Car companies are well aware of thefact that the 700 million vehicles on roadsacross the globe are causing destructionto the ecosystem on a massive scale.The demand for private transport is ona constant increase; only 5% of the USpopulation uses public transport, despiteof having to collectively spend 8 billion hours stuck in traffic and the adverse effectit has on our bodies. However, the automobile industry is beginning to listen to itsmore environmentally conscious consumers. Around the turn of the century, thepopularity of hybrid cars, which are dramatically less harmful to our health andthe environment, began to take off.Contrary to popular belief, hybrids are not new technology; they have beenaround for well over a century. In 1900, gas, steam and electric cars weremanufactured in equal numbers. However, in 1913 with the advent of the self-starting engine and the gas-powered Ford Model T coming off the productionline in mass numbers, steam and electric cars disappeared for a good 50 years andenvironmental devastation ensued.The amount of damage is alarming. Driving a car is a citizens most air-pollutingactivity as vehicles are the most considerable contributor of CO2 emissions. Inthe US, 8.2 million barrels of oil are consumed each day, which equates to 300million tonnes of carbon dioxide. The health care costs that are accrued by peopledeveloping such conditions as acute respiratory problems, asthma and cancer-related illnesses amount to US$60 billion every year. Hundreds of thousandsof tonnes of oil, fluids and chemicals enter our waterways every year. Noisepollution from traffic, stereos and alarms is at an all-time high, resulting in sleepdeprivation and stress, among other things. 800 million tyres are stockpiled eachyear, while tyres in use lose one pound of rubber per year on average, which fliesin minute quantities into the air and enters our lungs or rivers. 120 Americans dieevery day in accidents, 1 million animals are run over every year and 10 millioncars are scrapped per year. Crops lose their yield as a result of the pollutionand the government allocates huge amounts of financial resources to build andmaintain roads.
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