Death of a Planet

Death of a Planet
Air pollution is a very big problem in the United States. A large part of air pollution
comes from cars. The Environmental Protection Agency says, "The most polluting activity an
average person does everyday is drive their car"(1 factsheet OMS-5). Most people probably
aren't aware that they are polluting the environment. Maybe if everyone knew how serious this
pollution problem is, they would find ways to reduce the pollution.
Most pollution that is released by cars comes from the exhaust, mainly in the form of
hydrocarbons(1 factsheet, OMS-5). Hydrocarbons are organic compounds ,a combination of two
or more elements, that contain only carbon and hydrogen (2 factsheet, OMS-5). Hydrocarbons
are released when fuel in the engine burns partially. When hydrocarbons come in contact with
sunlight they form ground level ozone. Ground level ozone is a major ingredient in the formation
of smog. Ground level ozone is responsible for irritating eyes, damaging lungs, and it
complicating respiratory problems. Hydrocarbons aren't the only pollutants released through car
exhaust.
Two more pollutants released through car exhaust are carbon monoxide and nitrogen
oxide. The first reduces the flow of oxygen to the bloodstream, and could harm people with heart
disease. Nitrogen oxide is formed when a car engine gets hot. It contains chemicals that aid in
the formation of ground level ozone as well as acid rain (2 factsheet, OMS-5). Acid rain destroys
the outsides of buildings, statues, etc. Acid rain can also contaminate drinking water, damage
vegetation, and destroy sealife. These two pollutants are two of the most dangerous pollutants
released through car exhaust. If these two pollutants were cut down just a little bit our planet
would be a safer place to live.
Carbon dioxide is another gas released through exhaust emissions. It isn't dangerous
directly to humans, but it is considered to be a "green house gas." A "greenhouse gas" is a gas
that is associated with global warming. Global warming is the gradual increase of temperature
due to human activity. Certain gases, such as carbon dioxide, methane, and ozone allow radiation
from the sun to break through the atmosphere and go to the earth's surface. Global warming
affects all living things on the entire planet (4 factsheet OMS-5).
Another type of hydrocarbon pollutant occurs through fuel evaporation. These
hydrocarbon pollutants are produced four different ways. The first way is called diurnal. This is
when the venting of gasoline vapors occurs due to the temperature of the car's engine rising. The
second way is running losses. This is the venting of gasoline when the car's engine is running.
The third way is called hot soak. Hot soak occurs when gasoline evaporates after the car has
been turned off. The fourth way additional hydrocarbons are released occurs when a person is
refueling a car. This occurs when a person fills up their gas tank. While the tank is being filled
gasoline vapors are forced out. One way to cut down on this type of pollution is to have the car
tuned properly. The refueling problem can be reduced with the use of vapor recovery system.
This system traps the vapor inside the tank. These systems are present at many gas stations in
highly polluted areas (4 factsheet, OMS-5).
Some cities around the world are very dangerous to live in because of car pollution. One
city is Athens, Greece. In Athens the number of deaths rises on days with greater air pollution.
Just breathing the air in Bombay is the same as smoking half a pack of cigarettes a day (97
Brown). Over 150 million people in the United States live in areas where the Environmental
Protection Agency considers the air to be unhealthy. The American Lung Association says, "The
unhealthy air leads to 120, 000 deaths every year" (97 Brown). The citizens of earth are killing
themselves. They are killing themselves for convenience. Eventhough the actions taken by the
government and car manufacturers have reduced car emissions a lot since 1970, The number of
miles an average person travels in a day has doubled (4 factsheet OMS-4). The average person
must find a way to reduce the number of miles he or she drives. One way to do these is to car
pool. If a large number of people started to car pool, pollution produced by cars would be
reduced. This would reduce the amount of smog in urban areas, making these polluted areas a
better place to live.
There are many other alternatives to reduce car emissions besides carpooling. One
possible solution is to use fuels cleaner than gasoline. There are many types of alternative fuels
that could be used, and the number of fuels increases as technology becomes more advanced.
One type of alternative fuel is alcohol. One type of alcohol is methanol. Methanol is made from
natural gas and coal. Another type of alcohol is ethanol. Ethanol is produced from grains or
sugar. Cars fueled by alcohol could produce as much as 80 to 90 percent less emissions than cars
fueled with gasoline. Both methanol and ethanol are high octane liquid fuels. The reason why
these two fuels are possible alternatives is because they are efficient and made from natural
ingredients, and they pollute less (4 factsheet, OMS-4).
Another alternative fuel is electricity. This isn't a very efficient fuel right now, because the
technology is limited. Recent advances in the production of electric cars could make this a reality
in the future. It is possible for cars powered with electricity to release little or no emissions. If
this alternative fuel becomes a reality and is used in most cars, it will knock a big chunk out of the
pollution problem all around the world (5 factsheet, OMS-5).
Another alternative fuel is natural gas. Natural gas is only good for cars where driving
long distances isn't important. It is possible for natural gas to produce 85 percent to 95 percent
less emissions than gasoline fueled cars (5 factsheet, OMS-5). With this alternative fuel car
emissions could be reduced a great deal to benefit the entire world.
Another way to reduce pollution released by gasoline powered cars is to test them for
dangerous amounts of pollutants regularly. Emissions testing programs are already in effect in
California, Arizona, and Colorado. Texas will have an emissions testing program soon. The test
is very simple. A car is tested for hydrocarbons and other ground level ozone forming chemicals
that are released through car exhaust. If the level of pollutants is high, the car fails the test. Then
the car must be taken to a mechanic, so the engine can be tuned to release fewer chemicals into
the air. After the car is taken to a mechanic and repaired, the car is tested again. This test does
cost the car owner money, but it's a small price to pay for the reduction of pollutants released by
cars (105 Brown).
Researchers are working on a machine that can test cars for hydrocarbon pollution while
the car is on the road. This system is called the remote sensing device. The device is placed on
the side of the road. As a car drives by it measures the level of hydrocarbon emissions released by
the car. The system can't measure nitrogen oxide emissions yet, but researchers are working on
another system to go along with this device. If the car is releasing a high level of hydrocarbon
emissions a video camera takes a picture of the car's license plate, and sends the license plate
number and the emissions data to a computer (1 factsheet, OMS-15). Then the owner of the car
is notified about the polluting car, and they are required to have the problem fixed (2 factsheet,
OMS-15). If remote sensing devices are used to detect hydrocarbon emissions, polluting cars can
be recognized sooner than regular testing, done year by year. If the remote sensing devices are
used people don't have to worry about their car being tested. They just have to get their car
repaired when the device says it's polluting the environment.
Air pollution caused by cars is a serious problem that can be reduced by average everyday
people. If the citizens of earth don't act fast, and reduce the amount of pollution caused world
wide, earth will be a horrible place to live. If something isn't done soon there might not be a place
to live at all.


Works Cited
Brown, Lester R. The World Watch Reader: On Environmental Issues.
NewYurk:Norton, 1991. 97-105.
The Environmental Protection Agency. Automobiles and Ozone: Factsheet OMS-4.
http://www.epa.gov/OMS WWW/04-ozone.htm. 1993. 4.
The Environmental Protection Agency. Automobile Emission: An overiew: Factsheet
OMS-5. http://www.epa.gov/OMS www/05-autos.htm. 1994. 1-5.
The Environmental Protection Agency. Remote Sensing: A Supplemental Tool for
Vehicle Emission Control: Factsheet OMS-15. http://www.epa.gov/OMS www/
15-remot.htm. 1993. 1-2.