Essay 2C-Acid rain, the inevitable outcome of car production

Acid rain, the inevitable outcome of car production

In China today, there are more privately owned cars, especially the middle and upper income families. In order to meet the surging demand for international trades of cars, manufacturers have established numerous factories at the relatively lower income countries such as China to produce cars. These factories have been operating with fossil fuel energy system causing extensive releasing of harmful gases. As a result, acid rain was more frequent than in the past, especially in USA and Canada. However, acid rain is indeed reversible. It might be hard to eliminate it totally but by making advancement to the production system, changing of the car buyers’ life style and implementing certain government policies, acid rain could be reduced to the lowest level possible.

Ever since China switching from traditional agricultural economy to industrial economy, the assembly line has became the main stream of production. As the pace of production increased greatly, China has experienced overwhelming economic boost. The purchasing power of the middle and upper income groups became much higher than those times in the past. These groups of people demanded for more luxury goods such as cars. China currently is following the path that the United State established when its own middle and upper classes became such avid consumers. According to Hays(2008), it is predicted that the number of cars will continue to increase in China and double in twenty years. In order to produce these cars to meet the market demand, there has been a dramatic increase in burning of fossil fuels for production which has resulted in increasing number of sulfuric gases been released. According to NASA Earth Observatory(2011), "since the industrial revolution, emissions of sulfur and nitrogen oxides to the atmosphere have increased." Acid rain contains these sulfuric and nitric gases. Acid rain is a concern to both the directly affected countries and the neighboring countries because it can be easily transported by winds. Acid rain not only affects the land, water, buildings, but also the human health directly. According to United States Environmental Protection Agency(n.d.), the sulfuric and nitric gases react and form small particles in the air and then carried miles away by winds. Inhaling these particles has caused “increased illness and premature death from heart and lung disorders.” Due to the adverse impacts of acid rain that concerning citizens’ life, many nations, especially the US, are keen to mitigate acid rain.

With the rising awareness of the adverse impacts of acid rains, both affected and unaffected nations are trying to solve it. There are a few possible approaches that would be helpful. Firstly, to tackle the major source of acid rain, the manufacturers can change their operating system and research on technology in neutralizing the gases emitted. More environmental friendly energy system such as solar, hydra and wind would definitely reduce the gas emission. However, these systems are only suitable to the factories that are geographically located at the suitable location. Thus, for these factories that have difficulty in switching their energy system, one possible solution is to equip the waste emission system with appropriate technology to neutralize the waste gases emitted. For example, the sulfur dioxide could be filtered with alkaline gases before being released to the atmosphere to minimize its effect. Secondly, the car owners can also help by changing the life styles. For individuals concerned about environment, traveling by bicycle or public transports would mean that the demand for cars would decrease leading to less production of cars. Despite life styles were hard to be changed, the awareness and effort to change life styles is still progressing slowly. Lastly, the Chinese government can help by ensuring the factories follow strictly by the Law on Waste Management. The government can provide subsidies to encourage manufacturers to research and switch to a more environmentally friendly system that suits their geographical location. The state could also construct "bicycle stations" similar to the Mass Rapid Transit (MRT). This would make travelling by bicycle more convenient and reduce demand for cars. However, to establish the system would take time and effort.

In conclusion, it is a fact that acid rain has increased due to production of cars but undoubtedly, it could be mitigated. According to United States Environmental Protection Agency(n.d.),"SO2 emissions from Acid Rain Program sources have fallen from 17.3 million tons in 1980 to about 7.6 million tons in 2008, a decrease in emissions of 56 percent." There might be limitations to the solutions but with every sector making an effort, acid rain could be reduced to the lowest level. 

Reference:

Hays,J.(2008). Automobile Numbers in China. Retrieved October 15,2013,from http://factsanddetails.com/china.php?itemid=314%20=13%20=86#08

NASA Earth Observatory.(2011). Glossary-acid rain. Retrieved October 13,2013,from http://web.archive.org/web/20111213175357/http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Glossary/?mode=all

United States Environmental Protection Agency.(n.d.). Effects of Acid Rain-Human Health. Retrieved October 30,2013,from http://www.epa.gov/acidrain/effects/health.html

United States Environmental Protection Agency.(n.d.).Quick Facts about Cap and Trade. Retrieved October 13,2013,from http://www.epa.gov/captrade/