TL: THE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT OF THE CAR TL: THE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT OF THE CAR SO: Greenpeace International (GP) DT: 1992 Keywords: environment greenpeace cars toxics emissions / Edited by Jim Beard, with assistance from Marvin Golden and Sherri Kimbell. Produced by Nathan D. Santry on one of the slowest Macintosh computers still around. Greenpeace in Seattle would greatly appreciate the donation of any Macintosh II-series computer. Contact: Greenpeace 4649 Sunnyside Ave. N. Seattle, Washington 98103 (206) 632-4326 From an original version edited by Steve Elsworth, written by Don Mathew and Andrew Rowell, with additional input from Claire Holman. Printed on Recycled Paper Copyright 1992 Greenpeace CONTENTS INTRODUCTION PART ONE HISTORICAL AND FUTURE TRENDS PART TWO ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS OF THE CAR CHAPTER ONE GLOBAL WARMING CHAPTER TWO AIR POLLUTION CHAPTER THREE FINDING, TRANSPORTING AND USING OIL CHAPTER FOUR RESOURCE COSTS OF MAKING CARS CHAPTER FIVE ROADS, SAFETY AND CITIES PART THREE THE CAR LOBBY CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS CONTACTS (NOTE: References have been omitted throughout this copy of the document .. the print was unscannable.) INTRODUCTION The typical American male devotes more than 1,600 hours a year to his car. He sits in it while it goes and while it stands idling. He parks it and searches for it. He earns the money to put down on it and to meet the monthly instalments. He works to pay for petrol, tolls, insurance, taxes and tickets. He spends four of his sixteen waking hours on the road or gathering resources for it. And this figure does not take account of the time consumed by other activities dictated by transport: time spent in hospitals, traffic courts and garages; time spent watching automobile commercials or attending consumer education meetings to improve the quality of the next buy. The model American puts in 1,600 hours to get 7,500 miles: less than five miles an hour. --Ivan Illich, Energy and Equity The industrialized world's love affair with the car has not always been wholehearted. In 1907, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (U.K.) described it as 'a luxury that is apt to degenerate into a nuisance. In the United States (U.S.), the love affair with the car is in fact an arranged marriage, due to the efforts of a group of large corporations (including General Motors, Firestone Tire and Rubber, and Mack Truck) purchasing and dismantling over one hundred public rail transit systems in 45 U.S. cities in the 1930s and 1940s. Recent commentators in the U.S. have pointed out that the average U.S. citizen now spends a quarter of his or her waking life either using a car or obtaining the resources to use it. On the whole, however, the car has bitten deep into the soul of industrial society. Door-to-door flexibility, 24-hour availability, the capacity to transport family members and goods in a mobile world of sound, security, and warmth, the car has undoubtedly been a benefit to individuals who possess it. What is a benefit to the individual may be a detriment to society, however, particularly when the benefit is enjoyed by millions of individuals. The side effects of automobile use --oil wars, air pollution, global warming, ozone depletion, human deaths and injuries, habitat loss and depletion of planetary resources -- have transformed the automobile from an individual indulgence into a high-stakes planetary gamble. The age of the car has arrived, but it should not and cannot last. Car use is now a global environmental, human health and political issue: ù Motor vehicles are the single largest source of atmospheric pollution; ù The industrialized world's addiction to cheap gasoline and diesel fuel is a direct cause of wars for oil, the Persian Gulf War being the most recent example; ù Automobiles are responsible for an estimated 20-25 percent of the world's carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuel use, and are therefore a principal contributor to global warming; ù Car air conditioners are the single largest source of CFC emissions in the U.S., with additional CFCs and other ozone- depleting chemicals released during production; ù Exhaust fumes cause cancer, lead-poisoning, a variety of bronchial and respiratory illnesses, and acid air pollution; ù Worldwide, a quarter of a million people die on the roads every year, and 10 million are injured; ù Construction of highways, roads, parking lots, etc., destroys huge amounts of habitat, both for people and for wildlife (in the U.S., more land is currently devoted to the automobile than to housing). Globally, motor vehicles use one-third of the world's oil. Finding, extracting, and using oil involves habitat loss, oil spills, air and water pollution, and large emissions of carbon dioxide--not to mention the financial, human and environmental costs of the numerous wars waged for oil this century (Part 2, Chapter 3). The automobile manufacturing process requires: huge amounts of raw materials such as steel, iron, rubber, lead, plastics and aluminum; large quantities of chemicals that deplete the ozone layer, cause global warming, or both; and massive quantities of energy (Part 2, Chapter 4). Road building involves the loss or irreparable degradation of wetlands and other delicate ecosystems all over the world, due to the actual construction of roads, as well as the large-scale extraction of rock, sand, gravel and other construction materials (Part 2, Chapter 5). Disposal of old cars and car components is becoming a major environmental problem, especially for items like tires, batteries and used oil (Part 2, Chapter 5). The car companies themselves add to these problems, and not just by building more cars. General Motors, Ford, Chrysler, and their allies have actively lobbied for more and larger roads, against increased fuel efficiency, and against stronger, more effective hazardous waste laws. Auto manufacturers are some of the largest multinational corporations in the world. Through their influence with governments around the globe, these companies are able to extract huge direct and indirect subsidies (e.g. - cheap oil, access to natural resources, tax breaks, hazardous waste, pollution, etc.), distorting markets, destroying or hindering competitive technologies such as mass transit and alternative fuels, and promoting an increasingly car-dependent culture. In 1950 there were 53 million cars on the world's roads; by 1989 there were 423 million. Include trucks and commercial vehicles and the figure is 555 million and currently projected to double in twenty years' time. Our dependence on the car is causing serious human health and environmental problems, approaching a crisis point in many parts of the world. Increased dependence on the car will only widen and deepen the severity of this crisis. PART ONE: HISTORICAL AND FUTURE TRENDS The rate of production of new cars is difficult to assimilate: an annual output of 35 million cars means that, somewhere in the world, one new vehicle appears every second. In eight hours, 40,000 new cars will have been built; in a day, 100,000. With a growth in the human population of some 90 million a year, the arrival of two new babies is accompanied by the arrival of one new car. And this rate of growth is, we are assured by the auto industry, set to continue. Mackenzie and Walsh, in their report Driving Forces, estimate that the world total of trucks and cars- -currently more than 500 million --could double to one billion over the next twenty years. Car ownership varies enormously around the world. Some people have never seen a car, while others could not imagine life without one. NUMBER OF PERSONS PER CAR, 1989 China 1055.5 India 455.0 Romania 80.0 USSR 21.0 Poland 8.2 E. Germany 4.4 Japan 3.7 Eur. Comm. 2.6 United Kingdom 2.5 United States 1.6 Car ownership is currently expected to continue growing everywhere. Even the U.S. has not reached saturation point, with a projected growth of 2 percent annually. Western Europe is expected to reach a growth rate of 4 to 5 percent per year, and, if and when the economies in Eastern Europe recover, there could be explosive growth in sales there as well. Although economic recession and uncertainties caused by the Persian Gulf War meant that 1990 and 1991 were generally poor years for car sales in some countries, this slowdown did not occur everywhere. Sales in South Korea increased by 25 percent in 1990, and in Thailand by 40 per cent. And in the first two months of 1991, German car sales increased by 50 percent over the previous year. Car ownership initially shows great differences between sexes and income groups, with males and those with higher incomes having a disproportionate stake in ownership. Different nationalities generally favor different types of cars: in the U.S., Sweden and Germany, large, heavy cars with powerful engines preferred; while the French, Spanish and Italians tend to buy smaller cars. In many developing countries, of course, it is mainly the rich who own cars, and their cars are often symbols of status and position as much as they are a form of transportation (not unlike the situation in the U.S. and many other industrialized countries). National preferences for different types of cars are shaped by taxation and pricing policies related to engine size, fuel cost, licensing fees, parking, emission standards, etc., as well as by the level of government subsidies for roads and highways, and the relative price and availability of competing technologies such as mass transit. Changes in these factors can have a direct effect on vehicle preferences and preferred modes of travel. RANKING OF WORLD MOTOR VEHICLE MANUFACTURERS,1988 (By percentage of market share, including vehicles manufactured in other countries.) Manufacturer Production Percentage 1. General Motors (US) 7,743,000 16.1 2. Ford (US) 6,227,000 12.9 3. Toyota (Japan) 4,084,000 8.5 4. Volkswagen (Germany) 2,875,000 6.0 5. Nissan (Japan) 2,700,000 5.6 6. Peugeot-Citroen (France) 2,465,000 5.1 7. Chrysler (US) 2,338,000 4.9 8. Renault (France) 2,102,000 4.4 9. Fiat (Italy) 2,050,000 4.3 10. Honda (Japan) 1,709,000 3.5 11. Mazda (Japan) 1,384,000 3.9 12. Mitsubishi (Japan) 1,261,000 2.6 13. Suzuki (Japan) 846,000 1.8 14. Daimler-Benz (Germany) 802,000 1.7 COMPETITION AMONG MANUFACTURERS Auto manufacturing is an intensely competitive business, involving some of the world's largest multinational corporations. General Motors and Ford remain the world's leading car companies, but Japan has six companies in the top fourteen. From the table above, it can be seen that: ù Ten companies produce 70 percent of the world's cars; ù Fourteen companies produce 80 percent of the world's cars; ù The U.S. Big Three; GM, Ford and Chrysler; together produce 33 percent of world output; ù Japan's Big Six: Toyota, Nissan, Honda, Mazda, Mitsubishi, and Suzuki, together produce 25 percent; ù Europe's manufacturers account for 21.5 percent of the market. The world car market is dominated by a small number of companies, based in three regions - the U.S., Japan, and Europe. Technologies that are standard in these three regions determine market structures throughout the world. Other countries have tried to break into the market, but this has proven to be a high-risk enterprise. Malaysia's Proton car industry collapsed in 1988, $247 million in debt, draining government funds desperately needed for health, water and rail services. (Proton is currently the subject of a government rescue attempt.) Argentina, Brazil and Mexico have sought to pay off part of their huge foreign debts with automobile exports. Again, this is a risky business: Brazil's auto industry nearly collapsed in the mid-1980s. Because of their central roles in many national economies, car- manufacturing industries are rarely allowed to fail. They often turn into costly government-subsidized job-creation or job- retention projects, although the same capital employed elsewhere in the transportation sector could arguably be used much more effectively, creating more jobs and cleaner, more efficient transportation technologies. Almost all auto companies at times need large handouts of state money to keep going. Some, such as Chrysler, British Leyland and Renault, have become government-owned or government-supported for a while, relying on public funds for investment programs, debt relief, etc. MERGERS AND ACQUISITIONS Modern car manufacturing is a fiercely competitive industry. The corporations involved alternately fight each other for market share or come together to develop markets and specialized products where costs would otherwise be too high, working together to drive out other companies. There is little room for sentiment -- manufacturing and assembly plants are moved around the world to take advantage of cheap labor, lax environmental and worker safety regulations, or to avoid tariff barriers. Nissan's use of the U.K. as a launch pad into the European Community is an example of the latter, while General Motors' abandonment of the entire community of Flint, Michigan was bitingly displayed in the surprising hit movie "Roger and Me'. GM, like many other major U.S. manufacturers, is sending large numbers of jobs out of the industrial Midwest, either to low-wage 'right to work' states in the South, or to the 'maquiladora' zone on the U.S.-Mexico border, where environmental and worker health and safety regulation is lax, at best, and wages are extremely low. Political changes in Eastern Europe are a subject of great interest to car manufacturers. Fiat already has two plants being built under license in Poland and Yugoslavia, and signed a œ3 billion (U.S. $5.5 billion) deal with the former USSR in March 1990, doubling its car-making capacity there. Volkswagen bought 70 percent of the Skoda factory in Czechoslovakia for $6.5 billion in early 1991. The possibilities for expansions of car ownership are demonstrated by the example of what used to be called East Germany. While Fiat, Renault, Peugeot and Ford were forced to leave plants idle all over Europe during the slowdown of 1990 and 1991, Volkswagen and GM's Opel were working at full capacity to meet the unprecedented level of demand in the recently-unified Germany. Mergers and acquisitions appear set to further diminish the number of car companies dominating the world market. GM acquired half of the Swedish firm Saab in January 1990; the French firms Peugeot and Citroen have merged; Ford has taken over the luxury firms Jaguar and Aston Martin. Volvo recently purchased a 20 percent stake in the French state-owned firm Renault. Honda owns 20 percent of Rover. Ford and Volkswagen have linked their Latin American operations under the name of Autolatina. The trend is towards fewer companies producing an ever-larger number of cars. The dominant markets for new cars are Europe and North America. These regions each already have approximately 40 percent of the world's vehicle population, but their fleets have many vehicles scrapped and replaced each year. As an example, although the total number of registered motor vehicles in the United States grew by only 4.4 million (a 2.5 percent increase) between 1987 and 1988, more than 11 million vehicles were retired from use during that time. Thus, during 1988, total motor vehicle sales in the U.S. were almost 16 million units, or one- third of the 48 million produced worldwide in 1988. ù In 1950, there were about 53 million cars on the world's roads, three-quarters of them in the United States. Forty years later, the world car fleet is over 400 million, an average increase of about 9 million cars per year; Overall growth in production has been dramatic, rising from about 5 million cars per year to almost 50 million; ù The l990 recession in parts of the world, coupled with uncertainties caused by the Gulf crisis, has caused this growth to level out. New car sales in Western Europe fell by 1.5 percent in 1990, but this was from a record high of 13.47 million cars in 1989; ù Although the record sales figures of the 1980s may not be matched in the 1990s, production is at an all-time high, and even reduced production levels will continue to swell the enormous number of cars in the world. PART TWO CHAPTER ONE GLOBAL WARMING We are certain of the following. . . emissions resulting from human activities are substantially increasing the atmospheric concentrations of the greenhouse gases: carbon dioxide, methane, chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and nitrous oxide. These increases will enhance the greenhouse effect, resulting on average in an additional warming of the Earth's surface. The main greenhouse gas, water vapour, will increase in response to global warming and [will] further enhance it. We calculate with confidence that. . . the long-lived gases would require immediate reductions in emissions from human activities of over 60 per cent to stabilise their concentrations at today's levels; methane would require a 15 to 20 per cent reduction. --Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, 1990 Global warming has recently emerged at the top of the world's environmental agenda. In October 1990, the verdict of the world's climate scientists, expressed through the United Nation's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), was unequivocal. Greenhouse gases, emitted into the atmosphere as a result of humanity's activities, are accumulating rapidly. The likelihood is that the accumulation of these gases will cause a rapid warming of the earth, with tragic results. If we continue to allow these gases to accumulate, the consequences are unavoidable: rapid warming of the planet will disrupt the weather, food production, water supplies, forests, and other natural systems. Famines, as well as epidemics of many diseases, are quite possible. In a recent Greenpeace poll of atmospheric scientists working with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, more than 45% of the respondents voiced worries that the human-enhanced greenhouse effect will cause a 'runaway greenhouse effect,' by setting in motion a system of 'positive feedbacks' (e.g. - increased atmospheric concentrations of water vapor, huge releases of methane from melting permafrost and melting methane hydrates, etc.), which will lead to an irreversible warming of the planet. The world community must reduce emissions of greenhouse gases by a minimum of 60 to 80 percent, based on the IPCC analysis. Reductions in emissions of global warming gases across the broad range of human activities will be needed to achieve this goal. Automobiles must be dealt with because their manufacture and operation leads to significant emissions of carbon dioxide as well as a wide range of other gases that add to the global warming problem. CARBON DIOXIDE Carbon dioxide (CO2) is the principal greenhouse gas emitted as a result of human activity, and is thought to be responsible for 55 percent of global warming between 1980 and 1990 (excluding the effects of water vapor). Carbon dioxide levels are rising at a rate of about 0.5 percent per year primarily because increased burning of coal, oil and natural gas is releasing more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. The amount of carbon dioxide emitted is directly related to the amount of carbon in the fuel in question, and the amount of fuel burned. There is no add-on, 'end-of-the-tailpipe' technology that can reduce emissions of carbon dioxide from vehicle exhausts; the only solution is to reduce the amount of fuel used. The average U.S. car releases 300 pounds of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere from a full, 15- gallon tank of gasoline, releasing more than 10,000 pounds (5 tons) of carbon dioxide every year. Because of the increasing number of cars on the road, and the increasing number of miles those cars travel every year, CO2 coming from cars is a substantial portion of the world's total CO2 emissions - some 14 percent of the world's carbon dioxide from fossil fuel burning comes from the tailpipes of the world's vehicles. Include the car's share of CO2 emissions from the extraction, transportation, refining and distribution of oil, and the car is responsible for 20 to 25 percent of world emissions of carbon dioxide. CFCS Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) are the major cause of the destruction of stratospheric ozone, the layer of gas that blocks harmful ultra-violet radiation from reaching the earth. These chemicals are also very effective at retaining the earth' s heat, and therefore add significantly to the global warming problem. CFC 12, for example, used in huge amounts in automobile air- conditioning systems, has a global warming potential 7,300 times greater than carbon dioxide, over a 100 year period. Currently the concentration of CFC 12 in the atmosphere is increasing by about 4 percent yearly. Motor vehicle air-conditioning systems are a major source of CFCs in the atmosphere; in fact, this is the number one source of CFC emissions in the U.S. In 1987 approximately 48 percent of all new cars, trucks, and buses worldwide were equipped with air conditioners. In the U.S., this figure is 80-90 percent. Annually, about 120,000 metric tons of CFCs are used in new vehicles and in servicing air conditioners in older vehicles. These uses account for about 28 percent of global demand for CFC-12.6 Auto manufacturers use CFCs in the production of foam parts (e.g. seats, dashboards, interior panels, etc.) as well. There are safe alternatives for all of these automotive uses of CFCs. Fairly simple measures can greatly reduce or eliminate the need for any CFCs, HCFCs, or HFCs in car air conditioners. New window glazing materials and light-colored interiors and exteriors can reduce the heat build-up in closed cars; photovoltaic-powered ventilation fans can automatically remove most of the heat that does build up. The end result is that the air conditioning equipment can be down-sized (reducing or eliminating any need for ozone-depleting chemicals), or eliminated altogether, either of which reduces the amount of ozone-depleting CFCs used, and also yields improvements in the vehicle's fuel efficiency. There are also automotive air-conditioning equipment options which don't use any CFCs or related chemicals. These include, for example, evaporative (water) cooling systems, and air conditioners using helium (non-ozone depleting, non-global warming) rather than CFCs as the heat transfer fluid. Some auto manufacturers have pledged to phase out the use of CFCs in air-conditioning equipment -- international agreements have in ant case banned their use from the end of the century --but are planning to use HCFCs (hydrochlorofluorocarbons), which are powerful global warming gases in addition to contributing to the destruction of the ozone layer. Other manufacturers are planning to use newer substances called HFCs (hydrofluorocarbons), which do not destroy the ozone layer, but which are powerful global warming gases. Mercedes-Benz was the first company to sell cars using HFCs in the U.S., beginning in August 1991. Switching to either HCFCs or HFCs is an environmentally irresponsible practice. HCFCs and HFCs are being marketed by DuPont and other chemical companies as 'substitutes' for CFCs, despite the fact that both classes of chemicals are environmentally destructive. The IPCC, for instance, has commented that substances such as HFCs and HCFCs, if used in large quantities, will contribute up to 10 percent of future global warming. METHANE Another important greenhouse gas is methane. Over a 100-year period, this has a 'global warming potential' (or capacity to contribute to global warming) 21 times greater than that of carbon dioxide. Atmospheric concentrations of methane are increasing by 0.9 percent per year. Although automobiles emit only very small amounts of methane into the atmosphere, vehicles increase the rate of buildup of methane in the atmosphere by emitting large quantities of carbon monoxide (CO), another product of burning fossil fuels such as gasoline or diesel fuel. Carbon monoxide interacts in the atmosphere with a naturally occurring trace chemical called the hydroxyl radical. The more carbon monoxide in the air, the more the hydroxyl radical is depleted. Unfortunately, the hydroxyl radical is also the principal chemical that destroys methane in the atmosphere, and when depleted is therefore less available for the destruction of methane. Emissions of carbon monoxide thus add to global warming by removing a natural defense mechanism against the build-up of methane. The hydroxyl radical is also the principal agent that destroys ground-level ozone. MOTOR VEHICLE SHARE OF OECD* POLLUTANT EMISSIONS Nitrogen Oxides 47% Hydrocarbons 39% Carbon Monoxide 66% Nitrogen oxides and hydrocarbons form tropospheric (ground- level) ozone, a principle component of smog, and a powerful greenhouse gas. Carbon monoxide adds to global warming by facilitating the buildup of methane, another powerful greenhouse gas. *These figures are for Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development Countries--reliable global figures are not available. OECD, 1991 GROUND-LEVEL OZONE Tropospheric (ground-level) ozone, one of the main components of Los Angeles-type smog, is formed by the interaction of hydrocarbons (e.g. unburned or evaporated gasoline) and nitrogen oxides in the presence of sunlight. Hydrocarbons and nitrogen oxides are both components of automobile exhaust. Elevated levels of ozone will be seen in or downwind of every major urban area in the world. Higher up in the atmosphere, where ozone occurs naturally in what is known as the ozone layer, it is beneficial, shielding the earth from the sun's dangerous ultraviolet rays. At ground level, where it is a pollutant with highly toxic effects, ozone damages human health, crops, and a wide range of natural and artificial materials. Ground-level ozone is also an extremely powerful greenhouse gas (approximately 2000 times more effective than carbon dioxide in retaining the earth's heat). Ground-level ozone therefore makes a significant contribution to global warming, but the amount of ground-level ozone and its global warming effect are difficult to quantify. For this reason the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change did not include ozone in its estimates of the contribution that various greenhouse gases make to global warming. Background levels of ground-level ozone are estimated to have doubled over the last century, largely as a result of increased emissions of nitrogen oxide, which is pumped out in substantial amounts from motor vehicles. NITROUS OXIDE While little research has been undertaken on the scale of emissions of nitrous oxide (N2O) from motor vehicles, it is known that nitrous oxide is formed as a result of burning fossil fuels. Its global warming potential, over a 10-year period, is 290 times greater than carbon dioxide, and its atmospheric concentration is increasing by 0.25 percent per year. CHAPTER TWO AIR POLLUTION During the past 20 years there has been growing evidence that atmospheric pollutants are being transported over large distances by global atmospheric circulation. In particular, aerosol particles that clearly come from automobile and diesel exhaust and industrial operations in the middle latitudes have been collected in winter in the North Polar Region. Observations show a marked increase in Arctic pollution since 1950. --Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, 1991 In addition to playing a considerable role in global warming, vehicle emissions have a major impact on human health and the environment. The average car emits a toxic cocktail of more than 1,000 pollutants, which interact in ways that are not fully understood. The resulting pollution affects people and the environment in urban areas, before travelling to rural areas and neighboring countries, where further human health, crop damage, and environmental effects occur. Different parts of the pollution cycle are given different names -- smog, urban pollution, acid rain, ground-level (tropospheric) ozone -- and often there is a combined effect between pollution from cars and from other sources, such as fossil-fuelled powerplants. The car is the principal source of much of this pollution, however. Extremely low fuel efficiency, excessive automobile dependency, incomplete combustion of gasoline and diesel fuel, fuel evaporation, and the use of fuel additives cause a major portion of the world's air pollution problem. Over the last century, developments in motor vehicle engineering have reduced emissions from the car, but the number of cars on the road has soared, and the total amount of pollutants emitted by cars has thus greatly increased. There has been growing concern over urban carbon monoxide levels and photochemical (Los Angeles-type) smog, leading to considerable efforts to cut the pollution coming out of auto tailpipes. So far, the culmination of this effort has been the development of the catalytic converter, which does cut emissions of carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons, and nitrogen oxides, but need regular inspection and maintenance in order to work effectively. Studies in the U.S. show that half the carbon monoxides from cars comes from just 10 percent of the vehicles. In the U.K., a similar study showed that over half the toxic air pollution from cars is caused by under 17 percent of vehicles. The U.S., being the first country to experience large-scale car use, was also the first to encounter and document serious pollution problems from motor vehicles. High levels of pollution were first observed in Los Angeles in the 1940s, and over the next decade it was shown that car exhausts are the main source. A number of pollutants are involved. LEAD Much of the early development of automobile engines was concerned with increasing the compression ratio and hence the power output of the engine. One limiting factor was the quality (octane rating) of the fuel available. For General Motors (at the time owned by DuPont), intensive research paid off when, in a series of experiments between 1916 and 1922, one of their researchers discovered the properties of tetraethyl lead. As an additive, it enhances the octane rating of the fuel, allowing production of larger, more powerful engines. (The same GM/DuPont researcher invented chlorofluorocarbons--CFCs--which, as we now know, destroy the ozone layer.) GM and DuPont introduced a leaded premium grade fuel in 1923, but by October of 1924 five of the 49 workers in the New Jersey plant producing the lead additive had died, and another 35 were suffering serious neurological disorders. GM and DuPont attempted to cover up the health problems, but reporters soon discovered cover-ups of deaths in other refineries producing leaded gasoline. However, 'In the face of industry arguments that oil supplies were limited . . . most public health workers believed that there should be overwhelming evidence that leaded gasoline actually harmed people before it was banned.' The health damage from leaded gasoline continues to this day. Lead is extremely toxic, and it can affect almost any organ in the body. When people are exposed to low levels over a long period of time, the most common effects are on the nervous system (e.g. learning disorders) and the blood (e.g. - anemia). Since the late 1970s, mounting evidence indicates that even very low levels of lead can impair the mental abilities of children. Recent research has suggested that seven out of ten children in Mexico City suffer from slowed or abbreviated mental development due to lead poisoning from cars, although it may be difficult to separate lead exposure from other factors. Environmental and social justice activists in Los Angeles and West Oakland, CA, point to lead as one of the pollutants destroying their children's lives. The soil in parts of West Oakland, for example, a neighborhood crisscrossed by highways, is so highly contaminated with lead that it qualifies as Superfund waste. The situation regarding continued use of lead as a gasoline additive varies around the world. The U.S. and Canada have banned the use of leaded gasoline in new cars since the 1970s, mainly because lead destroys catalytic converters. The result was a 94 percent fall in U.S. lead emissions in the ten years after catalytic converters were introduced in cars, but, as noted above, the effects of previous emissions of lead from cars are still being felt. Also, leaded gasoline is still sold for use in older vehicles. In the European Community, where reduction of vehicle emissions has been a lower priority, permitted levels of lead in gasoline were initially reduced from 0.45 g/l (grams per liter) to 0.4 g/l in 1981, and then to 0.15 g/l in 1985. Beginning in 1990, all new cars are required to run on unleaded gasoline, and concentrations of lead in ambient air are falling. Despite restrictions on the use of leaded gasoline in new cars in the U.S., Canada, and the European Community, leaded gasoline is still being sold in substantial quantities throughout these areas, due to the number of older cars still on the road. Latin America, Asia, Africa, and Eastern Europe continue to sell leaded gasoline almost exclusively, and lead emissions from cars will continue to cause serious health problems in these regions. U.S. and European auto manufacturers are largely responsible for this continued problem, due to their continued export of older car designs and technology. Lead is, however, only one of the many pollutants emitted during car use that affect human health.It has been estimated that about one in five of the general population is sensitive to air pollution. This includes infants under two years old, the elderly, pregnant women and those suffering from a range of respiratory and heart complaints. Air pollution affects young children disproportionately because they have not developed sufficiently robust immune systems and because relative to their small body weight, the amount of pollution is proportionately more dangerous than for an adult. Children also spend a great deal more time outside than do adults, with a large portion of that time outdoors dedicated to vigorous physical activity. BENZENE Benzene occurs naturally in crude oil. In the European Community there is a mandatory limit of 5 percent by volume in gasoline, although in the past considerably higher levels of benzene have been present. Below this limit there are wide variations, depending mainly on the type of crude oil and on the particular refining process used. In California, a benzene limit of 0.8 percent will be adopted in 1993. To improve the properties of premium unleaded gasoline some refiners, depending on the crude oil source, are increasing the amount of benzene in the gasoline by blending in high benzene crudes. The major sources of benzene in the air are emissions from motor vehicles and evaporation losses during the handling, distribution, and storage of gasoline. Levels are higher in urban areas than in rural locations and are at their highest near filling stations, gasoline storage tanks and benzene producing and handling industries. Benzene is a proven carcinogen, and several studies of workers exposed to benzene have revealed a statistically significant association between acute leukemia and occupational exposure to benzene. Catalytic converters can reduce the emissions of benzene from exhaust pipes, but do not reduce evaporative emissions. There are four major sources of evaporative emissions of benzene and other hydrocarbons from gasoline-fuelled vehicles: ù Spills and other losses during refuelling; ù From the engine when it is in operation; ù From the engine when stopped, but still warm; Evaporative emissions can be reduced in a number of ways. A small carbon canister can be installed on the car to trap evaporative losses of benzene and other hydrocarbons from the fuel tank. Vapor recovery systems can be installed at filling stations to trap refuelling losses. Both of these devices have been in limited use in parts of the U.S. for several years. Beginning at the end of 1992, a small carbon canister will be required on new cars in the European Community. Larger carbon canisters installed on cars can trap both refuelling losses and evaporative losses from the fuel tank. This approach is generally considered less expensive and complicated than vapor recovery systems at the fuel pump, and more effective at reducing evaporative losses. This issue has been the subject of an intense debate between the oil and auto industries in the U.S.; with the auto industry pushing for vapor recovery systems at filling stations, and the oil industry pushing for installation of large carbon canisters on new cars. President Bush, through his Council on Competitiveness, recently opted in favor of the auto industry, calling for the installation of the more expensive, less effective vapor recovery systems at filling stations for trapping evaporative fuel losses. WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION GUIDELINES FOR BENZENE IN AIR 'No safe level for airborne benzene can be recommended, as benzene is carcinogenic to humans and there is no known safe threshold level.' CARBON MONOXIDE Cars are the major source of carbon monoxide (CO) emissions, accounting for over 65 percent of emissions in OECD (Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development) countries. Described by the U.K. Department of the Environment as 'one of the most directly toxic substances,' carbon monoxide affects human health by impairing the oxygen-carrying capacity of the blood, resulting in impaired perception, slowed reflexes, and drowsiness. It can increase the occurrence of headaches and affects the central nervous system, the heart, and the transference of blood around the body. In large doses carbon monoxide is fatal. Catalytic converters have been shown to reduce emissions of carbon monoxide by 80 percent under test conditions. But despite their use for nearly two decades in the U.S., high levels of carbon monoxide continue to be a serious problem in urban areas. This is probably due to a combination of three factors: very high carbon monoxide emissions when catalytic converters are cold and therefore ineffective; complete catalytic converter failure; and deliberate misfuelling (leaded gasoline destroys catalytic converters) or tampering. In Colorado new cars are required to meet an emission limit for carbon monoxide of only 3.4 grams each mile, but according to recent in-service testing, the average Denver car currently emits 50 grams per mile. If these high emissions are to be curtailed, better inspection and maintenance provisions will have to be implemented. Changing the way in which cars are certified would also help. For instance, a Japanese car certified under the Japanese procedure, which has a maximum speed of 110 kph (68 mph), when tested on U.K. roads was found to have excessive emissions of carbon monoxide at higher speeds, and in fact produced more carbon monoxide than a car with no catalytic converter. Manufacturers commonly design engine management systems to perform well under particular certification tests, although under actual driving conditions the amount of emissions of many pollutants may be radically different. This is also a widely recognized problem with many mileage (fuel efficiency) certification procedures. NITROGEN OXIDES (NOX) 'Nitrogen oxides' is an umbrella term for nitrogen dioxide (NO2), nitric oxide (NO), and nitrous oxide (N2O). Most of the nitrogen oxides from cars is emitted as nitric oxide, but this is rapidly converted to nitrogen dioxide in the air, and so these two pollutants are generally considered together. Nitrous oxide is a potent global w arming gas, as mentioned in the previous chapter, but its effects as an air pollutant are not well-understood. In OECD countries, 47 percent of emissions of nitrogen oxides come from road vehicles, in about equal amounts from cars and heavy trucks. Nitrogen dioxide is toxic and has been shown to have an adverse effect on both human health and the environment. In humans it can irritate the respiratory tract, reduce lung function, and increase susceptibility to asthma and viral infections. Laboratory animals exposed to nitrogen dioxide have suppressed immune systems (low T-cell counts) and an increased susceptibility to cancer. It reduces growth and induces lesions in sensitive crops. Nitrogen oxides play a major role in the formation of acid rain, and make a significant contribution to the acid precipitation (e.g. - rain, snow, fog) problem in the U.S. and Canada. NO2 is thought to contribute up to half of the acidification of acid precipitation. Nitrogen oxides are also important contributors to the formation of ground-level (tropospheric) ozone. Under test conditions catalytic converters have been shown to reduce emissions of nitrogen oxides by 95 percent, but in actual use emissions depend on speed. Minimum emissions occur between 40 and 60 kph (app.25 and 40 mph), with emissions increasing as speed builds up. HYDROCARBONS The unburned or partly burned fuel emitted from a car's exhaust is known as hydrocarbons, or volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Road traffic is responsible for about 39 percent of hydrocarbon emissions in OECD countries. Gasoline engines emit more unburned hydrocarbons than equivalent diesel engines. Some hydrocarbons, like benzene, are carcinogenic. Others cause drowsiness, eye and respiratory tract irritation, and coughing. Hydrocarbons cause environmental damage mainly by reacting with nitrogen oxides to form tropospheric ozone, a principal component of photochemical smog. OZONE Damage to vegetation caused by photochemical smog (of which ozone is a principal toxic component) was first documented in the Los Angeles area in the 1940s. Subsequently, visible damage to crops caused by ozone was identified in many other regions of the U.S., where it is considered to be the single most important pollutant affecting vegetation, resulting in huge economic losses, primarily to the agricultural industry. It is also thought that ozone pollution is one of the contributing factors in the widespread forest damage seen over much Of Europe, the U.S., and Canada. Photochemical smog (ozone) causes eye irritation, headaches, coughing, impaired lung function and eye, nose and throat irritation. Asthmatics and children are most at risk. The chance of experiencing adverse health effects from elevated ozone levels increases during heavy exercise or outdoor activity. According to the executive director of the Southern California Air Quality Management District, almost everyone in the Southern California Basin is affected by air pollution; particularly schoolchildren, who suffer substantially diminished lung function compared to children elsewhere. Recent postmortems of 100 apparently healthy young accident victims at the University of California, Los Angeles, have shown that 80% of those examined had 'serious lung abnormalities', while 27% had 'severe lesions on their lungs'. Background levels of tropospheric ozone are thought to have doubled in the northern hemisphere over the past century, due in large part to pollutant emissions from cars. PHOTOCHEMICAL SMOG 'Cases of urban-scale photochemical smog have been observed for several decades in large cities throughout the world . But it is only since the early 1980s that evidence has been produced to show that ozone and its precursors can also be transported and accumulate over large areas ranging from several hundred to several thousand square kilometers. Large-scale ozone pollution has mostly been observed in North America and Europe, especially in the summer, but attention is increasingly focused on the rise in long-term ozone levels and background concentrations. . . The ecological consequences of high ozone levels include damage to all types of vegetation, including agricultural crops where significant economic losses may be incurred. In California, it is estimated that ozone causes annual losses of up to 20 per cent of [economically] important crops like cotton and grapes. 'Current levels of ozone in Europe and North America frequently exceed World Health Organization (WHO) ceilings for both short- and long-term ozone concentrations by a wide margin... In addition, ozone levels...are thought to have doubled during this century. Both NOX and VOC [volatile organic compounds, i.e. hydrocarbons] contribute to the generation of ozone: NOX levels in many parts of the world fall into the range where a reduction might lead to a commensurate decrease in ozone concentrations. A reduction in NOX and VOC levels, through stringent emission controls of all motor vehicles, would not only curtail the incidence of summertime smog but also bring down long term levels of photo-oxidants in general.' --OECD, 1991 PARTICULATES Particulates are fine particles, such as soot, that result from the incomplete combustion of fuel. They are mainly tiny particles of carbon, on to which potentially toxic chemicals are adsorbed. Most worrisome are the small particles (under ten microns in diameter, often referred to as PM10) which are small enough to penetrate deep into the lungs when breathed in. Diesel engines produce considerably higher emissions of particulates than gasoline engines. Particulates in the air can aggravate respiratory diseases such as bronchitis and asthma. Possibly the most troubling aspect of particulate matter un the air is the link to cancer. A recent study in Los Angeles, CA, done by Loma Linda University researchers, found a 37 percent increase in all forms of cancer and a 72 percent increase in lung cancer for women who were exposed to PM10 at 200 or more ug/m3 for 42 days/year, for 10 years or more (a relatively common level of exposure in Los Angeles). ALDEHYDES Aldehydes are a group of chemicals emitted from car exhausts as a result of incomplete fuel combustion. They generally have pungent odors and are probably responsible for much of the smell associated with traffic, particularly diesel vehicles. Aldehydes negatively affect human health. One of the most common aldehydes, formaldehyde, can cause irritation of the eyes, nose, and throat, together with sneezing, coughing, nausea and breathing difficulties. Children are most sensitive. Laboratory evidence suggests that formaldehyde is carcinogenic. While diesel engines emit more aldehydes than gasoline engines, the worst offenders are vehicles using methanol. Typical aldehyde emissions from methanol cars are two to six times greater than those from gasoline cars. TRACE METALS A complex mix of trace metals is emitted from car engines. Some of these trace metals, such as arsenic, beryllium, mercury, cadmium, and lead, can be highly toxic at low concentrations. The deposition of trace metals changes the chemistry and biology of soils, and their build-up in ecosystems can affect the health of people, plants and animals. Heavy metals can remain in the atmosphere for up to ten days and are capable of being transmitted up to 2,000 kilometers. Metals enter the food chain through cows' milk and fish, and can cause serious health problems. The principal sources of metal emissions in industrialized areas are smelters, fossil fuelled power plants, waste incinerators and automobile exhaust. SOLUTIONS FOR AIR POLLUTION A car is a machine that emits pollutants. Much of the air pollution experienced around the world has been caused by the manufacture and use of millions of these pollution-producing machines. Los Angeles, California, due to a combination of its climate and topography, but particularly because of its very high per capita car ownership and extreme car dependency, suffers from higher and more persistent levels of automobile pollution than anywhere else in the U.S. On one in three days, the national air quality standard for ozone is exceeded in the Southern California basin. California's problems have forced it to lead the world in pollution reduction regulations--three-way catalysts were introduced there a decade ago. Southern California's advances on the regulatory side, however, have been only partially successful, due to the huge number of cars coming onto Southern California's roads each year, and the increasing number of miles those cars travel. Other cities, such as Mexico City, Rome, and Manila, suffer even greater air pollution problems, also in large part due to pollution from automobiles. The emissions standards enforced in the U.S. beginning in 1983 are to be adopted by the European Community in 1992, for new cars only. Meanwhile the U.S. is moving ahead in its automotive pollution control regulations and technology. More stringent standards were written into the 1990 Clean Air Act, signed into law in November 1990, to be phased in as new regulations are written over the next three years. The new Clean Air Act (CAA) includes a second phase which is supposed to further reduce these new emissions standards. However, President Bush's Council on Competitiveness, chaired by Vice President Dan Quayle, is working at industry's behest to weaken, slow down, or rescind altogether these new regulations. Many states in the U.S., including New York, Pennsylvania, and Illinois, are adopting or are considering adopting California's air emissions standards for cars and light trucks, rather than wait for the new, relatively weak, 1990 Clean Air Act regulations. California will adopt their new emissions limits for new car models beginning in 1993, with at least 10 percent of new vehicles having to meet the stricter limits. By 1997, 25 percent of new cars sold in the state will be 'low emission' vehicles, facing even stricter emission standards. New technology will have to be developed to meet these standards. In an attempt to keep emissions at a low level, catalytic converter lifetimes will be doubled to 100,000 miles. On-board diagnostic systems which alert the driver if the car's anti-pollution system needs maintenance or repair have been fitted to cars sold in California since 1984. By the middle of the 1990s, a small percentage of new cars sold in California will have to be 'no emission' cars (e.g. electric cars, which have no 'tailpipe' emissions per se, but which, of course, cause smokestack emissions due to the fact that much of the electricity used to charge the batteries of electric cars currently comes from fossil-fuelled power plants). The regulatory structures and technologies for pollution reduction vary around the globe. California leads, with the rest of the U.S., Japan, and Canada following. Austria, Switzerland, Sweden, Norway and Australia are some ways behind. The European Community (EC) countries come next, about ten years behind the U.S., in terms of regulatory standards. After this come Eastern Europe, Latin America, Africa and Asia. It would be possible for all car markets in the world to have standards as strict as California's, but, even so, Southern California's degraded air quality shows that the huge and growing number of cars on the road, and the increasing number of miles travelled, swamp even California's improved technological and regulatory standards. The automobile air pollution problem will not be solved strictly by technological fixes at the tailpipe. Car use, and car dependency, must be reduced, and safe, efficient, and convenient transportation alternatives must be developed. Fuel efficiencies must be improved. Car technologies must shift away from fossil fuels, to non-polluting, non-global warming alternatives. Urban design standards must be changed, incorporating greatly improved access to basic needs and services (work, shopping, day care, etc.) via walking, biking and public transit, rather than via private automobile. CHAPTER THREE FINDING, TRANSPORTING AND USING OIL PROVEN RESERVES OF OIL WORLDWIDE 1986 700,000,000,000 barrels (700 billion bbls.) 1989 1,011,800,000,000 barrels (1.012 TRILLION bbls., an increase of 42%) --British Petroleum, 1990 The vast majority of the world's cars run on gasoline or diesel fuel, both of which are derived from petroleum (i.e. - oil). Oil exploration, extraction, distribution and refining are all major industries in their own right. These activities are at the heart of many problems, including wars for oil, environmental pollution, and global warming. Transportation, in the form of cars, buses and trucks, is using up an increasing amount of the world's oil. By 1985 transportation accounted for 39 percent of Japan's oil consumption, 44 percent of Western Europe's, 49 percent of Canada's and 63 percent of the United States'. The figures for the U.S. are especially troublesome. Since 1976 the country has used more oil each year for transportation alone than it has produced. Imports now make up 40 percent of U.S. use, accounting for one-third of the nation's trade deficit. Oil was first successfully extracted by drilling in 1859, in Pennsylvania. For the next 40 years, it was primarily refined into kerosene for lighting, with gasoline regarded as a worthless by-product, often dumped on the ground or into streams. After the turn of the century, the increased use of the automobile meant that gasoline became more and more sought after. Companies schemed, monarchs bartered and nations went to war over the fuel. If the nineteenth century was the age of coal, the twentieth century, so far, has certainly been the age of oil. OIL WARS There is an environmental and human health impact of oil dependency that does not relate directly to spillage or other forms of pollution: the question of the security of oil supply, and the lengths certain countries, the U.S. in particular, will go to assure that supply. The industrialized countries have framed their lifestyles around a fuel that is mainly obtained from other parts of the world (primarily the Persian Gulf); they are so dependent on this supply that they will go to war to protect it. Wars over oil, or in which oil has been a key component, have been featured regularly in the twentieth century. The Persian Gulf War, motivated by the United States' and other industrialized countries' need to maintain a secure supply of relatively cheap oil, and resulting in more than 250,000 dead, is the latest in a series of such conflicts. EXPLORATION AND EXTRACTION U.S. demands for cheap oil supplies, primarily for automobile use, are behind the increasing pressure to explore and drill in environmentally sensitive areas. In spite of the immeasurable cultural, economic and environmental value of fisheries, estuaries, coral reefs, wildlife habitat and Native American ways of life, the U.S. government plans to offer for lease parts of the Florida coast and virtually the entire Alaskan outer continental shelf (OCS) for offshore oil and gas development. The U.S. government estimates that these areas and the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska combined will yield less than 2 years' worth of oil at the current U.S. rate of consumption. The oil company price hikes during the Persian Gulf War have given the oil companies an extra $4 billions in windfall profits, which is partly being diverted into exploration budgets. There are proposals to drill around the coast of Australia, to expand operations in the Amazon River Basin of Ecuador and in various tropical forest areas in the Southern hemisphere, especially Indonesia and Southeast Asia. No environment is too pristine or too important, according to the logic of the oil companies, to be preserved from the drill. Oil exploration is being stepped up all around the globe. Meanwhile, the low price of oil after the Persian Gulf War has caused many oil companies to shut down U.S. production and refining operations, putting thousands of U.S. oil workers out of work. Oil extraction is a dangerous and polluting business. Land-based installations can be the source of large quantities of air pollution--some Kuwaiti oil wells, for example, were regarded with caution by engineers before they were set on fire during the Persian Gulf War, because of the choking sulphur emissions that they produce. Offshore wells produce large amounts of water pollution (e.g. - hazardous wastes, drilling mud, oil, etc.) as well as air pollution. Oil wells are also extremely vulnerable in the event of war. The torching of the Kuwaiti oil fields was not the first time an oil field had been set on fire during a time of hostilities (see pages 38 and 39). OIL SPILLS Marine-based platforms have been the source of many explosions and oil spills. The Oil Spill Intelligence Report stated that, globally, 31.75 million gallons of oil (approximately 100,000 metric tons) were spilled in 1990. However, the 1989 spill rate was even higher, more than double the 1990 figure: with half of this quantity coming from three large spills: ù The Exxon Valdez (10.7 million gallons in Prince William Sound, March 1989); . The Kharg 5 (20 million gallons, December 1989, off the coast of Morocco); ù The Aragon (7.35 million gallons, off Madeira, December 1989). After the Exxon Valdez spill, Exxon representatives commented that the grounding was unprecedented in scale. In terms of the amount of oil spilled, this was not true. Because of the nature of the area in which the disaster occurred, however, this one spill appears to have killed more wildlife than any other oil spill in history: an estimated 100,000 to 300,000 sea birds, thousands of marine mammals and hundreds of bald eagles. In villages scattered along a thousand miles of affected coastline, the spill devastated subsistence hunting, fishing, and gathering - essential parts of the rural economy and Native American culture. In terms of the volume of spills from marine or land- based sources, however, the Exxon Valdez spill was not unusual in the last twelve years. The sense of national urgency increased as a swarm of smaller spills followed the Exxon Valdez disaster.The World Prodigy ran aground off Providence, Rhode Island; an Exxon pipeline spilled oil into the Arthur Kill between New York and New Jersey; the American Trader punctured its hull near Huntington Beach, California; the Mega Borg caught fire and spilled oil in the Gulf of Mexico; and vessel collisions in the Houston ship channel produced multiple spills. Even worse, this series of spills was not an anomaly. According to the Alaska Oil Spill Commission, oil discharges the size of the Exxon Valdez disaster occur somewhere in the world once a year. On average, a spill of a million gallons occurs every month. Exxon claims to have spent more than 2 billion dollars on the Exxon Valdez clean-up program, which has nevertheless proven inadequate. Oil is still found seeping from miles of shoreline in Prince William Sound, and in many locations a continuous sheen of oil is seen on the surface of the water. The statistics show that oil spills of the size and nature of the Exxon Valdez spill will continue to occur as long as oil is shipped around the world in such huge quantities. If the spills occur in remote areas, there tends to be less publicity --though the cultural, economic, and environmental damage that occurs may be devastating. Prior to the Exxon Valdez spill, one of the better-known oil disasters was the Amoco Cadiz, which sank off the coast of France in 1978, killing 30,000 sea birds as well as 230,000 metric tons of fish and shellfish along 150 kilometers of the French coastline. Approximately 1,500,000 barrels of oil spilled from the ship. In April 1991, a sister ship of the Amoco Cadiz, the Haven, caught fire and sank in the Bay of Genoa, causing a 15-kilometer long slick. At the time of the accident, the Haven was carrying 434,000 barrels of oil. The Exxon Valdez disaster was caused by a spill of approximately 260,000 barrels. Finally, the oil slick during the Persian Gulf War is still being assessed, but in April 1991 was considered to have run to at least 1.5 million barrels. According to Saudi officials and foreign advisers, it may eventually prove to be between four million and seven million barrels, making it the world's largest oil spill. An estimated 126,000 gallons of oil were pouring into the Persian Gulf every day, along 250 miles of coast. The U.S. Coast Guard considers any release over 10,000 gallons to be a major spill. NON-ACCIDENTAL POLLUTION The figures for oil pollution of the sea vary. Because the causes are widespread and quite varied, reporting is not very rigorous and a number of sources are difficult to quantify. The OECD notes that most estimates cite a total input of oil to the world's oceans of some 3 to 4 million metric tons (between 900 million and 1.2 billion gallons) per year: about half of this comes from marine sources, with the rest getting into the oceans from the land. Shipping accidents are actually a small source when compared to industrial discharges, sewage disposal and deliberate dumping of oil at sea by ships. The deliberate dumping from ships occurs when the vessels take on sea water as ballast and then discharge the oil-contaminated water back into the sea, during washing-out of oil tanks prior to the taking on of new oil, during bilge pumping, and during tank washing before maintenance. The U.S. National Academy of Sciences has calculated the sources of oil pollution of the sea: of an estimated 3.5 million metric tons (1 billion gallons) of oil, 1.84 million metric tons (568 million gallons) are thought to be of marine origin. Accidents account for less than a quarter of this figure, with 'non accidental marine transport' accounting for twice as much pollution as the accidents. The figures for land-based oil pollution are also interesting: some 1.7 million metric tons (524 million gallons) of oil enter the seas from the land, with 1.4 million metric tons (432 million gallons) coming from urban and industrial sources. A large part of this pollution comes directly from cars; other industrial and urban sources include oil refineries and other industries associated with car use. A substantial proportion of oil pollution comes from run-off from rivers and city drains. More oil enters the oceans from automobile exhausts, automobile oil leaks, and from used oil from oil changes that is then dumped down drains or sewers than from any other source. TOTAL POLLUTION FROM THE TRANSPORTATION SECTOR The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) estimates that a high proportion of pollution in industrialized countries comes from the transport sector, which includes the oil cycle and also the manufacturing process for the cars and trucks that use the oil, and produces: ù about 90 percent of all carbon monoxide emissions; ù about 50 percent of all NOX (oxides of nitrogen) emissions; ù at least 50 percent of all lead (air) emissions; ù around 80 percent of all benzene emissions; . 50 percent of all hydrocarbon emissions in urban areas; and ù 25 percent of the world's total emissions of carbon dioxide. --OECD, 1991 ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS A distinctive environmental effect of the oil industry is that it results in spills to the environment at all stages of production and transport, and once oil is spilled into the environment, it has a direct and damaging impact. ù Oil wells go out of control, releasing oil on land or into the sea; ù Crude oil tankers have accidents, or release part of their cargo deliberately in tank washings, operational discharges or during loading and unloading; ù Onshore storage tanks and pipelines leak; ù Refineries discharge their effluents into rivers and the sea; ù Oil escapes from cars, other road vehicles, garages, repair facilities, etc. The leakage or spilling of oil degrades habitats; damages wildlife, especially sea birds and marine mammals; contaminates the food chain; and affects local fish and shellfish populations. Overall, there may be a long-term effect of drastically modifying the marine ecosystem and thus reducing the diversity of species. Oil does not have to be spilled, of course, to cause pollution. The business of finding, extracting, transporting, refining, and especially using oil results in enormous amounts of pollution, even discounting large oil spills, such as the Exxon Valdez tragedy. Any assessment of the total pollution produced by the oil industry cannot be based on oil spills alone, or strictly on the air pollution coming out of tailpipes (see Part 2, Chapter 2 on Air Pollution), but must be based on the pollution produced by oil throughout the entire cycle, from exploration and extraction, to transportation and refining, and ultimately, use and disposal. WARS INVOLVING OIL: SOME EXAMPLES 1905 First Russian revolution: series of fires at oil buildings and production installations, as Moslem Tatars rise up against the oil industry in Baku, Russia. Chief socialist organizer in the area is Joseph Stalin. 'The flames from the burning oil wells and derricks leaped up into the awful pall of smoke which hung over the inferno,' wrote one observer. The smoke was so thick it obliterated the sun. 1916 Fuel blockade choked off oil supplies to Germany except from one country - Rumania. A British team set fire to the entire Rumanian oilfield prior to the German invasion, plugging wells, dynamiting derricks, smashing pipelines, exploding refineries. Seventy refineries and 800,000 metric tons of crude destroyed. 1917 German diesel-powered submarines succeed in sinking large numbers of Allied tankers. 'The Germans are succeeding,' the US ambassador wrote home, 'They have lately sunk so many fuel ships, that this country may soon be in a very perilous situation - even the Grand Fleet may not have enough fuel.' Pleasure driving in Britain was banned . Shortages were eventually overcome with aid from USA. Oil squeeze on Germany maintained. 1918 Turks attacked Baku, trying to get control of the oil fields. The British sent troops to help withstand the attack. The Germans were denied oil at an important stage in the conflict, and capitulated in November, 1918. Ten days later, Lord Curzon declared, 'The Allied cause had floated to victory on a wave of oil.' 1936 Mussolini's invasion of Ethiopia provoked a threatened oil embargo, which didn't materialize. Nevertheless, Hitler was persuaded of the dangers of dependence on foreign oil and started a large synthetic fuels program. By 1940 this was supplying 46 percent of total oil supply - and 95 percent of all aviation fuel. 1940 US institutes a partial embargo on oil shipments to Japan after the invasion of China. To protect oilfields in the Far East from Japanese attack, the US moves main Pacific Fleet base from Southern California to Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. 1941 US oil embargo of Japan becomes total. Hitler invades Soviet Union, trying to capture Baku oilfields and to protect Rumanian oil fields from possible Soviet attack. Japanese attack Pearl Harbor, invade Malaya, prepare to invade oil fields in the East Indies. The Japanese neglect to bomb oil storage tanks at Pearl Harbor. 'All of the oil for the [Pacific] Fleet was in surface tanks,' said the Commander in Chief of the US Pacific Fleet. 'Had the Japanese destroyed the oil, it would have prolonged the war for another two years.' 1942 Rommel's drive across North Africa halted by lack of fuel. British destroy four ships loaded with fuel in Tobruk. Rommel wrote, 'In attacking our petrol transport, the British were able to hit us in a part of our machine on whose proper functioning the whole of the rest depended.' Japan marched into East Indies. Shell destroyed their refinery at Balikpapan, in Borneo, and other oil facilities nearby. Stanvac destroyed installations in Sumatra. Despite this Japan got the installations working again and solved its short-term oil supply problems. 1944 Russians capture Ploesti oil fields in Rumania, depriving Hitler of major source of crude oil. US decides to bomb all synthetic fuel facilities in Germany. The 'primary strategic aim of the United States Strategic Air Force in Europe is now to deny oil to the enemy armed forces.' said commanding General Carl Spaatz. The Luftwaffe was now operating on one-tenth of the minimum required gasoline. The commander of German fighter forces commented, 'From September on, the shortage of fuel was unbearable. Air operations were thereby made virtually impossible.' US submarine campaign in the Pacific begins to restrict Japanese oil supply. In the Mariana Islands campaign, the Japanese battle fleet did not engage the US fleet - not enough fuel. 1945 Shortages of fuel meant Japanese planes could fly only two hours per month. German aviation fuel production amounted to 0.05 percent of the previous year's figure. German trucks were seen being towed by teams of oxen. Loss of oil supplies crippled both the German and Japanese military forces. 1956 Two-thirds of Europe's petroleum passes through the Suez Canal, but most of the income from the Canal goes to European shareholders. In July, the Egyptian Army seizes control of the canal. In October, Israel, the UK, and France invade the Canal Zone. Egypt's Nasser orders the sinking of scores of ships in the Canal, thus cutting the supply of oil to Europe. Saudi Arabia institutes an oil embargo against Britain and France. Acts of sabotage in Kuwait shut down production there. The US considers oil sanctions against Britain and France. In November, Britain and France are forced to announce the withdrawal of their forces, and ownership and control of the Suez Canal passes to Egypt. 1990 In a bid to become the leader of the Arab world and to gain political control of Persian Gulf oil production, Iraq, led by Saddam Hussein, invades Kuwait. --Extracted from The Prize, Daniel Yergin CHAPTER FOUR RESOURCE COSTS OF MAKING CARS Car-making spans many of the world's dirtiest resource extraction and manufacturing industries. Isolating the auto component is very difficult, but it is clear that the process of building cars involves substantial environmental degradation. Auto production poses serious health risks to workers as well, both those involved directly in the auto industry, and those working in the supporting industries. Many of these workers are exposed to high levels of various toxic or hazardous materials, often for long hours. Pollution from the industrial processes associated with automobile production also threatens the communities around the industrial facilities involved. Included among the many polluting processes are: ù Iron and steel making. Requires large amounts of coal, iron ore, and limestone. A major producer of sulfur dioxide air emissions (precursor to acid precipitation) and toxic slag waste. ù Aluminium production. Involves substantial land degradation in bauxite mining. Smelters are a major source of sulfur dioxide air emissions and often use huge amounts of subsidized electrical energy, often in older, inefficient plants. ù Zinc and lead industries. Considerable waste problems and a variety of serious health threats (e.g. - toxics, heavy metals). ù Copper production. Copper mining is generally done in large, open-pit mines. Serious sulfur dioxide and heavy metal emissions from smelters. ù Platinum production. Six million metric tons of platinum ore have to be refined every year for car catalytic converters. ù Emissions of other pollutants. Sulfuric acid for batteries; heavy metals and VOCs in paints; mercury in electric circuits; CFCs and other ozone depleting and greenhouse gases used in production of foam seats, other interior and body parts, and air conditioners; asbestos in brake pads and linings. MATERIALS A U.S. estimate of the energy required to manufacture 10 million cars a year in the United States was the equivalent of 575,000 barrels of oil a day. In 1984, Toyota calculated that 20 percent of the energy use devoted to an automobile was consumed in production of materials and vehicle manufacture. Automobile production makes large demands on natural resources. World figures are difficult to obtain, but figures have been produced for the U.S. (see table - p. 42). Cars use 10 percent of the plastics production of industrialized countries, for a whole range of parts --from fuel tanks to seat frames, door handles to battery cases. Disposal of the large amounts of polyvinyl chloride (PVC), polyurethane, polypropylene and high density polyethylene used in cars is difficult. Over three-quarters of a million metric tons of scrap plastic will have been produced in 1990 just from cars in Europe, along with nearly 2 million metric tons in the U.S. DUMPING In 1988, 209.5 million car tires, 42.7 million truck tires, and 19 million off-road tires were produced in the U.S., and in the same year over 320 million tires were sold in Japan, France, West Germany and the U.K. Only 30 percent are retreaded, and most of the rest are sent to landfills or "chipped" and burned as boiler fuel, a practice which produces huge quantities of carcinogenic air emissions (dioxins, furans, benzene, etc.). A small percentage is used to make asphalt for roads. Every year 230 million tires wear out in the U.S. alone, and their disposal is rapidly becoming a serious environmental problem. Heated in the absence of oxygen, as happens in a tire dump fire, tires produce vast quantities of oil (more than a gallon per tire), accompanied by huge volumes of thick black smoke. Tire dump fires are extremely polluting, affecting both air and water quality: a licensed dump of 10 million tires burned for several months in Wales, U.K.; a 1990 fire in Ontario saw 70 meter flames rising from a dump of 14 million tires. The U.S. has also had a number of serious tire fires. Car dumps themselves can be sources of considerable local pollution. Environmental surveys in auto junkyards have found high concentrations of lead, cadmium and zincù Other surveys have found that, on average, each junked vehicle contains six liters of lubricating oils, three liters of fuel, five liters of cooling liquid, and three liters of sulfuric acid. All of these materials are dangerous environmental contaminants. Batteries are also dumped in large numbers. One hundred million are discarded every year: millions of cracking containers full of sulfuric acid and lead represent a substantial environmental threat, which will have to be cleaned up at some point. European Community legislation is attempting to step up battery recycling, while some U.S. manufacturers are developing schemes to take back and dispose of used batteries. RECYCLING In Western Europe, Japan and the U.S., nearly 40 million cars are discarded every year. Parts of these vehicles will be reused, or recycled, but much will be wastefully disposed of in landfill sites or incinerated. In Western Europe it has been calculated that up to 20 percent of the total vehicle weight is disposed of in landfills, even though 95 percent of the metal in the car is recycled. The balance consists largely of plastic, glass, textiles, wood, and leather. It is very clear that the recycling of automobiles needs improvement. Some manufacturers are beginning to design in more 'recyclability,' but progress is slow. Even more troubling, manufacturers generally do not appear to be willing to support and fund the collection programs necessary to ensure a high recycling rate. From the cradle to the grave, auto production and disposal is a dirty and resource intensive process. The human health threats and environmental degradation resulting from production and disposal of automobiles demand that we fundamentally change not only what is produced, but how it is produced. Workers and environmentalists alike must call for the production of environmentally sound transportation alternatives, using recycled materials and safe production processes. THE PROCESS OF RECYCLING A discarded car usually goes first to a wrecker (auto salvage yard) who is primarily a spare parts dealer. In recent years dismantling for parts has lost some of its importance in countries where labor costs are high. The problem is exacerbated in those countries where local demand for the materials, especially the recovered steel, is too low to provide an adequate market demand for the skeleton that's left after usable parts are stripped. After the removal of parts, the vehicle is usually stripped of non-ferrous metals (aluminum, etc.). The battery may be sold for lead, engine blocks and other cast iron parts are commonly removed and sold as foundry cast. Heavy steel components, including the chassis, are then cut up and sold as scrap. The hulk may weigh less than 450 kg. and seldom more than 900 kg.., as one- to two-thirds of the weight of the car will have been removed. Problems arise with the remainder, which is commonly burned to remove non-metallic materials and then baled, shredded, or sheared into pieces. It has been estimated that in 1987 there was 2.35 million metric tons of shredded car residue in Western Europe alone, with this figure predicted to increase to 5.7 million metric tons by 2000. The barriers to vehicle recycling are simple to understand and are primarily rooted in the design of the car. When a vehicle contains parts or materials too low in value or too difficult to recover to justify separate sale under prevailing market conditions, there is no financial incentive to reclaim them. In the absence of legislation making auto manufacturers responsible for the ultimate disposition (recycle, reuse, or disposal) of their products, cars will continue to be dumped, and the resources in them wasted. CHAPTER FIVE ROADS, SAFETY AND CITIES ROADS Increased car use leads to increased traffic congestion; traffic congestion leads to calls for more and larger roads; more roads mean increased car use. A vicious, costly, polluting cycle. New highway construction has emerged as a serious environmental issue in its own right. New roads are a significant environmental problem because they: ù Require huge amounts of materials for construction, materials that are often extracted from environmentally sensitive areas; ù Have severe impacts on the natural environment, including wetlands and rivers; ù Fragment the countryside, blocking animal migration; ù Take land previously devoted to parks, open space, food production, etc; ù Increase traffic congestion, and encourage development over a wider region, leading to more car use, more automobile pollution, and increased global warming. Most roads consist of either an asphalt or concrete driving surface, placed on a roadbed of crushed rock or gravel. Production of asphalt (tarmac) consumes significant quantities of oil. Concrete making requires huge amounts of sand, gravel, rock and portland cement (made from limestone). Each mile of four-lane highway uses approximately 250,000 metric tons of sand and gravel. These 'aggregates,' as they are usually referred to, are often extracted from ecologically sensitive areas such as river valleys.Increasingly, they are also obtained by marine dredging, with mounting controversy about the environmental damage this entails. In the U.S., cement kilns often burn hazardous waste as fuel (more than 2 million pounds of hazardous waste in the U.S. is disposed of this way every year), causing emissions of dioxins, furans, and other toxic air pollutants. Heavy metals and toxics from the hazardous wastes burned in these kilns contaminate the concrete as well. IMPACT ON THE NATURAL ENVIRONMENT Roads have serious effects on local and regional ecosystems. Feeding areas can be disrupted or isolated, breeding grounds destroyed and migration routes interrupted. Runoff from roads causes severe water pollution (oil, transmission fluid, brake fluid, etc.) in some areas, and also sometimes causes flooding. Roads also act as agents of development. Sometimes this is intentional and appropriate. Asphalt usually provides an all- weather surface, particularly valuable for truck and van use in some developing countries for distribution of foodstuffs, etc. On other occasions road construction is not appropriate. Many U.S. and Canadian cities are surrounded by miles of low-density, energy intensive, environmentally destructive, and almost completely car-dependent urban/suburban sprawl, which has all been made possible by out of control road construction. In industrialized countries most new roads are being justified on the grounds of reducing or easing traffic congestion: the reality is that the construction of new roads in congested areas increases, rather than decreases, the volume of traffic, and doesn't reduce traffic congestion. This is due to the fact that in most congested areas there is a latent demand for highway lane space. The bottom line is that we can't build our way out of our traffic congestion problems. This can be seen in the congested urban and suburban freeways of North America, where the response to traffic build-up has been to build roads with ever-increasing numbers of lanes, still without solving the problem of traffic density. Consistently, in city after city, new roads encourage increased use of cars. In many congested Third World cities, where the current intention of planners is to follow the First World example, there has been similar lack of success in easing traffic congestion through road building. A study of Bangkok's transport system indicated that high population density, increasing income and low fuel prices were leading to a rapid expansion of the car fleet and severe congestion. However, according to the report, if more roads were built in the city to accommodate this grotive spill (in Russia) is too limited and tooôsmall to measure,'' said Sven Carlsson, a spokesman for theôSwedish Radiation Protection Institute.ô Emergency experts flew to the site today. Nearly 500 civilôdefense troops were removing soil and snow from the area,ôofficials said.ô Local government leader Viktor Kress told the ITAR-Tass newsôagency the explosion was ``a local emergency situation, whichôcannot be compared in scope with the Chernobyl tragedy.''ô Kress said radiation had been detected in aimpose speed limits on highways and other roads, Germany's unrestricted autobahns being an exception. Lower speed limits mean fewer fatal accidents, as well as reducing fuel consumption and pollutant emissions. The European Conference of Ministers of Transport in November 1989 was presented with the following figures for approximate current annual fatality level on roads: Europe 80,000 Americas 70,000 Asia 70,000 Africa 40,000 Oceania 5,000 ------- 265,000 The global total of 265,000 dead per year is a substantial figure. Additionally, the Conference was told that 10 million people are estimated to be injured on the world's roads every year. Both the injury and death figures are on a scale equivalent to war. CITY LIFE Automobiles use huge amounts of space. Highways, surface roads, driveways, garages, and parking lots take up nearly 50 percent of North American cities' surface area, in Los Angeles it is more than 65 percent, and in London 15 percent. Renner calculates that 60,000 square miles (an area slightly larger than the state of Georgia) are given over to car use in the U.S., equal to 10 percent of all arable land in the U.S. More land in the U.S. is devoted to car use than to housing. Parking lots are particularly wasteful: many are empty for 80 percent of their life. Much of this paving, of course, occurs at the expense of increasingly scarce, and valuable, wetlands, open space and farmlands. However, this paving phenomenon is also occurring in urban areas. In cities where major new roads and highways are being built, they are increasingly sited in low-income communities, and in communities of color. People living in these communities often face a double health burden; they are exposed to toxics in the workplace, and then return home to an environment poisoned by pollutants from freeways, factories, and toxic waste dumps. Despite the obvious problems associated with urban sprawl including congested freeways, serious air pollution problems, and the environmental injustice related to the disproportionate environmental impact our auto-dependent culture has on the poor and people of color--the U.S. example exercises a potent influence over orthodox transportation planners around the world. There is a widespread belief that other countries should over time 'catch up' with North American levels of car ownership and that highways and national tranôthe area radiation was at normal background levels.ô The contaminated strip lay along a road some eight kmô(five miles) from Tomsk-7, the statement said.ô The duty officer laughed when asked if the accidentôcould be compared with the 1986 Chernobyl disaster, whichôsent a swathe of radioactivity across Europe. "Of courseônot," he said.ô The head of the Tomsk region administration, quoted by Itar-ôTass news agency, said background radiation at bothôTomsk and Tomsk-7 was normal.ô "This is a lorban air pollution, and other cultural, economic, and environmental problems we face due to our reliance on the private automobile. DIFFERENT RESPONSES TO TRAFFIC POLLUTION Mexico City Selling oxygen from phone booths at $2 a shot. Athens Pollution described as 'environmental crisis' in 1982. Car entry to city center limited according to license plate number. Singapore Experimenting with electronic road pricing. Tax reductions of 50 percent offered to cars used strictly after 7 p.m. or on weekends. Stockholm Entry to city center allowed only if rail transit season pass is displayed on dashboard (proposed). Los Angeles Passing wide-ranging legislation to limit pollutant emissions from vehicles. Working to introduce 'no emission' vehicles. Freiburg Issues subsidized monthly rail transit passes known as 'Environmental Protection Tickets.' Vienna Cars banned from city center. PART THREE THE CAR LOBBY The auto industry has challenged New York's plan to adopt California emissions standards beginning in the 1993 model year. The suit, filed by the Motor Vehicle Manufacturers Association and the Association of International Automobile Manufacturers, seeks to overturn the regulations. Massachusetts moved first to adopt California standards and passed a law--but has yet to write the regulations. Other states in the NE [Northeast] may follow, and Texas and Illinois have considered it. The 1977 Clean Air Act allows states to adopt California standards as long as they give two years' notice. Until last year no state had exercised that right. General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler are also named as plaintiffs in the suit. But this has not stopped GM, Ford, Chrysler, and the rest of the auto industry from 'green washing', i.e.--promoting themselves as caring for the environment. For example, General Motors dedicated its 1989 Public Interest Report to the environment, and has recently produced a pamphlet entitled 'General Motors and the Environment.' Most auto makers have produced similar publications. These pamphlets stand in stark contrast to the realities of the auto industry's actions. The auto industry is linked, nationally and internationally, with like-minded corporations, lobbying organizations and government departments with interests in road and highway construction, oil, trucking and motorists. These groups operate formally or informally in coalitions at every level of society. INTERNATIONAL ROAD FEDERATION The biggest highway lobby organization of all is the International Road Federation (IRF), with offices in Geneva and Washington, D.C. It has consultative status with any body whose work might affect it, including the Organization of African Unity, the European Council of Ministers of Transport, and the United Nations. The IRF exists to see that roads are built and the pressure for building them is maintained. It has called for 'all available expertise, equipment and services to be mobilized' for the 'daunting task' of upgrading the Eastern European highway network. The IRF's view of the world is simple: '. . . use of the motor vehicle and the road . . . is indispensable to economic, industrial, social, and human development throughout the world.' EUROPEAN ROUNDTABLE OF INDUSTRIALISTS A central focus of contion posts have been set up in the area and that emissions from the nuclear plant had reached 20 times the accepted norm.ô Radiation levels of 30 milliroetgen per hour have been recorded in the 3-kilometer security zone near the plant, he added.ô Mikhail Solomin, a defence official in the city of Novosibirk, 200 kilometers from the accident, told ITAR-TASS that measures had been taken to monitor radiation levels.ô Last year, a nitrogen explosion at Tomsk-7 that killed one person and injured two causedricating fluids, etc.). LOBBY GROUPS IN THE U.S. AND CANADA It is in the United States and Canada that the power of the car- makers and road-builders has reached its height. The U.S. has the highest levels of car ownership and the most extensive highway network combined with the lowest levels of fuel tax in the West. This is no accident, but the result of decades of sustained and powerful lobbying. The result is the 'drive-thru' store, the 18-lane freeway and the four-car family--plus smog, urban sprawl, and wasted resources. The Highway Users Federation has been presenting its case for $21 billion in annual spending on roads and highways. Key points include: ù Maintaining the U.S. Interstate Highway system; ù Creating a secondary 'national arterial system'; ù Road-building as a means of restoring 'metropolitan mobility'; and . More local road-building, to 'connect rural America'. The Highway Users' Federation works closely with a range of powerful bodies, including the American Automobile Association, the Canadian Automobile Association, the American Trucking Association, and the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials. Among them are industry, commerce, banks, education, the legal, medical, and engineering professions, and state and federal governments. Prominent members of the U.S. road lobby in the 1930s and 1940s committed one of the most ruthless acts in U.S. corporate history: the systematic destruction of electric street-car systems in cities across the country, and their replacement with diesel powered buses. General Motors Corporation, Standard Oil (EXXON), Mack Truck and the Firestone Tire and Rubber Co. were the main interests behind a firm called National City Lines (NCL), a bus company. NCL, financed by these large corporations, moved in across the U.S., in 45 cities, destroying more than 100 public transit systems. Los Angeles, known previously for its clean air, orange groves, and one of the world's largest urban electric rail systems, provides the clearest example of this activity. In 1944 an NCL affiliate 'purchased the system, scrapped its electric transit cars, tore down its power transmission lines, ripped up the tracks, and placed GM diesel buses [powered by Mack Truck engines, and riding on Firestone tires] fuelled by Standard Oil [EXXON] on Los Angeles' crowded streets.' This description is from a Congressional antitrust hearing in 1974. In 1949 the culprits were convicted of conspiracy--and fined $5,000. Los Angeles, of course, is now the most polluted area in the United States, primarily due to the city's almost total reliance on the private car. Los Angeles is currently in the process of spending billions of dollars to replace the urban mass transit system destroyed by General Motors and their co-conspirators. THE CAR MANUFACTURERS Car manufacturers form a substantial lobby in their own right. In the U.S., the Big Three--Ford, General Motors and Chrysler-- sponsor political action committees (PACs), which give campaign contributions to political candidates. Between 1981 and 1988 there was a continual struggle to tighten up vehicle emissions standards under various Clean Air Act proposals. The Big Three worked with 150 other PACs to oppose tightened emissions standards, coordinating $23 million in political contributions to Congressional candidates opposed to strengthening the Clean Air Act. GM, Ford, and Chrysler have also spent millions of dollars supporting the efforts of a lobbyiwas deemed necessary at the time.ô Traffic in and out of a village outside of Tomsk-7 was haltedôafter radiation levels 20 times the normal level were detected inôthe vicinity, CIS television reported.ô Civil defence troops in the area were placed on high alert,ôVassily Romanov, head of the defence headquarters in Kemerovoôtold the Siberian press. Last year, a nitrogen explosion atôTomsk-7 killed one person and injured two others while sparkingôconcern that safety standards were lax. ô[Entered Greenb attempt to adopt California's emission standards in Canada by getting the Mulroney government to accept a 'gentlemen's agreement' that the automakers would meet the California standards' voluntarily.' Of course, this 'gentlemen's agreement' is completely unenforceable. In the U.S., auto manufacturers recently won a major battle with oil companies over fuel vapor recovery technology (the arguably more effective vapor recovery canisters installed on vehicles vs. the vapor recovery fittings on fuel hose's favored by the auto manufacturers) when President Bush and his Council on Competitiveness interceded on behalf of the auto industry. The manufacturers are aware of the increased concern over environmental pollution and have adjusted their marketing and public relations strategies accordingly. But they have not stopped lobbying, and they have certainly not begun to match their 'green' PR and marketing images with advances in production of less environmentally-destructive cars. FUEL-EFFICIENT CARS One example of the difference between the auto industry's marketing and public relations position regarding the environment and actual practice lies in their attitudes towards fuel-efficient cars. Currently, 48 percent of all oil consumption in industrialized countries is used for road transport. Reducing this oil use would benefit the environment by reducing the impact of oil extraction and transportation; cutting down on the emissions from refining and distributing the fuel; and reducing the emissions of carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxides, hydrocarbons and other air pollutants from automobile tailpipes. All of this could be achieved quite readily using available technology. Several car companies have produced prototype vehicles which meet or exceed government safety and emissions standards, comfortably hold 4 to 5 adult passengers, and get between 60 and 100 miles per gallon. The latest example is General Motors' Ultralite, a four-passenger, 100 mile per gallon (cruising at 50 mph) car which GM engineers designed and built with production criteria designed into the car. Yet the auto companies prefer to market big, fast, powerful gas- guzzlers, spending billions of dollars per year on advertising telling consumers that big cars are the right choice for a variety of reasons (power, speed, sex appeal, etc.), and that fuel-efficient cars are unsafe and boring. As Fortune magazine once commented, 'Consumers prefer steak, but Detroit continues to market sizzle.' In 1975, U.S. cars averaged only fourteen miles per gallon (mpg). Concerned about the high levels of oil imports devoured by motor vehicles, Congress enacted fuel-economy standards for new cars and light trucks. The CAFE (corporate average fuel economy) standards required manufacturers to make more fuel-efficient vehicles by 1978, and to keep improving fuel economy every year. Within ten years, new vehicles had nearly doubled in fuel- efficiency, averaging 27.5 mpg. The intention was to increase the CAFE standard again over the next ten years, but the price of oil dropped in the mid-1980s, and intense auto manufacturer lobbying actually led to a reduction of the CAFE standards to 26.5 mpg in 1989. Now the U.S. CAFE standard is back at the 1988 level of 27.5 mpg, which in itself is not a satisfactory target. The only way to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from cars is to reduce the amount of fuel used, but the manufacturers continue to market their cars on the basis of speed and power, not fuel-effihe level of radition released.ô Clements said one Greenpeace scientist believed theôaccident should be rates a level 5 on the InternationalôAtomic Energy Authority's seven-point scale of nuclearômishaps, instead of a level 3, based on radiation levelsôreported by Russian authorities downwind from the site.ô Cochran said he had urged Moscow to shut down the Tomskôfacility, which is still operating two of its fiveôproduction reactors, at a conference in Moscow in December.ô But at the time, Russia Mexico City during April 1992, combined with the history of severe air pollution problems in Los Angeles and other large, car-dependent cities clearly demonstrates that our current addiction to the car is environmentally unsustainable. In the medium- to long-term, global warming, caused to a large degree by car use, poses an ecological threat to the entire planet. If the future of life on the planet is to be protected, then we must cease to use the atmosphere as a disposal route for wastes generated during industrial, agricultural, and other human activities, including automobile use. The transportation sector, particularly the automobile sector, is a substantial contributor to the air pollution problem. Large quantities of carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, and hydrocarbons are emitted directly from the tailpipes of cars. The car is a substantial user of ozone-depleting CFCs and their ozone destroying (HCFCs) and greenhouse gas (HFCs) 'substitutes.' Ground-level (tropospheric) ozone, resulting in large part from car use, causes serious health effects in people, as well as regional damage to the environment, crops and property, and also contributes to global warming. Auto production relies heavily on extremely polluting industries (e.g steel, aluminum, plastics). Disposal of cars and car components (e.g. tires, batteries, plastic parts) also generates significant environmental contamination. The production and use of the car is responsible for more environmental pollution than any other single human activity. Greenpeace is calling for an immediate reduction in the amount of pollution emitted from the transportation sector, especially the automobile. This can be achieved by a number of measures. Taking action to address global warming will have immediate benefits. In the transportation sector, for example, a shift to production of super fuel-efficient vehicles, the development of renewable fuel vehicles, and accelerated development of mass transit systems could create many jobs. These kinds of policy solutions to global warming will, of course, reduce or eliminate other air pollution problems as well. As this report has demonstrated, the end-of-the-tailpipe pollution problems associated with the transport sector are only the tip of the iceberg. We must also be concerned with the environmental contamination caused by the industries that support and service the car--the oil extraction industry; the refineries; the iron, steel, plastics, and rubber industries; the highway construction industry; and the hazardous waste industry. These are major polluters and destroyers of the environment in their own right, and will have to be overhauled, along with the auto industry. The beginning of the process, however, is to rid our policy- making of the preferences, biases, and subsidies that have promoted the private car over all other surface transportation options. Even though a huge majority of automobile trips are under 5 miles in length, individual travel (walking and cycling), and public transit (trains, buses, streetcars, etc.) have all been given less attention, and less money, than the private car. The result has been a huge transfer of public funds to the auto industry and infrastructure, and the promotion of car travel at the expense of the environment and human health, and other transportation options. The transportation model that has been constructed ignores the needs of 90% of the world's population, places a serious health burdenty wereôreleased at Chernobyl. Here we do not have even a singleôcurie. So it is 80 million times less."ô "I stress, we are talking not about a nuclear reactor, but aôtechnical apparatus where a chemical reaction isôtaking place," Gennady Khandorin, the director of Tomsk-7,ôtold Izvestia.ô The ministry said gases in a stainless steel tankôcontaining uranium exploded, blowing the reinforced concrete lidôthrough the roof of the building and starting a fire.ô Khandorin said tests had found only onetax revenues, to company-provided or company-subsidized cars, and to direct government subsidies to auto manufacturers. 2. Recognize that people have a basic right to travel, and provide for that right. The current transportation model fully recognizes our right to travel only if we are capable of buying, maintaining, and operating a car. If we don't happen to have the required financial or other capabilities, we are put at the mercy of an underfunded and inadequate public transit system. Financial gains from the application of the 'polluter pays' principle, cited above, should be put into development of more environmentally-friendly public transit--low emission buses and trains built from recycled materials and running on alternative fuels; integrated public transit systems providing convenient, frequent service; and better bicycle and pedestrian facilities. Additionally, urban and town planning models should be adapted to the goal of improving people's access to work, recreation, and basic needs and services within walking, cycling, or easy transit distance of their home. Greenpeace recognizes that there will be difficulties in the transition between our current car-dependent society and one based on improved public transit, bicycle and pedestrian access, and better urban design. Funds saved by the application of the 'polluter pays' principle to the private car should be set aside to aid people during this transition period. 3. Ban cars in any area where the level of air pollution exceeds World Health Organization guidelines, or equivalent regional standards. People have the right to breathe clean air: that right should be recognized. In most city centers, car use is incompatible with clean air. Car-free city centers would make sense for other reasons as well. In many parts of the world, car-free city center policies have revitalized city center neighborhoods, bringing increased retail business and greatly improved urban housing options. 4. Move away from gas-guzzling auto technologies. Begin to produce super fuel-efficient vehicles, and begin to develop non- global warming alternative fuel technologies (e.g.-- hydrogen, solar-electric). Several auto makers have built comfortable, safe prototype cars with fuel efficiencies between 60 and 100 mpg. These fuel efficient technologies should be put into production. Additionally, the auto industry and governments should begin to put much more effort into non-fossil vehicle fuels, as a means of drastically reducing the global warming contribution from the transportation sector. 5. Halt construction of new highways and roads until proper assessments of all of the environmental, social, cultural, and economic impacts have been completed. The continued subsidy of car travel depends on the construction of a network of state- and federally-funded highways, which are built without a full consideration and review of the environmental impacts. The construction of new highways or major roads should be halted until proper assessments--including examination of impacts on human health, wetlands, and global warming--have been completed. 6. Phase out the use of trucks for long-distance transportation. Truck transport, in addition to private automobile use, is heavily subsidized by state- and federally-funded road construction, and by environmental deterioration in the form of air pollution, habitat loss, and global warming emissions. The use of trucks for most of the long-distance freight transportationhe level of incident is third level, but we think it is much higher, maybe a fourth even, and we have seven levels in the Russian system of measuring ...," the Greenpeace officials aid. The Russian nuclear energy ministry earlier described the explosion as aô"serious incident" but insisted that no population centers were affected byôthe release of radioactivity.ô The energy ministry told the ITAR-TASS news agency that the cloudôcontained an uranium mixture and covered several hundred square meters nearowing at the worldwide rate of one car per second. The implications for global warming and for air pollution are extremely serious. If the continued growth in car numbers and our increasing car dependency are not dealt with on an urgent basis, then the approaching crisis will become reality. By then, it may be too late to do anything about it. CONTACTS GREENPEACE CANADA Toronto: 185 Spadina Avenue, 6th Floor Toronto, Ontario MST 2C6 (416) 345-8408 Vancouver: 1726 Commercial Drive Vancouver, British Columbia VSN 4A3 (604) 253-7701 Montreal: 2444 Notre Dame Ouest Montreal, Quebec H3J INS (514) 933-0021 GREENPEACE MEXICO Mexico City: Cerro Del Cubilete No. 240 Depto. 1 Colonia Campestre C.P. 04200 Mexico D.F., Mexico (525) 544-6239 GREENPEACE U.S. D.C. Office: 1436 U Street, NW Washington, DC 20009 (202) 462- 1177 Pacific Northwest: 4649 Sunnyside Avenue N Seattle,Washington 98103 (206) 632-4326 Pacific Southwest: 139 Townsend Street San Francisco, California 94107 (415) 512-9025 Great Lakes: 1017 West Jackson Chicago, Illinois 60607 (312) 666-3305 Southeast: 20 13th Street, NE Atlanta, Georgia 30309 (404) 892-1209 Northeast: 462 Broadway, 6th Floor New York, New York 10013 (212) 941-0994 For additional copies of this report, contact Greenpeace at any of the above offices. U.S. $5.00 per copy Lower rates available for orders of ten or more copies. Reproduction of this document, in full or in part, is encouraged. Pleallllllllllllllllllllllllll