When in 1885 Karl Benz designed, and developed the first 4 stroke engine that would later become the very heart of the first automobile that we are familiar with today. At the time however, the early inventors and pioneers of the automobile industry thought just of their work as a “horseless carriage” and nothing more, none of them anticipated the age of the automobile that was about to be ushered in, for they just saw the new technology strictly in the context of what it was meant to replace. The automobile however, developed into so much more, becoming one of the defining industries of the entire 20th century and affecting people’s lives in a multitude ways, but most especially the social aspect. This essay would like to highlight the importance that the automobile had on the cultural shift towards the phenomenon of suburbanization and the environmental impacts that ensued due to the change in urban planning to accommodate for our car dependent culture. Ironically enough, when the environmental impacts associated with automobiles are discussed, the one that is not inherently apparent to us, specifically carbon emissions from vehicles is what takes much of the limelight when compared to an issue that is rapidly unfolding right before we. The exponential increase in urban sprawl not only involves the loss of massive amounts of natural habitat but also dramatically increases the risk of flooding in these same suburbs. Disregarding the unsustainability of the continued growth
For many years, the only way to fuel a car has been through gasoline. Many people believe that it the best form of operation, but recently alternatives to gas have surfaced. Today we opt to purchase hybrid, solar, and electric cars instead of gas fueled. The problem lies in the difference of efficiency of gas fueled cars versus alternative fuel options. Do we need gas fueled cars? Is it worth the extra money for an electric or hybrid car? Do gas fueled cars really affect the environment? Will getting rid of gas fueled cars cause a loss of jobs ? People need to understand that the continuation of gas fueled cars are detrimental to the environment. The replacement of gas fueled vehicles is best for the natural world.
Focusing on car culture and the sprawl of the suburbs opens up a history of some of the most significant environmental events of the past, as well as the
The car is a huge devourer of space, roads, garages, petrol stations and parkings make up between one-third and one-half of the total space in American cities; parking is an omnipresent visual blight on the urban landscape and the car promotes an ugly urban housing sprawl; the ecological tire-print of the car is huge even before it leaves the sales yard. (Mugyenyi and Engler, 2010, p.35).
Climate change occurs mainly because of human activities, such as harvesting resources, industrialization, and technological invention, among other factors. One of the main reasons climate change has occurred in the last a few decades is because conventional cars which made their first appearance in 1886, have become increasingly popular. Although, conventional cars are more efficient and less expensive than hybrid cars, hybrid cars help reduce the negative impact on the environment more than conventional cars. A Hybrid car has disadvantages due to the battery and power of the engine, which has to improve over time, which makes people less likely to buy hybrid cars over conventional cars in the present such as gas and diesel. Even though both conventional and electric cars have negative impact on the environment, they have different scale of impact on the environment. By looking at how each system of both types of cars work, what the effect on fuel consumption rate and greenhouse gas emissions are, and what the disadvantages of electric cars are compared to conventional cars, hybrid electric cars are less likely to negatively impact on the environment more than conventional cars.
The American Auto Industry has evolved for many decades with pioneers such as Ford Motor Company. The United States Auto Industry was once upon a time a global leader in the automotive industry but due to knowledge and skills acquisition by other automobile manufacturers such as Toyota, the once American Auto Industry leadership has been surpassed. I will give discuss this following paragraphs.
Since Henry Ford’s invention of the moving assembly line to mass produce civilian automobiles in 1913, the environment and air that we breathe every day is being ruined and polluted. Though people drive cars around every day with no worries, they still are damaging the world around them with every mile. Car emissions are causing multiple issues with the air and water sources. Harmful gases are being emitted from the cars and are messing up the natural gases already present in our atmosphere. These gases consist of sulfur-based substances and are polluting and contaminating the already present nitrogen oxide and other greenhouse gases up in the atmosphere. These harmful emissions then seep into our blue seas and clear lakes, poisoning the waters and killing the
The United States burns about a quarter of the world’s oil, half of which the gasoline powered automobile is responsible for (Lovins, 2004). For this reason, efficient, electrical forms of transportation are one of the key factors to limiting America’s oil dependence. Dating back to the late nineteenth century, the idea of the electric car is nothing new, however, in just recent years it has finally made significant progress. Innovations have enabled the electric vehicle to be portable and more attractive in recent years causing more people to make the switch from gas to electric. The transition from gasoline cars to electric vehicles projects significant breakthroughs for American energy including low dependence on oil and a cleaner future.
Imagine the world hundreds of years ago. How do you think people got around? Suburbs did not exist, because everything was so far apart. In this day and age we do not think much about of cars, they are apart of our everyday life. Something most people do not realize is how much cars have affected our life. Automobiles have had a huge success in transportation of people and goods. These amazing inventions have inspired people around the world to step up and try to make them impeccable. Whether it is the way they work or even the substances they run on to work, people have taken the task to improve them to the best of their ability. Inventors have made more efficient cars to help reduce CO2 exposure by changing what they use to make them work
The first topic I’m going to discuss is the global competition in this industry. The American Auto
According to the Environmental Protection article at www.eponline.com, it states that the environmental issues top the list of challenges in the automotive industry, outranking the cost reduction for the first time in 14 years. The survey was conducted by DuPont and the Society of the Automotive Industry. The survey results included the following results and statistics:
“1 gallon of gas =24 pounds of global warming emissions” (UCSUSA). Many of the people in our world today don’t understand just how much The Automobile affects us, our lives, and the world we live in. Undoubtedly, the invention of the car has changed our perspective on the different technology created over the past years. However, cars are some of the leading factors towards one of the largest ongoing problems occurring in our world today. That problem goes by the name of global warming. “Since 1990, Transportation has been one of the fastest growing sources of U.S. GHG” (U.S.D.T), otherwise known as Greenhouse gasses. In which most of us know; global warming affects our health, environment, weather, and ultimately our lives. It is a
Although the first steam powered automobile dates back to the 1760s, it was not until 1789 when
Introduction Automobile usage has increased in America and elsewhere in the world. In a research done by Sutherland, J., et al. (2004) “The US has a contributed to 200 million passengers in cars and light truck over the past few years. Further in 1990, studies showed that US cars increased six times faster than human population. The leaders in the automotive industry must adopt some key elements to ensure success in this fast-moving environment. They must invest in knowing their markets, building brands, adapting product strategies and taking long-term view on their goals and objectives. This paper outlines some of the key factors which should be considered. Environmental factors automotive designers and engineers have always said the main threats in the American Automotive industry are the environmental factors such as fuel economy and the clean air regulations. Automotive Emission posed different problems than manufacturing discharges such as coal smoke. Increased fossil-fuel emission has resulted from the million car increase. Irritation smog, which is comprised of carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons, sulfur oxide and other various chemical mixtures are cited in major cities such as Los Angeles. These auto emissions are also said to cause headaches, visual pollutions, contribute to lung cancers and other respiratory disease. In the end, the engineers have designed cars that are better environmental performers, cost effective and fuel efficient to reduce the environmental
There are several environmental factors referring to the automobile in the American history according to the website; “autolife.umd.umich.edu/Environment/E-Overview” says that there is a price, for having energy and danger also. By the inventing a car, and the necessity of a motor which needs oil, made the air be polluted by all kinds of chemicals that floated our air. For example, in 1948, the temperature changed, moreover, made a cloud so dense that led to smoke full of a chemical called sulfur dioxide. Consequently, such cloud was near the floor, for several days near the Donora, Pennsylvania. The result came to multiple deaths of the inhabitant, and several where infected with the aspiration of such chemicals. With such new problems that where transmitted from the air, due to air pollution, it was clear that American people was going to begin to acknowledge of the consequences. Also in other cities like New York, and other parts of London by 1953. It was until such deaths, that the government an act called “The National Air Pollution Control Act” which came active in 1955. The sole purpose of such act, was the investigation of what the pollution of air came from. Before, air contamination was not so eminent, because they had coal instead of oil to make engines work. But after World War 11, the use of cars nearly double the amount of chemicals in the air and pollute it. In result, many big cities had more problems than smaller cities. The most common chemicals that are
If someone were to ask you “when you step outside what are some of the things you see? your response 9.9 times out of 10 will likely mention a car which is normal in today’s world. As of the 20th century, automobiles have shaped the world from collectors’ items, to racing, and the most common: transportation. As some of the older generations may recall cars weren 't always the norm. In fact according to ausbcomp (a website on history) most people who drove cars were wealthy or drivers of someone wealthy when they were first created. This would eventually change of course but with change came controversy as automobile became more accessible to the common American. These controversies consisted more of features affiliated with the automobile rather than the automobile as a whole. With people against rising gas prices or health concerns (most Americans) and people in support (those benefiting from it). Environmental activist Josh Fox stated “The problem is that everywhere the gas drilling industry goes, a trail of water contamination, air pollution, health concerns and betrayal of basic American civic is found” The discussion on automobiles have led to countless rants on what automobiles are doing to our pockets and health. Despite this, numbers have shown automotive industries such as Ford to be growing in revenue every year and is projected to double in the years to come (USAtoday). Biologist Barry