Abstract
Road transport has become the world’s primary mode of transportation. Roads are known to link up different places and even countries. The invention of the automobiles further influenced the use of road transport on a large scale. In the contemporary world, the use of vehicles has resulted in the pollution of the environment following the emission of poisonous gases. The outcome of the pollution is adverse leading to health complications to humans and environmental degradation. As such, the high concentration of air pollution has rendered some countries like China to never experience the beauty of blue skies as a result of the smog. Consequently, the availability and affordability of most motor vehicles does little to alleviate the problem of air pollution resulting from exhaust gases. Despite the convenience of road transport, the aftermath effects of air pollution have proven to be adverse to human health and the environment as a whole.
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"Exhaust Gas".
The most common mode of transportation in the contemporary world is the use of motor vehicles. Road transport comprises of about three-quarters of the world’s commonly used form of transportation. This is primarily because of the availability and affordability of the mode of transportation. Ideally, with road traffic, people have the option of selecting whether they will use their personal vehicles for those who have them or if they will use public service vehicles. Many countries avail public service transportation for their citizens to enable them to travel over both short and long distances. Various means are used for road transport that includes personal cars, buses, motorcycles and even bicycles. As others use these automobiles, some people may alternatively opt to walk simply. Ideally, since the invention of the first automobile, movement from one place to another has been facilitated for and ideally encouraged by the simplicity offered by the vehicles. Motorbikes offer an even faster option based on their small size and ability to meander through traffic. As such, some customers prefer them to the large public service vehicles that have to adhere to the standard procedures of traffic. In essence, road transport has enabled people to move from their homes to areas where they can secure employment and subsequently better their lives. It is also because of the affordability of the means of transport that are used on the roads that many aim at purchasing their motor vehicles for their transportation convenience. However, despite the positivity that comes with the use of road transport and the convenience of owning a personal vehicle, several environmental factors are usually negatively affected by the effects of vehicular activities. The environmental concern is in the sense that, the purity of the environment becomes a factor of concern as a result of the expelled fumes and exhaust gases from vehicles.
Vehicles are considered to be living things by the little aspect that they respire. Respiration in this regard means that the cars take in a given gas and consequently after the burning of energy, they give out another gas (Collings, Glover, Campbell & Fisher, 2016). Essentially, when vehicles are running, they use up oxygen to carry out the process of respiration which facilitates the burning of energy. The energy thus produced is what is used to power up the car or bus and thus enable it to move successfully. The residue from this respiration process is usually the carbon emissions that are often expelled via the car’s exhaust pipes. As a result, the air around the areas and the overall environment end up being polluted by the gaseous emissions that are highly carbonated. The fact that vehicles are highly affordable also worsens the situation at hand. With more people purchasing cars for their transportation convenience, traffic snarl-ups become more frequent on the roads. When the vehicles are stuck in traffic, the emission of toxic gases increases as a result of increased respiration which consequently causes the vehicles to burn up more energy so as to enable the vehicle to continue being in motion even after long periods of being actively stationary. The emissions thus end up contaminating the air which becomes a rather dangerous situation, especially for human beings. In China, for instance, a lot of carbonated emissions arising from the constant use of motor vehicles in the capital city usually causes smog to the extent that there are private organizations that are appealing to the people to reduce using diesel engine operated vehicles and opt for an environmental friendly option. These campaigns are designed to reduce the air pollution that is caused because of the combustion of vehicular engines.
The different gases emitted by vehicles include hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide, nitrogenous gases and carbon dioxide. Ideally, high concentrations of these gases in the air create an imbalance that is all dangerous for human beings and all other living organisms. Air pollution reduces the purity of the oxygen that is consequently used by living organisms to survive (Bowatte, Lodge, Lowe, Erbas & Perret, 2015). The high presence of carbon monoxide, for example, causes respiratory complications that are fixed with the use of medication. Air pollution aside from being hazardous to human beings also becomes an inhibition to the overall environment. A high number of vehicles results in elevated levels of hydrocarbons and other gases that end up piling up in the air. Ideally, the pollutants are usually in particular form and hence would settle on the leaves of plants. The outcome of this on the environment has been witnessed with the slow photosynthetic character of the affected plants or simply the frying up of plants.
The effects on plants are also amplified when the pollutants in the air are mixed up with rain consequently causing acidic rain that is not particularly healthy for both human settlement and plants. Take the example of plants, when the rain mixes up with the pollutants in the air from exhaust gas emissions such as the nitrogenous gases; the result may be positive when the amounts are small but catastrophic when the nitrogenous amounts are high. Ideally, on the human settlements, the consequences are evident on the nature of the corrugated rooftops of the buildings. Conclusively, while road transport has eased the movement of people, the bottleneck of vehicles has typically led to severe environmental factors which in turn have negatively affected the health of many individuals in the long run. Environmentally friendly alternatives need to be pursued.
- Bowatte, G., Lodge, C., Lowe, A., Erbas, B. & Perret, J. (2015). The influence of childhood traffic-related air pollution exposure on asthma, allergy and sensitization: A systematic review and a meta-analysis of both cohort studies. Wiley & Sons
- Collings, N., Glover, K., Campbell, B. & Fisher, S. (2016). Internal combustion engine exhaust gas analysis. International Journal of Engine Research, 18(4): 308-332.
