SUV’s have become the center of a large controversy in the last couple of years. Many studies have been conducted on the relation to the economy and the popularity of the SUV. The sport utility vehicle not only affects the economy with its gas-guzzling capabilities during a time of war, but with the safety questions that have continued to arise.
“Automobiles have a large impact on the quality of our environment and public health. Automobile use affects virtually every aspect of environmental quality - including noise levels, air quality, water pollution, and urban sprawl. Ninety percent of the environmental impact of automobiles occurs through the operation of the cars: about 10 percent from the production, raw materials and disposal of
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Transportation is the number one thing we consumers do that harms the environment. Transportation causes the highest amount of environmental damage overall - nearly half of the toxic air pollution and more than a quarter of the greenhouse gases traceable to household consumption. Over time, however, sales of trucks, vans and SUV's went from 16% market share to over 50%. One big auto manufacturer even shelved their work of the last three years, spent updating their most popular selling economy car, so they could spend the money getting SUVs to market faster.
Many people buy SUVs for safety purposes, not realizing they are among the most hazardous vehicles on the road. An Insurance Institute for Highway Safety study shows that SUVs are more dangerous than mid-sized cars. There are 75 deaths for every million SUVs in accidents, compared to 48 for mid-sized cars. Half of all occupant deaths in SUVs in 1995 were caused by single-vehicle rollovers; rollovers account for 36 percent of the deaths in pick-up trucks and 19 percent in cars. I think of this every time I read about an SUV rollover accident in The Union. Further, these "mobile billboards" block the view of the road ahead for everyone behind them, as well as oncoming traffic (ever tried to turn from Pine onto Broad Street in Nevada City and one's parked on the corner?).
Even though SUVs are frequently marketed as safer than cars, they are in fact more dangerous.
About 3% of consumer personal spending is spent of gasoline alone so Americans do not feel the need to change the way they are purchasing automobiles. Many people are filling up sport utility automobiles. An average sport utility vehicle obtains 16 miles per gallon and many people fill these types of gas tanks up two times per week. Many people feel as though these types of vehicles provide safety and comfort to themselves so they do not feel the need to trade their vehicle in for something that will obtain less gas. As some Americans are intending to trade their vehicles for a vehicle that is more gas efficient, some will take the cheaper way and buy the gas that will cost less. (Whitehead, 2006)
In today’s society, we depend on vehicles for everything. Since the invention of the automobile, Americans have had it easy. We have cut back on the amount of time it takes to transport produce, mail, and people. We are now able to travel more freely to see family, seek better employment, and take vacations at leisure. The automobile industry not only effects transportation, but it makes a huge impact on the economy as well. If cars were banned from the United States, Americans social lives would be left in turmoil, as well as our economic future.
Increase in motor vehicles use and increase exposure to traffic emissions has been linked to adverse health effects such as asthma exacerbation, decrease pulmonary function, adverse health outcomes, and childhood cancer. 2 In urban areas, motor vehicles contribute to more than 50 % of the air pollution. 2
Compare to Babette's idea of getting used to the effect of mass media, thinking SUV is safer would actually be a result of such idea. Since they spend long time watching TV, people have already got used to be a listener who most likely settled for the fate and distanced away from the true sense of a normal human being. As the time they want safety, they
The findings indicated manufacturing combustion engines use gasoline contributes toward Warming Climate Change. The major problem with cars and trucks plays important role in our society transport infrastructure is contributor to Air Pollution. These machinery that uses combustion engines burn gasoline or other fossil release polluted chemical. The major contamination pollutants are carbon monoxide, hydro-carbons, nitrous oxides, carbon dioxide. The environmental understanding the ten vehicles selected contributed toward emitted directly into the atmosphere when the carbon in fuel doesn 't burn completely. There is aftermath a secondary pollution after contamination has been released into atmosphere. The combination of various types of air pollution combines in sunlight. Result in holes ozone in the atmosphere ozone protects us from the sun’s ultraviolet rays which causes cancer. Hazard gases cause’s holes in the atmosphere’s ozone layer allow ozone to come closer to earth. Motor vehicle importance contributes towards smog accumulation causes serious respiratory illness. The number of vehicles in operation worldwide surpassed the 1 billion-unit mark in 2010 for the first time ever (Greenhouse). According to Ward’s research, which looked at government-reported registrations and historical vehicle-population trends, global
When the automobile was introduced to the public, they immediately fell in love with it. It was a welcome miracle of science, clean, efficient and a reliable machine compared to the horse and carriage which required constant cleaning and a large place for storage. As more and more people acquired these machines, no one noticed the changes it made to the environment. The term smog was first used in California around the 1940’s to describe a yellow-brown haze that caused eyes to water, and headaches. It was found that the exhausts of the combustion engine brought forth this poison cloud that caused not only mild irritations but also had long lasting effects such respiratory problems and lung cancer. It wasn’t until 1965 when congress finally decided to do something about it and passed the vehicle air pollution and control act. Yet, it was not enough and so congress later decided that to further protect the environment and its citizens it needed to pass more laws. Laws that determined manufactures of the vehicle, safety, emissions and the use of any new technologies to help minimize the damage to the environment.
The use of automobiles has since increased in the US and other parts of the world. By 1999, the US alone had over 200 million passenger cars and light trucks. The number of cars worldwide grew thrice faster than the human population. The increase in the number of automobiles has become a matter of great concern as it leads to serious air pollution. For instance, European Environment Agency reported that transportation emission presents a huge threat to the environment.
In today’s society there are many “personal choices” we make that we feel only affect us. But in reality we are hurting our society by the actions we do. One of the ways is driving an SUV. (Sport Utility Vehicle) It might be big, can haul a lot of stuff and make you feel safer on the road, but in reality, it’s bad for the environment, bad on the economy, and can cause accidents which put others at risk.
In the world, pollution from automobiles are among the greatest pollutions to the environment. Exhaust fumes coming from a vehicle 's engine not only pollute the air with harmful substances that all living creature, like us inhale. But it is also seen as the leading cause to
“Although the blueprint for the modern automobile was perfected in Germany and France in the late 1800s Americans dominated the industry in the first half of the twentieth century. Henry Ford innovated mass-production techniques that became standards with Ford, General Motors and Chrysler emergingas the “Big Three” auto companies by the 1920s, Foner - Garraty 1991.” Even growing up with the fast speed but this industry also comes with the worst environment issues not only in the United States but also in the world. There are many environment problem come with American Auto Industry such as global competition in the industry, new technology for powering the product that this industry produces, the effect of emissions on the environment and government reactions to this, consumer opinions about the product your industry produces.
During the last decade, the automotive industry and many environmental agencies, such as the EPA and Friends of the Earth, have been involved in a heated debate over the regulation of emissions standards from light-duty trucks (SUV’s). While the Friends of the Earth, an international environmental activist organization that uses grassroots techniques, has worked hard to get the federal government to raise fuel economies and emission standards for SUV’s, the automotive industry has been more than willing to produce mass quantities of gas guzzling machines. According to the EPA and other environmentally concerned groups, without tighter federal government regulation of greenhouse gas emissions from SUV’s
We have all seen them rumbling around the highways of America, blocking the view of the road and pounding the ground with their enormous engines. Sport Utility Vehicles (SUVs) have become a part of our culture, as cars did before them and hoarse and buggies before that. Transportation has always been a part of society's development as it continues to change and adapt to our needs as well as our technology. In the beginning transportation was needed for making war on other villages, or for getting between towns, but these same animals of old were also used to till the lands and to cultivate crops. Automobiles on the other hand have changed this entire picture as they are used primarily for transportation. However, as this
SUVs may easily survive front-side collisions, but they are not free of safety risks. Though they contain safety systems such as antilock brakes, independent suspensions, and computerized monitoring systems (Gibney, sc. 1), they also have narrow tracks, soft suspension, and a high centers of gravity. Such qualities make them unstable enough that they require a "High Rollover Risk" warning brand from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). According to NHTSA statistics based on a "proportional comparison between a vehicle's center of gravity and the width between its tires," the Ford Explorer, for example, registers a 30-40% risk of rolling (Gibney, sc. 1). Together, SUVs roll as often as 240,000 times per year, causing 25,000 injuries and 10,000 deaths annually (Muller and Welch 51). NHTSA further estimates that as
This particular project will observe how the carbon footprint of automobiles effect the global climate? Has the introduction of “eco-friendly” vehicles changed this footprint? Ultimately the end result will yield the environmental impact of “eco-friendly” vehicle production, and whether it can outweigh its carbon footprint. It is important to note that both the environmental effects and economic effects are crucial in the advancement of technologies used by the auto-manufacturers; in a sense both are dependent on the other.
The planet changes over time, but people cause negative impact to their environment. To protect Earth, consumers need to be conscious of their role as technology continues to advance. More specifically, the automobile industry creates pollution, “in 2013, transportation contributed more than half of the carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxides, and almost a quarter of the hydrocarbons emitted into our air” (ucs). Conventional vehicles, utilizing internal combustion engines, cause these harmful emissions, but electric-vehicles protect the environment while providing consumers with an efficient use of energy. Energy serves as a crucial factor in technology and allows society to operate, but certain usages harm the world. As arguments develop about pollution and its effects, society needs to take the step towards clean energy. The transportation industry releases pollution through fumes caused by combustion within engines. In terms of automobiles, the conventional gasoline vehicles and electric-vehicles compete to gain attention from consumers. The electric-vehicle uses energy more efficiently than the gasoline vehicle, which loses energy through combustion. Additionally, the EV offers performance benefits for individuals. While offering a smooth and quiet drive, these vehicles require less maintenance. Finally, the EV allows money to stay within the nation, since local utility companies produce electricity. For these reasons, a national tax exemption should be offered to encourage