Thesis Statement: Air Pollutant from Road Transport

Transport and Air Pollution
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Introduction
Transportation plays a major role in the economy as a competitive force in the business realm. As such transportation is a vital part of the economy, relative to the fact that it is responsible for moving goods and services between locations. The goods and the services are moved from where are sourced and taken too places where they are demanded. Transport acts a link between the suppliers and the customers. As such by extension transportation also supports the economic utilizes associated with space and time. This means that transportation provides the means for the customers to have the goods and services where they need them (Cone, 1995). At the same time, transport also supports the time utility in the economy by providing the customers with whatever goods and services when they need them. Transport does not only move goods and services as it also plays a subtle role in moving labor to places where it is required in the business processes and hence the economy. One of the major elements about transport, however, is that it is also contributes heavily to air pollution. Due to the emissions that come from burning carbon fuels, transport is one of the subtle causes of pollution to the air. Air pollution has been linked to transportation by quite a number of research findings, especially in light of air and road transport systems (Patterson, 2012). This paper however focuses on the road transport and the remedies for the same. Of the major technologies that can be applied to reduce air pollution associated with road transport is the production and use of electric cars as a substitute for those that run on carbon fuels such as diesel and petrol.
Thesis statement
Electric cars are a sustainable solution to air pollution in the road transport system associated with internal combustion engines.
Transportation and air pollution
In the year 2013, transportation was estimated to have contributed to more than half of the carbon monoxide as well as the nitrogen oxides that were in the air. At the same time, more than quarter the amount of hydrocarbons that were found in the air, were also linked to transportation. Of all the volatile organic compounds that form smog, are attributed to the vehicle emissions that are released into the air. The trend in the vehicle use among the Americans has shifted over the years. Today there are more than 200 million light duty trucks and cars on the American roads. Over the years since the seventies, the cars that Americans drive have slowly changed. In the late eighties, Americans started driving vans, pickup trucks and sport utility vehicles as their daily commuter cars (Patterson, 2012). The year 2000, the cars that were considered light duty trucks accounted for more than half of the cars on the roads. There was also a trend starting in the 60s, where bigger engines found their way into the market, in light of the power train euphoria. Most people were now advocating for faster and stronger cars in terms of engine power (Calef & Goble, 2007). This means that, support for cars with higher engine capacity and thus higher fuel consumption became a trend. In addition the entire process of vehicle manufacturing and use produces air pollution. Ideally vehicle pollute the air throughout their life cycle. This means that, vehicles not only pollute the air during operation, they also pollute the air during refueling, when they are being manufactured and during their disposal (Camden, 2015). There are also additions sources of emissions associated vehicles in light of the fuel refinery and distribution.
Air Pollutant from Road Transport
There are two main air pollutants that can be associated with vehicles; secondary and primary pollution. Primary pollutants are those compounds that are emitted directly into the atmosphere. The secondary pollutants are as a result of chemical reactions in the atmosphere (Calef & Goble, 2007). There are quite a number of pollutants that are associated with vehicular air pollution.
Common Air Pollutants from Vehicles
Carbon monoxide is a gas that is formed during the combustion of carbon fuels such as diesel and petrol which are used in cars. This is a gas does not have any odor or color and is one of the most dangerous gases to the human health. When one inhales the gas in large quantities, it can inhibit oxygen flow through the blood and to the vital organs (Plug-in electric cars can lower global warming emissions, oil consumption and unhealthy air pollution, 2010). The blood component associated with oxygen transport in the body, tends to have a higher affinity for carbon dioxide when present as opposed to oxygen. As such, vital organs such as the brain and muscles of the heart do not get the right amount of oxygen and in turn leads to death or cell damage such as in the case of the brain depending on the time of exposure. In most cases, children are more susceptible to carbon monoxide poisoning due to the underdeveloped organ systems.
Particulate matter
In the recent past, smog has become a concern for many cities in china and America. Smog is largely formed of the particulate matter that is released from soot, dust and metal particles that are associated with the transport system along with the pollutants from factories. The particulate matter pose great danger relative to the fact that they can penetrate deep into the lungs as they are not stopped at the nose or the upper lings relative to their size. This leads to wheezing and symptoms associated with asthma due to the irritation that results...