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III. Economic/Social Effects of Automobile Pollution.
Automobiles can be blamed for the majority of the air pollution easily. When looking at the top five contributors of air pollution, automobiles are responsible for three of them. The most important, being carbon monoxide is released from the exhaust along with many other pollutants and nothing is done about this. Sure, we have made stricter emissions for cars, but until something is done to totally change the automobile, we will have this same problem. .
All of these automobile pollutants affect the environment in different ways. But one thing that they all have in common is that their affect on the environment is a negative one, which in turn affects humans in a negative way also. The most dangerous and widespread of all of the pollutants are hydrocarbons. Hydrocarbons emitted by automobiles create smog by reacting with nitrogen oxides and sunlight. This smog acts as ground level ozone that causes many health problems for people. These problems include eye irritation, lung damage, and respiratory problems. Hydrocarbons can even cause cancer, which can lead to death.
Nitrogen oxides also play a part in the destruction of the ozone. Due to the high pressure in the automobile's engine, nitrogen and oxygen atoms in the air react and form this nitrogen oxide. Along with deteriorating the ozone, nitrogen oxides also help form acid rain which hurts plants and other wildlife. .
When incomplete combustion occurs because carbon is not completely oxidized to form carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide is formed. Carbon monoxide is very dangerous to human health. It reduces the flow of oxygen in the bloodstream and in turn can be extremely dangerous to those people with heart disease. The carbon dioxide that is supposed to form in the combustion process also becomes a serious environmental problem in that it is a "greenhouse gas" that acts as a contributor to global warming.