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Although emissions from an individual car are generally low, relative to the smoke many people associate with air pollution, economies of scale make the personal automobile the single, greatest polluter in big cities due to millions of vehicles being added on the road. Each time we drive we engage in probably the most “polluting” activity of the day.
Emissions produced by vehicles have significant effects on our health as well as the environment, namely, the ozone. Although our car produces several types of pollutants, the following are amongst the most potent:
- Hydrocarbons: These are known to cause liver damage and even cancer in humans. They are also a major contributor of smog in urban setting. Motor vehicles produce hydrocarbons as a result of unburned or partially burned fuel.
- Carbon monoxide: This is the stuff that kills you when you fall asleep in the garage with a running car engine. A product of incomplete combustion, carbon monoxide has nothing to do with the smoky colour and smell that comes out of the tail pipe: carbon monoxide is a colorless, odorless and tasteless gas which is lighter than air. Carbon monoxide reduces the blood’s ability to carry oxygen; overexposure as you know may be fatal.
- Nitrogen Oxide: This pollutant destroys our bodies’ capacity to resist infections of the respiratory system. In cars, nitrogen oxide is a result of a reaction of nitrogen from the air and oxygen at the high temperature and pressure that occurs during combustion.
- Particulates: This is the visible smoke or soot that we see coming out of the exhaust pipe and it is made up of very minute particles. Like smoking, this causes respiratory health effects in humans and affect animals, too.
- Sulphur oxides: These are emitted from motor vehicles burning fuel containing a high concentration of sulphur. Exposure to sulfur dioxide affects the lungs and, at high levels, may result in burning of the nose and throat, breathing difficulties as well as severe airway obstructions.
- Carbon Dioxide: Although it is a product of “perfect” combustion and does not directly impair human health, it is a “greenhouse gas” that traps the earth’s heat and contributes to the potential for global warming.
Although advances in engine and vehicle technology have seen a major reduction on motor vehicle emissions but the sheer numbers of vehicles on the road is arresting this progress. It is therefore imperative for each person to do what they can to further reduce, if not eliminate, motor vehicle pollution altogether, Here are a few things you could do to save the earth:
- Consider a green car or, at least, an environmentally friendly car for your next car purchase. This could be a hybrid vehicle or any car that is specifically designed to reduce exhaust emission. Depending on pricing, electric cars will be the best option when they go into production in a few years’ time, since they produce zero emissions.
- Switch to clean fuels or biofuel – fuels derived from plant and biomass. Where available, low-sulphur diesel is also a good, green option.
- Consider adding engine cleaning additives, like EnviroTabs, on your next fuel purchase. Also known as car vitamins, these are added to your tank each time you fill up and they clean the carbon residue in your engine resulting in high reduction of tail pipe emissions as well as more mileage per gallon/liter due to the resultant engine efficiency. You can also sell these products to your friends and other people and make money for yourself!
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Source: http://ezinearticles.com/?Car-Pollution-and-Global-Warming—Effects-of-Car-Exhaust-on-the-Environment&id=4245793
