What Effect Are Cars Having On The Planet?

Today we are chatting about an issue which is rife in our modern world and one which is having a real impact on the planet as a whole. Most of us drive cars in our day to day lives, and this allows us to live independently and head off to far off places whenever we want. But what effect is our use of cars having on the world around us? We are about to find out…

Global Warming

When we think abouts cars and what they do to the planet the first phrase which comes to mind is Global Warming. This is a process which happens when gases such as carbon dioxide are emitted into the atmosphere, which cause holes to form in the protective layer of gas around our planet called the Ozone layer. When holes form in the Ozone layer this causes the sun’s rays to penetrate further to our world which in turn increase the temperature of the planet. This melts the ice caps and causes all sort of natural disasters which will eventually have a knock on effect on our planet and cause major issues. Whether you drive a brand new Ferrari or a Used Porsche Macan, as you drive your car, you will emit carbon dioxide into the atmosphere to cause all of these knock on effects.  

The Elements

Stepping away from the periodic table for a moment, let’s take a look at Air, Soil and Water. These 3 things make up most of our world and the use of cars can have a real impact on the quality of all of these things. Nitrous Oxide is a chemical which is emitted by our cars when fuel is used up, and when this happens this can pollute our air and also cause us to fall foul to harmful UV rays from the sun. Sulphur Dioxide is also emitted by cars and this can mix with water in clouds and produce acid rain. When oil or fuel spills from our cars onto the earth, it will pollute the soil and have a huge impact on nature living in the area.

Human Health

When fuel is burnt in our cars and used for travel it emits a lot of things into the environment around us. Lots of gases and hydrocarbons are released into the air and all of these things pollute our air making it hard for us to breathe. For people who have respiratory diseases such as asthma this can be even more dangerous and can cause serious chest irritation. The chemicals in the air can also clog up our skin and cause our eyes to be irritated. The most dense areas of pollution are our cities and working in the city can really have an effect on our health as a whole.

It is important for us to be more mindful of the way we travel and we can do a lot to maintain the health of the planet every single day that we can, and using cars less can be a good place to start.