The Ill Effects of Auto Emissions

Whether you know it or not, driving your car is the single most polluting thing that you could do. Motor vehicle emissions release tons of pollutants into the air each year, contributing to acid rain, and global warming, and instances of cancer.

Auto emissions per vehicle have been greatly reduced in the past twenty years, but since we now travel more miles, the level of pollution has dramatically increased in certain parts of the country.

In addition to releasing hydrocarbons, nitrogen oxide, and carbon monoxide, vehicles also emit carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Carbon Dioxide is able to trap the earth's heat and is a major contributor to Global Warming.

Hydrocarbons interact with nitrogen oxides, sunlight, and heat to form ground level ozone also known as smog. Experts have concluded that even low levels of ozone are dangerous, it can cause eye irritations, respiratory problems, and even permanent lung damage. Nitrogen oxides are also major contributors to acid rain. In addition to the production of these pollutants, motor vehicles produce about 90% of the carbon monoxide present in the air we breathe. Although colorless and odorless, it is a deadly gas that can produce damaging and even fatal effects in humans.

The pollutants are produced as a result of the fuel combustion process when heat causes fuel evaporation. They are released through the tailpipe, from under the hood, and from the gas tank and nozzle. The tailpipe pollutants are greatest during the "cold start" phase, the first few minutes it takes a car to warm up.

Although several alternative measures are being developed to reduce the number of motor vehicle emissions released into the environment, the best method is still personal prevention. You can help lower the amount of pollutants emitted by your automobile by reducing the number of vehicle miles you travel, traveling at moderate steady speeds, keeping your vehicle in good running condition, not topping off the tank when refueling, using clean fuels, and buying newer, less polluting cars.

Congress overhauled the Clean Air Act in 1990 to include ozone pollution reduction requirements. Government regulations and mandatory transportation control measures may help to encourage emission reduction, but the determining factor is whether individual motorists will make the extra effort to control their own vehicle emissions. Every effort, whether large or small, will benefit the environment.