How does driving affect the environment

Car exhausts emit a wide range of gases and solid matter, causing global warming, acid rain, and harming the environment and human health. Engine noise and fuel spills also cause pollution. Cars, trucks and other forms of transportation are the single largest contributor to air pollution in the United States, but car owners can reduce their vehicle's effects on the environment.

Car pollution is one of the major causes of global warming. Cars and trucks emit carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases, which contribute one-fifth of the United States' total global warming pollution. Greenhouse gases trap heat in the atmosphere, which causes worldwide temperatures to rise.

Without greenhouse gases, the Earth would be covered in ice, but burning excessive amounts of fossil fuels, such as gasoline and diesel, has caused an increase of 0.

Warmer global temperatures affect farming, wildlife, sea levels and natural landscapes. The effects of car pollution are widespread, affecting air, soil and water quality. Nitrous oxide contributes to the depletion of the ozone layer, which shields the Earth from harmful ultraviolet radiation from the sun. Sulfur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide mix with rainwater to create acid rain, which damages crops, forests and other vegetation and buildings.

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A car is heavy and therefore takes energy to get it to move. When the fuel is burnt it releases hydrocarbons, nitrogen oxides, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide and various small particulates. Of course, all that fuel has to be transported to places where you can buy it by burning more fuel in oil tankers and lorries.

All parts of the production chain create their own pollution from the mining equipment and tailings to the factories. Microplastics are a huge environmental issue. As road markings wear off, they release microplastics into our streams. Pollution also happens at the source: mining machinery tends to be diesel-powered. In some areas, the electricity used at the factories that make the cars will be derived from burning coal. Ships use heavy fuel to transport the materials to the factories and the cars to ports globally.

Pollution happens wherever fuel is mined. Because the majority of us use private cars we actually need more space than if we used public transport. Motorways are wide. If everyone took public transport, motorways could be narrower. Some roads could simply be rail lines that are half the width. Plastics can break down to form microplastics that get into our food chain.