The birth of industrial revolution have led to a series of widespread cases of air pollution in the world today. Industrialization have brought about an improved standard of living as well as contributing to our advancement in technology over the years. In general, air pollution refers to the presence of substance in the air which has harmful or poisonous effects. For example, volatile organic compounds. These carbon-based chemicals evaporate easily at ordinary temperatures and pressures, so they readily become gases. They are used as solvents in many household chemicals such as paint, waxes and varnishes. They are believed to have long-term effects on people’s health. Another example would be nitrogen dioxide, these are pollutants produced as an indirect result of combustion, (Woodford, 2016) where nitrogen and oxygen from the air react together. Nitrogen oxide pollution comes from vehicle engines and power plants and plays an important role in the formation of acid rain, ozone and smog. (Woodford, 2016) It is important to discuss this issue because it has an important impact to people’s life. This research will discuss how carpooling, hybrid cars and taking the public transport can help reduce air pollution. 2.1 Hybrid Cars ‘’Hybrid cars have been hailed as an exciting green advancement for the vehicle and transport industry.’’ (Fenn, 2015) ‘’A vehicle is a hybrid if it utilizes more than one form of on board energy to achieve propulsion.’’ (Edmunds, 2013)The focal point of the hybrid car are that it takes up less fuel and emits less carbon dioxide as opposed to the standard non-hybrid cars. …show more content…
For example, a hybrid car gets 5 miles per gallon better mileage on average than a traditional gasoline-powered vehicle. As hybrid cars are propelled by different fuel sources, they do not need to be filled up with gasoline as often hence reducing the overall gasoline consumption and cost.
Moreover, lesser gasoline is burned in hybrid cars, which equates to a lower rate of carbon monoxide being released into the atmosphere. In addition to that, idling a car is one of the major contributor to the smog and pollution. Hybrid cars are predominantly better than conventional non-hybrid cars due to the fact that they never idle their gasoline motors. Once the car is pulled to a stop, the internal combustion engine under the hood of the hybrid car is instantly shut down to conserve fuel and eliminate emissions. The car’s battery pack takes over, until the vehicle is once again moving at a quick enough speed to require the ignition of the gas engine. (Hunting, 2016) Henceforth, it is more efficient and it significantly reduces the amount of pollution in the air. In conclusion it is reasonable to conclude that travelling in hybrid cars can assist in reducing air pollution. 2.2 Carpooling Carpooling has been proven as one of the more cost effective way to reduce the pollution in our environment. ‘’Carpooling refers to an arrangement whereby several participants or their children travel together in one vehicle, the participants sharing the costs and often taking turns as the driver.’’ (Dictionary, 2011). Firstly, not only would drivers be able to save money from lesser gas consumption, some cities have kick-started programs that reward car-poolers with cash. One example is The Clean Air Campaign, located in Georgia, encouraging people to start carpooling with money and prizes. Moreover, carpooling also combat the possibility of a traffic congestion. By filling the extra seats in the car, there are fewer drivers on the road. Hence reducing the pollution caused by vehicles in a gridlock. Additionally, carpooling would mean that lesser gasoline is burned thus reducing the amount of poisonous toxins in the atmosphere. According to ridetoshare.com “The US could save 33 million gallons of gas-each day-if the average commuting vehicle carried one additional person.” To sum up, it is justifiable to conclude that carpooling can assist in reducing air pollution. 2.3 Taking the public transport It has been proven that taking the public transit reduces air pollution and harmful ozone levels. ‘’Public transportation refers to a system of vehicles such as buses and trains that operate at regular times on fixed routes and are used by the public.’’ (Dictionary, 2016) First of all, public transport moves people efficiently whilst emitting lesser harmful toxins in the air compare to a person travelling by themselves. To illustrate, Commuter