Synthesis Essay: Reducing Car Usage

With a declining or no use of cars can result in the reduction of pollution quite tremendously. They can by reducing the greenhouse effect. As the author reports in the article, “In German Suburb Life Goes On Without Care” by Elisabeth Rosenthal, “Passenger cars are responsible for 12 percent of greenhouse gas emissions in Europe… and up to 50 percent in some car-intensive areas in the United States.” Therefore, with cars being a leading factor of greenhouse gas emissions, reducing their usage would have a positive effect on the environment. After days of near-record pollution,

It is really just simple math: life minus cars equals to less pollution because cars emit toxic greenhouse gases. Even one to three days without cars can significantly lower the amount of air pollution we have to endure. This is exemplified in Robert Duffer’s article “Paris Bans Driving Due to Smog”, driving was partially banned in Paris by the French government, with even numbered plates staying home on Monday and odd-numbered plates on Tuesday. “The smog cleared up enough on Monday...to rescind the ban on..Tuesday.” (Duffer 3). This just goes to show that curbing our automobile addiction can quickly make a big difference. According to Elisabeth Rosenthal’s work “In German Suburb, Life Goes On Without Cars”, “Passenger cars are responsible for 12 percent of greenhouse gas emission in Europe...and up to 50 percent in some car intensive areas in the United States.” This means that cars account for a significant percentage of pollution around the world, and thus, reasonably, reducing car usage would reduce

“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

I am going to look at Drinking and Driving and Texting while Driving, in order to find out how hazardous both are and how laws have been enforced, because it will address all drivers how fatal drinking and distracted driving can be. Drinking and driving is an important issue for all drivers across America. Driver’s not only need to be aware of drunk drivers, but also need to be able to detect a distractive driver. Getting behind a wheel while drunk or even texting can change someone’s life in a split second. Not only are the drivers life at stake, but they passengers and other drivers at risk for their negligent driving. Laws have been enforced to for those who drive while under the influence and those who use a cellular device, but it cannot always be stopped. There are too many drivers on the road compared to law enforcement. Majority of drivers do get distracted, they believe they can multi-task, and they believe they are “ok” to get behind the wheel and drive home. There are many reasons as to why a driver would drive drunk and many reasons a driver would state as to why he/she was texting.

For many, life out on the road is a way for individuals to experience freedom away from society. When experiencing freedom, it brings happiness to some and creates a fascinating appeal towards what life can potentially be on the road. This idealistic venture is seen in Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer, narrating the journey of a privileged young adult named Chris McCandless. Krakauer guides the reader through the journey of McCandless of why and how left his old, but very comfortable life for an unpredictable one, by traveling to Alaska and living off its land. While many believe life on the road is a source of finding happiness, it is not an effective way to solve one’s problem; therefore, one should not live life on the road.

The automobile is a huge part of American history. Many people say that it was the key to freedom. However, many people now say that the automobile is a bad thing, because of its negative effects to the environment and people. I think that the automobile is still a good thing for America. I think this because it gave people freedom, it gave people joy, and it also gave many people jobs.

“In a split second you could ruin your future,injure or kill others, and tear a hole in the heart of everyone who love you” (Source 1). This was a message from Sharon Heit who was a mother of the 22 year old Alexander Heit who died due to texting while driving. Using a cellphone while driving is a dangerous behavior because it can kill or injure others that are around you.

As cell phones become more popular, texting while driving is becoming the most widely known cause for car accidents among teens. The alarming rate of incidents where texting is involved is getting more parents worried and warning their children about the danger of texting while driving. Parents are urging the fact that drivers should pay attention to the road and traffic, not their phones. A popular study of 18 to 24 year old drivers showed that 66 percent of them have texted while driving. Since texting while driving is becoming more popular many states are passing a law to ban the use of any cell phone device while in a vehicle. Texting while driving is an important issue that is causing many deaths and those who cause these deaths and

Drunk driving is a problem for teenager drivers because they are inexperienced in both driving, and alcohol consumption. Drinking alcohol causes teenagers to have a false sense of immortality, and a disregard for the world around them (source 2).

It was a cold December night shortly after dusk, a likely setting for an event that would prove to be life altering. As fate would have it, this would be the night that I lost the material possession that truly meant the most to me. I would lose the one thing that gave me much pride and joy and excitement. I often think back and liken us to a newlywed couple, for we had only been together for 18 months and were still very much honeymooning. It was a night, a moment, that even now scoffs and mocks me as I travel thither and yonder with her replacement. But she can never be truly replaced and to call my current fix a replacement seems like a sort of blasphemy.

The automobile has had a tremendous impact on society and the environment since its development in the beginning of the 20th century. Today, there are over 500 million motor vehicles on the earth. The automobile's efficiency, style, and performance have changed over the years, but there is one thing that has not - the pollution the automobile generates. Because of the pollution, people find themselves asking whether this technology has helped our society or hurt it. Should the consequences of the automobile be cause to eliminate it? Or should science develop technology to eliminate the pollution caused by the car?

These cars operate from a rechargeable battery and gasoline. The engines are smaller so that they will be able to accommodate the 99% of time when the car is not going uphill or accelerating quickly. The battery is used to give extra acceleration power if needed. When the car is stopped, hybrid gasoline motors can shut off and run off their electric motor and battery. These cars are aerodynamic and the tires are often stiffer and inflated higher to reduce dragging.

 It wasn’t until the early 1970’s that car manufacturers saw a need to restrict the pollutants from their automobiles.  Thus came the advancements of new emission controlling components in the vehicles.  There was the catalytic converter which changed carbon dioxide into carbon monoxide, this change still resulted in pollution but significantly decreased the harm done.  Next came EGR which is Exhaust Gas Recirculation and forces unburned gas from the exhaust back into the engine making the car far more fuel efficient and environmentally friendly.  Unfortunately the next thing to follow was a serious toning down of the power of the engines.  The earlier thoughts were that bigger and more powerful were better, however these types of cars sent pollution caused by automobiles into an exponential growth.  The internal combustion engine vehicles that are on the road right now account for the vast majority of the air pollution around the world.  The electric vehicles, however, have zero emissions.  If this proposal is passed, then the condition of the urban airways will be

Being lazy is a great thing because so much time is saved. Time may be saved, but in exchange, the environment gets destroyed instead. Driving a car to work may be faster, but it also destroys the environment so much faster. Biking to the store serves the same purpose and it saves the environment greatly. Cars are a huge contributor to global warming. Cars and trucks combined are responsible for one-fifth of all US emissions. They release about 24 pounds of carbon dioxide and other global warming gases for every gallon of gas used (Union of Concerned Scientists). About five pounds of those gases come from production, extraction, and delivery of gasoline. More than 19 pounds are released per gallon from a car's tailpipe (Union of Concerned Scientists). 1.2 billion cubic yards of polluted air is from manufacture. Painting and coating cars produces 40 million pounds of air releases and 24 million pounds of hazardous waste a year. A car's lifetime produces 1.3 billion cubic yard of polluted air and scatters 40 pounds of worn tire particles, brake debris, and worn road surface into the atmosphere (Bike to Work Day). Pollutants released a year add up to over 12,140 lbs for cars and 17,000 for light trucks. Some of those pollutants are carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons, and nitrogen oxides (Bike to Work Day). By choosing to bike or walk instead of drive, the amount of gases and waste contributing to global warming, drops drastically. Choosing to drive instead of taking a greener form of transportation is a great threat to the environment.

Automobiles are a major producer of greenhouse gas. One gallon of fuel burned puts five pounds of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Let’s say that an average car gets 25 miles to the gallon, and that car has a ten gallon tank. Every time a car gets filled up with gas, another fifty pounds of carbon dioxide have been put back into the atmosphere, and that is just one car. The automobile industry is very important to the world economy, so I am not saying that we should stop making cars, but there are other solutions. The recent trend of hybrid electric cars that get up to fifty miles to the gallon are becoming more popular. Also public transportation is very important. City dwellers that live downtown, do not need to drive their cars to work. Every major city has a form of public transportation that can get anyone around the city, and for that gallon of gas a bus burns the same five pounds reaches the atmosphere, but instead of one