About 113 years ago, Henry Ford became the first person in the U.S. to develop an automobile production line. This was not the first gasoline-powered car made, but it was the first gasoline-powered car that the average citizen could afford. Henry Ford though that his invention would impact the world for the better. Fast forward over a century, I can’t help but ask if it was for the better of the world. Although cars a very important for us today, cars also have a greatly negative impact on the Earth.
Firstly, let us look into how much cars improve our lives. Cars give us convenient and timely transportation. Furthermore, they also largely impact the economy. Over 1.7 million people are employed in the automobile industry, and since the industry is a large consumer of goods, they stimulate about 8 million jobs in total.
Secondly, let us start off with the fact that almost 78% of cars in the United States are gasoline powered. If that percentage of people in America use gasoline-powered cars, think about all the greenhouse gases that are being emitted into the air. You might be asking, “what are greenhouse gases?” Greenhouse gases are gases that “absorb and emit radiant energy within the thermal infrared range, causing the greenhouse effect. The primary greenhouse gases in Earth’s atmosphere are water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and ozone,” as it says in Wikipedia.
Greenhouse gases cause massive threats to Earth. They cause climate change, which is when the gases get trapped by clouds and stuck in the atmosphere. This could melt glaciers and have cities underwater. Disease could be developed from the smog and air pollution. Additionally, greenhouse gases could cause acid rain that could cause less food to grow.
Although cars served humans in many goods ways, I think that their harmful effect outweigh their good. Safe alternatives to gas-powered cars are bikes, walking, carpooling, taking public transportation, and maybe even buying a electric car. However, this is a very big problem that needs attention and action.
Himroad Giorgis – Loyola Academy
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