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5 Things You Need to Know About Emissions
By Tracie Close
What Are Emissions?
Driving a car creates emissions that place a strain on the environment. Considering the amount of cars on the road every day, these emissions can have a very real effect on air quality and health. Cars emit unburned hydrocarbons, nitrogen oxides, and carbon monoxide, among other pollutants. These pollutants can cause respiratory problems in areas where air quality is compromised.
Where Do Emissions Come From?
The combustion of fuel in an engine causes the nitrogen, carbon monoxide, and unburned hydrocarbons to be released through the tailpipe. The most pollutants are released during the cold-start phase when the car is first turned on and its catalytic converter is not yet hot enough to treat the emissions. Thus, combining trips can decrease these emissions because fewer cold starts will occur. Fuel evaporates in high temperatures, which can cause fuel system emissions that release gases into the air, especially during refueling. Maintaining your car's exhaust and cooling system can help reduce your car's evaporative emissions.
How Can You Reduce Emissions?
Opting for cleaner fuels when they're available is a great way to reduce emissions. Oxygenated gasoline, which uses additives like ethanol, creates more complete combustion. Alternative fuels that create fewer emissions are becoming more readily available as the environmental effects of driving become more prevalent. It's also a great idea to carpool during the workweek, which can reduce traffic levels as well as help decrease emissions. When taking short trips, try not to idle your car more than necessary, as idling unnecessarily burns fuel and creates emissions while delivery zero miles-per-gallon. So, the next time you stop at the convenience store, turn off the car when you go in.
How Can Reducing Emissions Help You?
Think about how much you spend on gas bills each week for your commute to work. Taking public transportation or carpooling reduces the cost to your wallet as well as wear and tear on your car. Perhaps your office will consider allowing you to telecommute once or twice a week; many more companies are offering this option to their employees who drive to work. Leave the car in the driveway and consider doing that report in your slippers. Do you suffer allergies? These emissions can cause some of the coughing and wheezing you're attributing to seasonal allergies. Being thoughtful towards the environment can put money back into your pocket and lower allergy symptoms as well.
What Steps Have Been Taken to Reduce Carbon Emissions?
Many federal programs have been in place since 1993 that created standards to help resolve the emissions problem. One example is the Partnership for a New Generation of Vehicles (PNGV), a consortium made up of General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler that's focused on increasing fuel economy and reducing vehicle emissions. The Clean Air Act has also evolved over the years to require lower vehicle emissions. The recent introduction of hybrid and clean-fuel cars to the car market rounds out some of the work that has been done to help with this issue.
Tracie Close is a freelance writer for print and the web on eco-friendly topics. Her articles have been published in Saving American Manufacturing, Philadelphia Style Magazine, and High Tech, High Touch. She also has contributed numerous articles about green living for eHow.com.
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