Carbon Emissions and Our Footprint

Carbon Emissions and Our Footprint

Home Forums MAHB Members Forum Carbon Emissions and Our Footprint

Viewing 0 reply threads
  • Author
    Posts
    • #8485

      The idea of the human carbon footprint and its effect on our earth is one of great importance. Humans and their interaction with the environment include the thought of overconsumption of non renewable energy sources and have a direct correlation to the outcome of every living thing.
      In an effort to take advantage of natural resources and create a more efficient, more productive society, people have forgotten than nature is not so easily replaced. And in fact, we are ruining the very inspiration for our own creativity and industry. We are destroying the environment at a rapid pace and the automobile plays a large role in that destruction. After creating a society so dependent on the automobile and on fast transportation, we cannot just take the car away.
      Carbon emissions released into the environment in large amounts, is bad for plants, animals, and humans. In recent years, the United States alone has released over 17 metric tons of carbon emissions per capita (“CO2 Emissions”). In total terms, the United States releases over five billion tons of carbon emissions in a year (“World Carbon Dioxide Emissions Data by Country: China Speeds Ahead of the Rest”). Perhaps the scariest thing about this number is that the United States has been reducing its carbon emissions in the last few years. Yet America still ranks in the top ten in the list of countries sorted by carbon emissions, even after the Kyoto Protocol, which set up parameters for lowering carbon emissions and slowing global warming worldwide. Vehicles are releasing these emissions. The more cars on the road, the more carbon emissions we release.
      Carbon emissions pose a serious threat to the environment. In China, rates of lung cancer and emphysema have increased due to the rapid industrialization of the country and the increased carbon emissions. But air pollution and poor air quality affects animals and plants too. Animals, already largely driven out of urban regions, face pollution issues in both the air and water outside cities and even small towns that are now becoming overrun by cars.
      Entire ecosystems and environments are dying out due to temperature changes and environmental changes they cause. After establishing that cars are bad for the environment, what can be done to protect the environment?
      Hybrid cars are a great alternative to battling the stressful us of fossil fuels and th release of carbon emissions. Hybrids get approximately 20 to 35 percent better gas mileage than a gas-powered car, saving gas used overall and reducing the impact on the environment (“The Money-Saving Perks of a Hybrid Car”. Hybrid cars use the gas that is used to power them more efficiently, reducing overall oil consumption and reducing carbon emissions released into the atmosphere. Hybrid cars also emit 29 percent less nitrogen oxide, which produces smog and pollutes the air but reduces our dependency on oil (“The Money-Saving Perks of a Hybrid Car”).
      Recycling the batteries from these cars has been seen as a potential problem. Since the batteries of electric cars and many plug-in models are lithium-based, there have been concerns about how to recycle or dispose of those batteries. A large recycling group in the United States recently received a federal grant to expand their facilities in order to accommodate larger numbers of these lithium batteries. The used batteries are eventually recycled into materials such as cobalt, copper, nickel, and lithium carbonate (Taylor). They can be reused in another capacity, and we do not need to worry about these lithium batteries further destroying the environment.
      Just because there are fewer or no carbon emissions generated by the car as it is driving does not mean that the car is not responsible for any carbon emissions. In fact, emissions from producing the battery and other parts of a car add up to 10, 000 to 40,000 pounds of carbon (“Are Hybrids or Electric Cars Better for the Environment?”). The car must be driven for tens of thousands, if not over a hundred thousand, miles to eliminate this carbon debt caused in production.
      Over 40 percent of the world’s energy comes from coal (“Coal & Electricity”). The burning of coal itself releases carbon emissions and greenhouse gases. Many argue that burning coal to power the electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles is just as bad for the environment as using gas to run a car is. However, while burning coal does also release carbon emissions and greenhouse gases, it keeps these emissions contained to a smaller space.
      Transportation, and cars specifically, have greatly contributed to environmental degradation and well being of the planet. But it is possible to slow damage to the environment and try to stop even more damage from being done by implementing subtle but effective adjustments to our means of transportation. Our goal should be to increase the longevity of our world’s energy resources while finding energy resources that seem to outlast the human race.

      I, Anthony Wilkerson, understand and have abided by the Stanford Honor Code.

      Works Cited
      “Are Hybrid or Electric Cars Better for the Environment?” Earth Techling. Earth Techling, 2013. Web. 9 December 2013.
      “Coal & Electricity.” World Coal Association. World Coal Association, 2013. Web. 9 December 2013.
      “CO2 Emissions (Metric Tons per Capita).” The World Bank. The World Bank Group, 2013. Web. 9 December 2013.
      “Examples of Alternative Energy Sources.” Green Energy. IND Themes, 2013. Web. 9 December 2013.
      Taylor, Phil. “When an Electric Car Dies, What Will Happen to the Battery?” Scientific American. Scientific American, 14 September 2009. Web. 9 December 2013.
      “The Money-Saving Perks of a Hybrid Car.” Green America. Green America, 2012. Web. 9 December 2013.
      Toyota. Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc., 2013. Web. 9 December 2013.
      “World Carbon Dioxide Emissions Data by Country: China Speeds Ahead of the Rest.” The Guardian. Guardian News and Media Limited, 2013. Web. 9 December 2013.

Viewing 0 reply threads
  • You must be logged in to reply to this topic.