Transportation and Air Pollution in the United States Essay

Air pollution has become a significant problem in the US as well as the world over years. It’s the result of variety of sources like industrial, agriculture, mechanical and transportation. Sadly, transportation which releases a great amount of carbon dioxides, nitrogen oxides and other toxicity is proven the leading cause of air pollution. There are several transportation factors that contribute to air pollution in the US. The first factor is the excessive use of SUVs and cars. Vehicle has played an important role in the US because of its use of connecting people to anyplace. As â€Å"Americas population of automobiles drivers are increasing† (Davis), it’s true that every households has the average of 2 or 3 cars in their garage. It means†¦show more content†¦One aspect of this factor is the â€Å"persistence of old and outdated technology† in the SUVs and cars’ fleet (Gorham). In a family, higher-income members tend to get a new cars and leave it for lower-income ones. Therefore, the old cars are still on our road until its usefulness has expired. So it’s a problem that people have recognized since older cars pollute more than new ones do. As the same size and model, older vehicles are more likely inefficient than new ones as they use the obsolete technology which wastes a lot of gas and produces carbon dioxide (Car Heaven). Commonly vehicle’ age is 10 years-old or higher (Gorham). As their ages are getting higher, they are more losing their efficiency. For example, â€Å"A 14 year old vehicle produces 19 times more smog-forming emissions than a 2004 or newer model (Car Heaven)†. The second factor is the permissive regulation on truck emissions. Sean, a senior editor at American city County’s sister publication, said that diesel trucks have been a pollution emitter over years. â€Å"While they make up only 2 percent of vehicles in the nation, diesel trucks produce exhaust that is responsible for more than 60 percent of all particulates and nearly half of all nitrogen oxides, according to EPA (Sean)†. In fact, the number of diesel trucks is less than private vehicles, and most of these trucks are using to do â€Å"commercial† task, thus the US government considers it’s not an issue ofShow MoreRelatedThe Effects Of Air Pollution On Our Health And Sustainability1408 Words   |  6 Pageshealth. Air pollution is a large problem that exists in the United States and affects all of us. However, the challenge that we as American’s face is the inescapable necessities of modern life (driving to work, cooking food, etc.). These techn ologies are directly linked to air pollution and therefore affect our health and sustainability. BusinessDictionary.com defines air pollution as, â€Å"the condition in which air is contaminated by foreign substances, or the substances themselves.† Air pollution is somethingRead MoreEffects Of Air Pollution On Human Health1319 Words   |  6 PagesWhat You Breathe In: Effects of Air Pollution on Human Health The idea that we, as a global community, are destroying the very earth we commonly share is something that takes time for people to fully understand. It takes research and a open mind to be knowledgeable about the environmental issues the human race is causing to planet earth, as well as the issues that it is causes to our personal health. Air pollution is a large problem that exists in the United States. However, the challenge that AmericaRead More America Needs More Public Transportation Essay1072 Words   |  5 PagesPublic Transportation Automobiles play a major role in todays society. Almost every American owns at least one motorized transportation vehicle. Some say they make our lives better by reaching places faster than before. Others say they are a harmful to the environment. Have they made our society better or worse? They may be fast, but do we as humans want our environment to suffer because of time. Face it, cars pollute. And they release destructive chemicals into the air. Air pollution can threatenRead MoreEssay about Cleaner Alternative Transportation1646 Words   |  7 PagesWhen people think pollution, most think straight to automobiles producing harmful emissions which contribute to global warming or climate change. Well, this is true. Motor vehicles account for about half of the toxic air pollutant emissions in the United States. A large part of these toxic air pollutants is the need to rely on oil as a fuel source. The fact that oil is still the main source of energy for things like automobiles, whe n there are other alternatives like electric vehicles, creates manyRead MoreAir Polution And Outdoor Air Pollution1299 Words   |  6 PagesProblem Poor air quality can be classified into two types of air pollution: indoor air pollution and outdoor air pollution. Both types of air pollution affect developed and developing countries through diseases such as asthma, lung cancer, heart disease, acute respiratory disease, stroke, and chronic respiratory disease. According to a World Health Organization report of 2014, over ninety percent of the global population was living in areas where air quality level did not meet the air quality guidelineRead MoreTransportation Is The Reason Behind Why The Us1533 Words   |  7 Pages TRANSPORT: Transportation is the reason behind why the US is still the world’s largest producer and exporter of corn by accounting for 50 percent of the world’s corn trade each year. The production and consumption demand determine the transportation demand. Considering corn is the primary feed grain consumed in farms, this means that 96 percent of all feed grain production is corn. The corn produced in the US derives from seven states and from these states is shipped by rail, barge, and truck toRead MoreAir Pollution1499 Words   |  6 PagesAir Pollution emissions have been a leading threat to the world, as the world has become more and more industrialized over the past century. However, many fail to realize the threat that air pollution emissions pose to human health. As humans continue to buy gasoline for the excessive amount of cars that are driven on a daily basis, create waste from factories, using coal and biomass fuels to power their daily lives, they will continue to put their own health at risk. China, a developing countryRead MoreThe Problem Of Air Pollution1708 Words   |  7 Pagesmetropolitan areas in the United States of America. In fact, in 2015 Forbes Magazine ranks Phoenix, Arizona as the 11th fastest growing city in the U.S.1 This growth is due the unprecedented resources and growing opportunities in the state of Arizona. With all of these opportunities come more production, which means more emissions from various industries and cars, more fossil fuels burned, and household and farming chemicals added to the sky. All of these are examples of pollution; which is one the sacrificesRead MoreEffects of Urbanization890 Words   |  4 Pagesspecifically air pollution that has a significant effect on the overall health of urbanized communities lowering the quality of life. The environment changes when people consume more food, land, energy, and water than in rural communities. Then what happens is the polluted environment changes the health and quality of life of the population. Such pollutions include sanitation issues due to lack of space for garbage disposal, shortage of water supply, and air pollution. Inner city transportation is aRead MoreAir Polution : The Side Effects Of Air Pollution1149 Words   |  5 Pagesis no question that all living organisms need air to survive.   Now imagines that air you need to survive being the same thing that might be killing you. Our environment is suffering due to the all of the negative side effects from air pollution. In Funk and Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia, air pollution is defined as â€Å"contamination of the atmosphere by gaseous, liquid, or solid substances that can endanger the health and welfare of humans and other living things or can attack materials, reduce visibility