Dangers of CO2 from Vehicles
Increasing Fuel Efficiency and Developing Clean Technology
Mar 26, 2009
The levels of CO2 in the atmosphere have increased 35% since the industrial revolution according to the EPA website (epa.gov). This suggests the development of industries have been a major contributor to CO2 emissions in the atmosphere. And the automotive industry is one of the biggest contributors those emissions which is accelerating global warming.
EPA Recognizes CO2 Emissions as Harmful
The EPA website states that, “The largest source of CO2 emissions globally is the combustion of fossil fuels such as coal, oil and gas in power plants, automobiles, industrial facilities and other sources.” Yet, the EPA has failed to recognize the dangers of greenhouse gases to human welfare, until now.
According to the March 23, 2009 article "EPA Calls CO2 a Danger - At Last" from Time Magazine, "On March 20 the EPA sent what is called an 'endangerment finding' to the White House, a proposal that means the agency found that there is a scientific case that man-made global warming poses a threat to human welfare."
Increased Fuel Efficiency Standards
There is a lot of pressure from the government on the automotive industry to deliver cleaner vehicles with fewer emissions. President Barack Obama has stated that he plans to make the U.S. a leader in climate change. He is increasing fuel efficiency standards on vehicles beginning in 2011. Certain states are also pushing to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 30% by 2016 - which would mean increasing fuel efficiency standards up to 36.8 mpg.
The automotive industry has been working towards reducing emissions but unfortunately the way to reduce CO2 emission from carbon-based fuels is to drive more fuel efficient vehicles which emit less CO2. This means driving vehicles with smaller engines or using other sources of power.
Technology That Reduces CO2
One avenue being pursued is hybrid vehicles. Simply put, hybrid vehicles use both an electric motor and a gasoline engine to propel the vehicle. Different designs and systems exist. Some rely solely on electric power to drive the vehicle — the engine is only used to turn a generator which creates electricity to charge the battery pack.
Although the transportation industry is not solely responsible for the increased levels of carbon dioxide, it is important that steps are taken to reduce global climate change. Other potential involves Hydrogen Fuel Cell Vehicles - these create electricity to propel the vehicle by removing the electrons from hydrogen and combining the ionized hydrogen with oxygen to form water vapor - the only tailpipe emission.
Investing and developing cleaner energy and technology in the Automotive Industry will reduce fuel consumption and decrease the CO2 emissions. This will minimize the effect that we have on the environment.
