Importance of Low Emission Cars - Vol.156
Everyone is concerned about the environment and car manufacturers are under pressure to develop low emission cars. There is a good reason for this. The harmful emissions that come from car exhausts are causing problems in the atmosphere and increasing medical conditions in people. This is especially true in large cities where the streets are congested with traffic all day long. Some areas of the world, such as China, have a major problem with photochemical smog of which car emissions are one of the leading causes.
What emissions come from cars?
You may not realize how many harmful emissions come from the exhaust of a car. Some of the more harmful ones are:
- * Carbon dioxide
- * Sulfur
- * Carbon Monoxide
- * Hydrocarbon
- * Nitrous Oxide
Of these carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide are the most dangerous to the living environment. Even though the amount of emissions that comes from only one car is not harmful on its own, when you combine all these emissions from thousands of cars, the effect is one of huge proportions.
What kinds of vehicles are low emission cars?
Electric cars meet the criteria for low emission vehicles. They do not emit any harmful gases into the air because they do not run on fossil fuels. This is because they run on electricity. They have batteries that must be recharged after seven or eight hours of use. Even though the electricity used to recharge the batteries comes from the burning of fossil fuels, these cars do not harm the environment or people when they are running because they have zero emissions.
Advances in car manufacturing technology have led to the development of cars that run on hydrogen. These are also low emission cars, but the process of extracting the hydrogen is very expensive and involves the use of fossil fuels that pollute the air. This type of low emission car is not readily available because of the high cost involved in purchasing and operating the vehicle.
Steps have been taken to reduce emissions from regular cars on the roads. Some examples are the Honda Insight, Toyota Prius and Ford Focus. These cars are affordable in both purchase price and operating costs. Plus, insurance costs are lower on low emission cars. While these cars still do have some emissions, they are lower than they have been in the past and are within the budget of the ordinary person.
Benefits of using low emission cars
We are living in a changing world where the environment is such that people are getting ill from breathing the air around them. The availability of low emission cars on the market will aid in helping reduce the amount of greenhouse gases that are causing global warming. Climate change is on the horizon as can be seen in the violent storms and the dramatic weather changes that are increasingly affecting all parts of the world.
Low emission cars can speed up this recovery along with other methods of reducing air pollution. Governments are taking steps to try to correct the wrongs that have been done in the past through industrialization. It will take a lot of time and money in order for us to realize a better atmosphere and by pushing for more low emission cars on the roads we will be doing our part to lower the carbon footprint that we leave behind.
You do have to remember that it is quite expensive for car manufacturers to invest in the new technology required for low emission cars. It is good to know that they are starting to do this even though we and they still have a long way to go.