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| Growing car ownership: A change for better or worse? | | | Dr. Pragya Khanna
The car showrooms today present that magnificent appearance of glamor with glowing lights and plush interiors that could be seen only in movies, showing swish and lavish scenes accentuating excitement and thrill, back in time. Inside, it looks more like a TV game-show set with bright lights, white floors, huge windows, high ceilings and ad posters of beaming consumers who generally appear to be rather foreigners (far whitish) than most Indians.
The price of the cars also seems to be right enough, for higher middle class (business or salaried) to upper class Indians, to make a down payment, who enjoy wallowing in the luxury of appearing rich in growing comfort of bank loans with, and dependence on, debt.
The four-wheeler is a new plaything of the affluent class here, one being peddled, like so many products in India today, by Bollywood star/s. It is yet another symbol of the kid-in-a-candy-store psyche that has seized India's growing consuming class, once denied capitalism's choices and now flooded with them.
A new culture of money seems to have taken over in India's free-market economy that has made making money and spending it afoot.
Today, India has become one of the world's fastest-growing car markets, with about a million being sold each year. Back in the day as a kid I remember seeing only two kinds, Fiats and Ambassadors, till the petite and trendier Maruti 800 made its appearance. Now dozens of models ride the roads, from the humble, Indian-made Maruti to the Rolls-Royce, which has re-entered India's market some 50 years after leaving in the British wake.
The days are not very difficult to recall when consumer goods were so limited that refrigerators were given the place of pride in the living rooms; now there are ever more sophisticated tools to spend money on, and consider it worthwhile too, like cell phones, air-conditioners, dishwashers, home theatres, Ipods, washing machines; Botox, sushi and Louis Vuitton bags; and, perhaps the biggest status symbol of all, cars.
Besides being the status symbols, cars are offering the proud Indian owners everything from control and freedom to privacy and privilege to speed and eminence. Car showrooms, the bigger the better, are the new temples here, and cars the icons of a new distinctiveness taking root. Meanwhile, the foreign car companies have discovered the Indian consumer, not to mention the country's engineering brain power, and are setting up plants across India.
The growing yearning for cars also reflects that India is finally having roads decent enough to drive them on. Despite all this and more the country already has one of the world's highest accident rates, with more than 80,000 traffic-related deaths a year. With India rejoicing in its rising global profile, there has been little planning for the traffic, environmental or economic consequences of millions more Indians acquiring new cars. India's economic boom has outpaced any planning for the resources, like oil for auto fuel, it will demand. Urban planning is so poor that in majority of cities traffic congestion is threatening investment and business expansion.
In our aspiration to progress with the globalization around we seem to have forgotten the consequences it brings along. The fact that humans contribute immensely to environmental pollution has been well-established. Among the numerous ways in which we individually add to the level of pollutants in the environment, car pollution tops the list. The obvious reason being that it is one of the widely used modes of personal transportation. Many people, who associate themselves with the cause of environmental protection, sometimes fail to notice that they themselves are on the same side of the fence. Our automobiles cause all sorts of pollution, be it air, water, noise or even land.
Vehicular pollution has grown at an alarming rate due to growing urbanisation in India. The air pollution from vehicles in urban areas, particularly in big cities, has become a serious problem. The pollution from vehicles has begun to tell through symptoms like cough, headache, nausea, irritation of eyes, various bronchial and visibility problems.
The main pollutants emitted from the automobiles are hydrocarbons, lead/benzene, carbon monoxide, sulphur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide and particulate matter. The main cause of vehicular pollution is the rapidly growing number of vehicles.
Car pollutants cause immediate and long-term effects on the environment. Car exhausts emit a wide range of gases and solid matter, causing global warming, acid rain, and harming the environment and human health. Engine noise and fuel spills also cause pollution.
The effects of car pollution are widespread, affecting air, soil and water quality. The exhaust from the cars contains various greenhouse gases such as carbon monoxide and nitrous oxide. These gases have an ability to block the sun-rays that are reflected from the earth's surface. This solar energy gets trapped in the earth's atmosphere and causes variances in temperature. This is one of the major contributors to global warming. According to estimates, the global temperatures have seen a drastic increase in the last hundred years and if we continue adding up millions of cars every year to our roads, the temperature will increase rapidly, posing a threat to the survival of human race on this planet. Most cars are manufactured to achieve perfect combustion of fuel but after some time as the car undergoes wear and tear, the engine is not able to function efficiently which results in the emission of toxic substances. These pollutants are harmful for living beings and cause a host of respiratory diseases and lung cancer in humans. These toxic gases can also destroy plants, which are an important constituent of the ecological cycle. One of the greatest threats that car pollution has posed to the environment is the depletion of ozone layer. Ozone layer prevents harmful Ultra-Violet (UV) rays from reaching our atmosphere. The UV rays can cause a host of diseases and can change the genetic make-up of living beings. Although chlorofluorocarbons (CFC) have been banned from use in automobiles, countries where regulations are less strict are still using it unabatedly.
Pollution from cars has also impacted the quality of water, as smoke from the exhaust combines with rain, leading to acid rain, which makes its way to oceans and seas. Oil, which is released from cars due to leakage mixes with storm-water and pollutes the natural resources of water. Surveys conducted over the years have found that urban runoff was one of the biggest source of deterioration of the quality of water. The underground fuel storage tanks on which filling stations are housed also contribute thousands of tons of pollutants to water due to leakage. These pollutants impact the balance of the aquatic environment as many plants vegetate quickly resulting in the depletion of water levels. This in turn, makes it difficult for fish and other aquatic organisms to survive. Also, pollutants passed on to the water bodies eventually end up affecting humans as many times, the fish is not inedible and causes numerous diseases.
Cars have increased the decibel levels in the environment which has contributed immensely to noise pollution. Noise pollution has caused a disturbance in the ecological cycle and many animals have had behavioural issues because of high noise levels. Apart from impacting the environment, noise pollution can cause several diseases in humans, such as high blood-pressure and mental stress. Although, it is generally accepted that a single vehicle is not capable of causing noise pollution, but, in cases where people use modified mufflers to alter the sound of their machines, the noise produced by a single vehicle is equal to that produced by hundreds of vehicles. Also, people tend to use heavy stereo systems capable of producing deafening noise levels. A standard stereo system has a amplifiers with configuration of 5 W. However, speakers used in 'boom cars' have amplifiers with 700 W. These vehicles add to the level of noise pollution in the environment.
Vast areas of barren lands have been turned into parking lots and more are being created to accommodate the growing number of cars that are being added each day. It has been observed that instead of taking responsibility to conserve the environment, we pass the buck to environmental activists. If we cannot fight for environmental causes, we can at least make sure that we are doing our bit to prevent the degradation of the environment. Avoiding the use of a car for short journeys can reduce the pollution levels in the environment. Also, cars that are not properly maintained emit pollutants in higher amounts, so it is necessary to take proper care of the car through regular servicing. It not only helps in preventing pollution, but it also increases the life of your car. If each one of us contributes a little bit, it certainly will make a big difference to environmental conservation. Public transport vehicles carry a large number of people in a single vehicle. In addition, they are cheap and easily accessible. As public transportation is facilitated by the government, hopefully, appropriate green transportation measures must have been taken. Even the structure and the body of the vehicle impacts the gas consumption. Changing the vehicle's body, that is aerodynamics for the smooth movement will consume less fuel, and thus, less emission.
Besides preserving the environment and reducing the pollution, green transportation can help obtain many more benefits. A few major benefits are:
Save money - When you opt to go green, you are saving money in a number of ways. For instance, walking and cycling involves no or low maintenance cost and public vehicles are very cheaper.
Live a healthier life - Walking and cycling gives a good exercise to your heart. Moreover, the reduction in pollution will reduce harmful effects on the respiratory system. On the whole, it will lead to a better and healthier lifestyle.
Increase in economic development - Expanding the infrastructure of public transportation and manufacturing green vehicles will create employment opportunities that will contribute to the economic growth of the country.
Thus, green transportation involves various practices, including effective utilization of resources, adapting transportation structure and make healthier commuting choices. This demands public awareness and active participation of the residents, manufacturing vehicles that use renewable sources of energy and avoid using vehicles that emits harmful gases. |
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