Even for companies with local operations only, they have to supply their products to various parts of a country which increases the costs and risks. Since the cost of gasoline has been on an upward trend, high level of efficiency in transportation is required to lower the costs involved and the risks associated with the costs. Costs concepts in transportation include economic, social and accounting costs. The risks and costs involved increases if the various modes of transport are used. There has been concern over many businesses failure to strategically think when they employ multimodal transportation services. Many businesses prefer the least expensive multimodal model instead of choosing the most effective; this trade-off is very expensive with hidden costs and risks increasing significantly (Molenaar, Anderson, Schexnayder, National Research Council (U.S.)., National Cooperative Highway Research Program., American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials., & United States, 2010).

    Read More

  • Hybrid Vehicles and Their Effect on the Environment

    1905 Words  | 4 Pages

    Many hazardous pollutants escape from the internal combustion of the engine. Conventional gas powered vehicles use irreplaceable fossil fuels to run. When burned, these fossil fuels create numerous toxins like carbon dioxide (Larminie 246). Carbon dioxide is considered the main greenhouse gas that creates the foundation for global warming (hybridcars.com, pollutants). This harmful pollutant may not have a serious effect on people at first, but it does have consequential effects on the environment that in turn put people in danger (Nutramed.com). The major consequence caused by global warming is the rise in average temperature. This results in a domino...

    Read More

  • The Car and Society

    1572 Words  | 4 Pages

    The automobile has had a tremendous impact on society and the environment since its development in the beginning of the 20th century. Today, there are over 500 million motor vehicles on the earth. The automobile's efficiency, style, and performance have changed over the years, but there is one thing that has not - the pollution the automobile generates. Because of the pollution, people find themselves asking whether this technology has helped our society or hurt it. Should the consequences of the automobile be cause to eliminate it? Or should science develop technology to eliminate the pollution caused by the car?

    Read More

  • Exemplification Essay: Why The World Is Doomed

    1087 Words  | 3 Pages

    It is unfortunate that within the past 100 years our worlds' economy has driven itself into a deep hole with the reliance on a "black gold" called oil. Since its discovery, it has been purified to produce many different forms of energy such as light, gasoline and more. Since technology has enabled mankind to discover more capable methods of transportation, mankind has exploited its power over nature and produced machines such as the combustion engine. In combustion engine's, oil explodes to move machinery, and emits a very toxic byproduct called CO2. Carbon is incredibly dangerous to the earth's atmosphere, and erodes huge holes in the ozone layer of our earth. This erosion causes global warming and climate change that is permanent and irreversible. The impact of global warming will not only ...

    Read More

  • Fuel Alternatives for the Future

    1347 Words  | 3 Pages

    Fuel alternatives for the future are very important because, we need resources for life. We won’t have fossil fuels forever. It is important to start now. If we did not have any fuel alternatives how would the world be?

    Read More

  • 5 Modes Of Transportation

    1431 Words  | 3 Pages

    ton mileage over the past 30 years. This is mostly due to the increase in truck

    Read More

  • Technology CAn Stop Global Warming

    1044 Words  | 3 Pages

    The seriousness of global warming effects both the environment and the people living in it. The question is how do Americans effect the environment and what can we do to fix it? Americans everyday use automobiles as a form of transportation, and although it may seem harmless, the use of these cars are proving to be detrimental in the end. Author Margaret Kriz (2006) states that, “the vast majority of scientists who study Earth's climate agree that the planet is warming, and they blame the greenhouse gases that accumulate in the a...

    Read More

  • Urban Public Transport Essay

    1041 Words  | 3 Pages

    Most people take the urban public transportation system for granted. It is used in every aspect of our daily lives: work, education, medical necessities, recreation, etc. It is also important for the transportation of goods and services, which aids the growth and maintenance of our economy. Urban public transportation is the critical component of our quality of life and economic stability. The MBTA, the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, is Boston and Eastern Massachusetts’s major transportation service. The MBTA has played a central role in the development of Boston and surrounding cities and towns for more than a century; providing service from 175 cities and towns into Boston. On an average weekday over 1.2 million trips are made on the subway, buses, commuter lines and other services in the mass transit system. With an international airport, a ship port, the highways, and the rail lines to connect regional cities and towns to national and international destinations and markets, Boston’s urban public transportation system has made the region’s growing role in the global economy possible.

    Read More

  • Effects Of Pollution Essay

    1378 Words  | 3 Pages

    Every other day a new industries are being set up, new vehicles on roads and trees are being cut to make way for new homes. All of them, indirect way lead to increase in CO2 leads to melting of polar ice caps which increase the sea level and pose danger for the people living near coastal areas. Pollution can have an impact in our health not only affects people with impaired respiratory system such as asthmatics, but very healthy adults and children too. Exposure to pollution for 6 to 7 hours, even at relatively low concentrations, reduces lung function and induces respiratory inflammation and, healthy people during periods of moderate

    Read More

  • Transportation: The Side Effects Of Transportation And The Environment

    723 Words  | 2 Pages

    Transportation is one of the basic necessities of human civilization. If there is no transportation on land, sea, or air, there may not be communication between human beings on this planet. But there are also side effects of transportation, which includes pollution. Pollution means the harmful wastes produced by humans which damage our environment in many ways.

    Read More

More about Cleaner Alternative Transportation

Open Document