Some Statistics
The typical American male devotes more
than 1,600 hours a year to his car. He sits in it while it goes and
while it stands idling. He parks it and searches for it. He earns the
money to put down on it and to meet the monthly installments. He works
to pay for petrol, tolls, insurance, taxes and tickets. He spends four
of his sixteen waking hours on the road or gathering resources for it.
And this figure does not take account of the time consumed by other
activities dictated by transport: time spent in hospitals, traffic
courts and garages: time spent watching automobile commercials or
attending consumer education meetings to improve quality of the next
buy. The model American puts in 1,600 hours to get 7,500 miles: less
than five miles an hour. (6)
Contents
Motor vehicles are the single biggest source of atmospheric
pollution,contributing an estimated 14% of the world's carbon dioxide
emissions from fossil fuel burning, a proportion than is steadily
rising. Add the emissions from exploration, transportation, refining
and distribution of fuel, and this figure if 15 to 20 percent of world
emissions.
- The average American car releases 300 pounds of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere from a full, 15 gallon tank of gasoline. (1)
- The average European car produces over 4 tonnes of carbon dioxide every year. (1)
- Methane (another global warming gas, 21 times more
powerful than carbon dioxide) is also emitted by cars. The level is
quite low, only about 1% of UK emissions, for example. But, they
facilitate the annual buildup of methane in the atmosphere—0.9%
increase per year—by emitting large quantities of carbon monoxide.
Carbon monoxide interacts and uses up hydroxyl radical in the
atmosphere. Hydroxyl radical is the principle chemical for destroying
methane. Emissions of carbon monoxide increase global warming by
removing a defense against the buildup of methane. (1)
- In all, transport is estimated to account for 20-25% of all greenhouse gas emissions. (13)
[Top]
The Car and Pollution
Exhaust fumes cause acid air, pollution, cancer, lead-poisoning and
a variety of bronchial and respiratory illnesses. The average car emits
a cocktail of more than 1,000 pollutants
- Tetraethyl Lead: added to fuel to increase the output power of the engine. Effects:
it is extremely toxic and can effect almost any organ of the body. Low
level exposure over a long period most commonly effects the nervous
system and blood. Can impair the mental abilities of children. 7 out of
10 children in Mexico city have had their development stunted by lead
poisoning from cars. (1)
- Benzene: occurs naturally in crude oil. High
benzene crudes sometimes added to fuel to improve the properties of
premium unleaded gasoline. Highest concentration levels outdoors are in
urban areas, and especially near petrol stations, petrol tanks and
benzene producing/handling industries. Effects: a proven carcinogen. Studies on benzene-exposed workers show statistically significant association to acute leukemia. (1)
No safe level of airborne benzene can be recommended, as benzene is
carcinogenic to humans and there is no known safe threshold level (2)
- Carbon Monoxide: cars are the major source of carbon monoxide, accounting for over 65 percent of emissions in OECD countries. Effects:
one of the most directly toxic substances, it affects human health by
impairing the oxygen carrying capacity of the blood causing impaired
perception, slowing reflexes and drowsiness. It can increase occurrence
of headaches and effects the central nervous system, the heart and the
transference of blood around the body. In large doses, it is fatal. (1)
- Nitrogen Dioxide. Effects humans and plants,
reducing growth and causing lesions in sensitive crops, whilst in
humans causing irritation to the respiratory tract, reducing lung
function and possibly increasing susceptibility to viral infections. (1)
- Nitric Oxide and Nitrogen Dioxide: together play
major role in formation of acid rain and in Europe are thought to
contribute up to half of the acidification of rain. In OECD countries,
47 percent of nitrogen oxides come from road vehicles. (1)
They also contribute to the formation of ground level ozone, affect the
acidification of soil and cause changes in ground flora—the development
of nitrogen loving species at the expense of other species—and the over
development of micro-flora in seas and lakes, creating a lack of oxygen
in the water which kills wildlife. (7)
- Low Level Ozone: The production of ozone is an
indirect consequence of car pollution. It results from photochemical
reactions between hydrocarbons and nitrogen oxides. Ozone is the main
ingredient in photochemical smog, which effects eye irritation,
headaches, coughing, impaired lung function and eye, nose and throat
irritation. Asthmatics and children are most at risk. On a single bad
day in Athens the smog can kill 8 people and send up to 200 people to
hospital. Background levels of tropospheric ozone are thought to have
doubled in the northern hemisphere over the past century. (8, 1)
Ozone is also the single most important pollutant affecting vegetation.
It damages food crops, particularly potatoes, tomatoes, wheat and
spinach, with leaf diseases. This causes farmers to switch to less
sensitive crops, leading to loss of biodiversity. With present ozone
levels in Switzerland, agricultural losses cost at least US$200 per
hectare. Ozone damage also affects forests in America and Europe—pines
and larch are particularly sensitive. (7)
- Sulfurous Emissions: cause soil and water acidification, damage to plants (especially trees, mosses and certain lichens), and smog. (7)
- Catalytic Converters are able to reduce emissions
of carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons, and nitrogen oxides but need regular
inspection and maintenance to work effectively.
- Catalytic
Converters have been shown to reduce emissions of carbon monoxide by 80
percent under test conditions. But, despite their use for 3 decades in
the U.S., high levels of carbon monoxide remain a problem in urban
areas. This is probably due to a combination of very high emissions
when catalysts are cold and ineffective, complete catalyst failure and
deliberate misfuelling or tampering. (1)
- Catalytic
Converters have been shown to reduce emissions of nitrogen oxide by 95
percent, but in actually use emissions depend on speed. Minimum
emissions occur between 40-60 miles per hour and increase with higher
speeds. (1)
- Car certification can cause
confusion. A Japanese car certified under the Japanese procedure, which
has a maximum speed of 110 kph, when tested on UK roads was found to
have excessive emissions of carbon monoxide at higher speeds and in
fact produced more carbon monoxide than a non-catalyst car. (1)
- A
WHO report found that long term air pollution from cars in Austria,
Switzerland and France triggered an extra 21,000 premature deaths per
year from respiratory or heart diseases—more than the total number of
annual traffic deaths in the three countries. (3)
- The Institute for European Environmental Policy has published a report showing that car drivers
breathe in up to three times more toxic exhaust fumes than pedestrians
or cyclists. Cars do not protect drivers from pollution, as motorists
are driving in a "tunnel of pollution." Car drivers in the centre or
outside lanes are subject to a huge buildup of toxic gases. Cyclists
and pedestrians who stay close to the curb avoid the worst of the
pollution as they are not in the pollution tunnel. (3)
- The
Swedish National Chemicals Inspectorate has reported that wear and tear
on car tyres releases tiny airborne particles called PM10s, which may
cause cancer. Car tyres are the main source of PM10 pollutants, which
have also been linked to 10,000 premature deaths in Britain each year
from lung and heart disease. (3)
[Top]
Oil
Most cars run on gasoline or diesel. These are derived from
petroleum, more usually called oil. Globally, motor vehicles use one
third of the world's oil—finding oil involves habitat loss, oil spills,
air and water pollution, large emissions of carbon dioxide, regular
humanitarian abuses and wars.
- By 1985 transport, in the shape of cars, buses and trucks, used
39 percent of Japan's oil, 44 percent of Western Europe's and 63
percent of the USA's consumption of oil. (1)
- Since
1976 the U.S. has used more oil than it produces—imports account for 40
percent of use and are one-third of the nation's trade deficit. (1)
- Pressure
for cheap oil lies behind ever increasing pressure to drill
environmentally sensitive areas including almost the entire outer
continental shelf from the Atlantic to the Arctic ocean, the Ecuador
Amazon River Basin, the coast of Australia and various tropical
forests. (1)
Oil Spills
-
In 1991 the Oil Spillage Intelligence Report recorded
that, globally, 31.75 million gallons of oil (around 100,000 tonnes)
were spilt in 1990. (1) The 1989 spillage rate was more than double that. Half the quantity came from 3 major oil spills: - the Exxon (10.7 million gallons in Prince William Sound, March 1989.
- the Kharrg 5 (20 million gallons off the coast of Morocco, Dec 1989)
- the Aragon (7.35 million gallons off Madeira, December
1989) (1)
- According to the Alaska Oil Spill Commission, oil discharges the size of the Exxon Valdez disaster occur somewhere in the world once a year. On average, a spill of a million gallons occurs every month. (1)
[Top]
Non-Accidental Pollution
Figures for sea pollution vary. The OECD notes that most estimates
cite a total input into the world's oceans of some 3 to 4 million
tonnes per year: about half comes from marine sources, with the rest
coming from land.
- Marine Sources: The US National Academy of Science
calculates that shipping accidents only account for a quarter of ocean
pollution from marine sources, with non-accidental marine transport
accounting for twice as much. This is due to ships taking on sea water
as ballast and then discharge the oil-contaminated water back into the
sea; from deliberate washing out of oil tanks prior to taking on new
oil, from bilge pumping; and from tank washing before maintenance. (1)
- Land Sources: urban and industrial sources and
atmospheric pollution account for 1.7 million tonnes of oil entering
the seas from land. More oil enters the seas from automobile exhausts
and from oil changes by city garages that are dumped down the drains,
than from any other source. (1)
[Top]
Oil and Humanitarian Abuses
There are numerous incidences of the search for oil, the greed of
oil companies, and the environmental destruction of oil leaks leading
to protest and revolt by effected local groups—usually the poorest and
most marginalised sectors of society. In Columbia, the U'wa tribe have
threatened mass suicide if Occidental Petroleum are allowed to drill in
land adjacent to their home—an area they consider sacred—as the arrival
of the oil company would spell death to their culture and way of life
any way. They have been forcibly evicted by the military and several
activists killed.
In Nigeria, oil drilling by Shell Nigeria sparked a revolt from the
Ogoni's that has been strongly repressed and lead to the deaths and
murders of many Ogoni activists. To read the full story, follow this
link to MOSOP Canada's web site.
These are just two examples of the abuses around oil. Sign up to the Car Busters monthly bulletin to receive reports on others as they happen.
[Top]
Pollution During Manufacturing
"The rate of production of new cars is difficult to
assimilate: an annual output of 48 million means that, somewhere in the
world, one new car appears every second. In eight hours, 40,000 new
cars will have been built; in a day, 100,000. With a growth in the
human population of some 90 million a year, the arrival of two new
babies is accompanied with the arrival of one new car. And this rate of
growth is, we are assured by the transport lobby, set to continue.
Mackenzie and Walsh, in their report Driving Forces, estimate that the
world total of trucks and cars—more than 500 million—could double to
one billion in the next twenty years." (4)
Manufacturing process involves not just the raw materials such as
steel, iron, rubber, plastics and aluminium, but large amounts of
substances that deplete the ozone layer, are greenhouse gasses, or use
huge quantities of energy.
- Iron and Steel Making: needs large amounts of coal and limestone. A major producer of sulfur dioxide, acids and slag waste.
- Aluminium Production: involves substantial soil degradation in bauxite mining. Smelters release sulfur dioxide and are substantial energy users.
- Zinc and Lead Industries. Considerable waste problems and a variety of health threats.
- Copper Smelting: sulfur dioxide emissions.
- Platinum Production: six million tonnes of ore a year have to be refined for catalytic converters
- Emissions From Other Pollutants: sulfuric acid for
batteries; heavy metals and VOCs in paints; mercury in circuits; CFCs
and other greenhouse gases used in foam seats and body parts; asbestos
in brake pads. (1)
An average of 27 tons of waste is produced during the manufacture of one car.(12)
[Top]
Pollution During Disposal
Disposal of old cars and car components—tyres, batteries and oil further increase the environmental impact of the car.
- Cars use 10 percent of OECD plastics production, for a whole
range of fittings, from fuel tanks to door handles. Disposal of the
large amounts of PVC, polyurethane, polyprone and high density
polythene used in cars is difficult. Over three-quarters of a million
tonnes of scrap plastic were produced in 1990 just from cars in Europe.
(1)
- In 1988, 209.5 million car tyres, 42.7
million truck tyres and 19 million road tyres were produced in the USA
alone. Over 320 million were sold in Japan, France, West Germany and
the UK Of all these tyres, only 30 percent are re-treaded, the bulk of
the remainder are dumped. There disposal is very problematic. Heated in
the absence of oxygen, tyres produce vast quantities of oil, more than
a gallon rep tyre, accompanied by thick black smoke. Dump fires are
extremely polluting. (1)
- Car dumps themselves cause local pollution with high concentrations of lead, cadium and zinc. (1)
- On
average, each dumped vehicle contains six litres of lubricating oils,
three litres of fuel , five litres of cooling liquid and three litres
of sulfuric acid. (1)
- 100 million batteries are discarded per year. Their sulfuric acid contents represent a substantial environmental threat. (1)
- In Western Europe, Japan and the USA nearly 40 million cars are discarded every year. (1)
[Top]
The Environmental Cost of One CarExtracting Raw Materials: 26.5 tonnes of waste 922 cubic metres of polluted air Transporting Raw Materials: 12 litres of crude oil in the ocean 425 million cubic metres of polluted air Producing the Car: 1.5 tonnes of waste 74 million cubic metres of polluted air Driving the Car: 18.4 kilos of abrasive waste 1,016 million cubic metres of polluted air Disposing of the Car: 102 million cubic metres of polluted air A car causes more pollution before it's ever driven than in its entire lifetime of driving. (5)
[Top]
Road Building
Road building involves the loss or irreparable degradation of
delicate ecosystem all over the world, with material for new roads
coming from large scale rock quarrying and gravel extraction, as well
as road construction itself through sensitive habitats and even
protected ecosystems and national parks.
- New roads need materials for construction, take land previously
devoted to amenity use, or food production, fragment the countryside
and increase traffic and development areas over a wider region. (1)
- Most
roads consist of sand, gravel and rock with a tarmac surface. Each mile
of UK motorway uses 250,000 tonnes of sand and gravel. Throughout much
of Europe these "aggregates" are often extracted from ecologically
sensitive areas such as river valleys. (1)
- Justification for new road building is usually reducing congestion. It does not work. Increased car use leads to more road building: more road building leads to increased car use.(3) (See the articles Traffic Generation & Evaporation for more details; on ../magazine/feature_articles on this site).
- Road
construction often endangers biodiversity and habitats and can cause
species extinction: a survey of southwest England found that 372
important wildlife sites and 161 Sites of Special Scientific Interest
(SSSI, featuring high biodiversity) are under threat by development of
transport infrastructure. (7
- Road construction
alters water tables, disturbs the entire water cycle and increases the
run-off of heavy metals to surrounding areas. Covering more land with
concrete prevents water from seeping into the ground and may cause
flooding. (7)
[Top]
Deaths and Accidents
- Estimates of road fatalities worldwide vary massively: anywhere from 500,000(9) to 880,000(10) or even 1.17 million(11) people die on the roads every year — 10 million are estimated to be injured.
- Forecasts indicate that by 2030 this will have risen to 2 million deaths a year, and 50 million injuries. (7)
- The cumulative death total in the period 1995-2030 is estimated to be 50 million.
- Globally, accidents produce about 800,000 permanently handicapped people per year. (7)
- In the U.S., the American Lung Association estimate that between
10,000 and 24,000 people die each year as a result of traffic related
air pollution. (7)
- The work of epidemiologists and public health specialists in the
U.S. and U.K. indicate that up to 60,000 Americans and 10,000 British
are killed each year as a result of particulate pollution. (7)
Also on this subject:
Der Tod hat einen Motor and Motorisierung ist tödlich - two articles by German author Klaus Gietinger
[Top]
Cars vs. Trains: Cost comparison
In October 2004, the German magazine Focus Money did a cost comparison of car travel versus train travel. It found that:
- for 12 of the 18 studied routes, a family of four traveled more cheaply by train
- seven of the studied routes are faster by train than by car
- A roundtrip from Hamburg to Munich (1552 km) cost 323 euros by
car, 48 euros less than by car. (And that includes transport costs to
the train station and from the train station to the final destination
in town.)
These figures are probably easily transferrable to other European
countries, less so to the United States, where fuel is still
artifically cheap. More info (in German): http://www.oekonews.de/id/3798
[Top]
External costs of car traffic in the EU
A study published at the beginning of October 2004 by the IWW and
Infras research institutes found that the the health and environmental
costs of traffic in the EU are 650 billion euros, 83% of which is
caused by automobile and trucks.
The figures:
- External costs of traffic in the EU15 countries: 650 million euros
- 7 percent of GDP lost to health and environmental costs of transport
- 83% caused by street traffic
- rail freight transport causes 17.9 euros in external costs per tonne-kilometre
- truck transport causes 87.8 euros in external costs per tonne-kilometre
- passenger rail: external costs of 22.9 euros per person-kilometre
- private automobile: external costs of 76 euros per person-kilometre
Report available online in German and English
[Top]
Pollution reduction on carfree day
At the 2004 Carfree Day in Montreal, Canada, measurements taken by the
city showed a 90% reduction in the level of nitrogen monoxide (NO) and
a 100% reduction in carbon monoxide (CO) within the area closed to cars
that day as compared to readings taken the same day at an intersection
where motor vehicle traffic was normal. Also, a 38% drop in the ambient
noise level was also recorded within the carfree zone. Source: http://www.amt.qc.ca/comm/enville05/comm2_en.asp
[Top]
China's Car-Culture Revolution: The Statistics
- China has eight vehicles per thousand residents, Brazil has 122, Western Europe 584, and the US 950
- The amount of cars on Chinese roads has increased from 1 million to 12 million since 1990
- This year analysts expect 2.4 million cars to be sold in China, and 5 million vehicles altogether
- Beijing estimates that by 2020 there will be 140 million vehicles on China's roads
- Ford and GM expect that China will surpass the US (where 17 million
vehicles are sold per year) as the largest car market in the world by
2025
- There are currently 15,000 highway projects planned in China
Source: The Ecologist, Volume 35, No. 2, page 63. 2005
[Top]
Sources
- The Environmental Impact of the Car, Greenpeace International, 1991. ISBN 871532 361.
- World Health Organisation Guidelines for Europe for Benzene in Air.
- Car Busters Magazine
- MacKenzie, J.J. and Walsh, M.P. Driving Forces: Motor Vehicle Trends and their Implications for Global Warming, Energy Strategies, and Transport Planning, World Resources Institute, Washington D.C., 1990.
- Cradle to the Grave, Umweltund Prognose-Institut Heidelberg, 1993.
- Energy and Equity, Ivan Illich,
- Lost in Concrete: An Activists Guide to European Transport Policies, A SEED Europe, 1996, ISBN 90-75840-01-2. Available for purchase via Car Busters Resource Centre.
- End of the Road: From World Car Crisis to Sustainable Transportation, Wolfgang Zuckermann, Chelsea Green Publishing Co., 1991. Available for purchase via Car Busters Resource Centre.
-
BBC Report : 1998 figures
- Global Road Safety Partnership, 1999 figures. http://www.i-connect.ch/grsp/grspdev/problem.htm
- US State Department quoting WHO figures http://travel.state.gov/road_safety.html
- One Earth http://www.oneearth.org
- "Towards a better
consideration of climate change and greenhouse gas emission targets in
transport and spatial/ land use policies, plans and programmes", Thomas
B Fischer, 2001 http://www.oneearth.org
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