AirPollution
TheUnitedStatesproducesmoreairpollutantsthananyothercountry,mostofwhicharereleasedviatransportation,particularlybycars.Theescalatingnumberofdriversandcarsontheroadcontributesgreatlytohumanhealthproblemsandglobalclimatechangebecausealmosteverystageofacar'slife,fromitsproductiontoitsfueling,isdetrimentaltotheair.
Pollutants
Vehiclesproduceseveraltypesofairpollutants.Forhumans,amongthemostharmfularehydrocarbonsandnitrogenoxide,whichcombinetoformsmog;particulatematter,whichisharmfultolungs;andcarbonmonoxide,whichisformedfromthecombustionofgas.Thelatterblocksoxygen'scirculationinthebody,aparticularriskfortheveryyoungandveryold.Morethanhalfofthecancerstracedtoairpollutionarecausedbyacar'shazardouspollutants.Intheatmosphere,substanceslikecarbondioxide,producedfromtheburningofgasolineinacar'sengine,contributegreatlytothegreenhouseeffectanddebilitatingclimatechange.
Solutions
Thereareaplethoraofsolutionstodampenacar'simpactonairpollution.Drivinglessbyusingsmallerelectricvehicles,bikesorpublictransportationisimportant,asisbuyinghybridsorcarswithcomputerstohelpattainoptimalengineperformance.Anotherhelpwouldbeusingalternativefuelsandenergysources,anoptionmanyscientistsareworkingonwithaneyetothefuture.