Essay/Term paper: Death of a planet

Essay, term paper, research paper:  Society

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.