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In recent years, the growing popularity and concern regarding the worlds environmental

status has been one of societies top social issue topics. One of the areas of the environment that

people are concerned about is the increasing presence of pollution in our environment. The most

common type of pollution is air pollution. Air pollution could include many different types of

pollutants in it such as chemical gases like carbon monoxide. The sources of carbon monoxide

come from mainly emissions made by transportation vehicles. With the ever-increasing

population of the world, the increasing production of vehicles all around the world will also

continue. And with this increase of cars on the road all across the world, the air pollution issue

will always be a hot debate topic within environmental concern. One reason why the social issue

of air pollution in our environment is being pushed by so many activist is because of the dangers

and effects that the pollution causes to the people and the environment. Some of the potential

side effects that air pollution may cause to humans include respiratory issues and other damage

made to vital organs such as the heart, brain, and lungs (Cars, Trucks, and Air Pollution). These

effects can be caused by the inhalation of carbon monoxide from the air. These are just some of

the effects of air pollution in which many people are bringing up that needs to be addressed. In

my opinion, the only way this issue can be addressed and somewhat resolved is by pushing

major car companies and manufacturers to implement new technologies in cars in order to reduce

the emissions. Some of these new implementations could include new alternate fuel sources for

cars that aim to reduce the emissions of the vehicles. The alternate fuel sources that should be

looked into for increasing production in new cars include, biodiesel fuel, electric cars, and

hydrogen powered cars.

With the main source of air pollution being made from cars and trucks on the roads, the

best way to go about aiming to decreasing the amount of pollution caused by these vehicles is to
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create and implement new fuel sources that produce clean or no emissions at all. The first type of

alternate fuel source that should be used in cars is biodiesel. This biodiesel fuel can be used in

larger transportation vehicles such as trucks and be an alternate fuel source that pollutes less than

the standard petroleum diesel used in trucks. Biodiesel fuel should be used because it is easily

accessible and it emits less dangerous pollutants into the air than petroleum diesel. Biodiesel fuel

can be made from everyday resources that just get thrown away such as fat from foods, cooking

grease, and other food oils (Biodiesel Fuel Basics). Biodiesel has also been proven and backed

by the government as a better alternative to petroleum diesels due to the results that were

gathered in its testing under the Clean Air Act. The Environment Protection Agency (EPA)

passed this fuel source based on the reduction of emissions that were produced by the fuel and

passed the potential health effect test (Biodiesel Benefits).

Another type of alternative fuel that could potentially be used in our everyday vehicles

are the electric powered cars. In these type of cars, the fuel source comes from charging the

battery in the car by electricity, not gas. This type of fuel source has been increasing in popularity

in new car designs due to its very low to no emissions and the ease of gathering power to charge

the car (Benefits of Electricity as a Vehicle Fuel). The electric cars are a very possible solution to

the search of a new alternate fuel source due to its reduction of pollutants that have been tested

on many mass produced cars such as the Nissan Leaf and the car company and manufacture,

Tesla.

The final alternate fuel source that should be advocated for is the hydrogen powered cars.

In these hydrogen powered cars, hydrogen is used as the main source of fuel due to it producing

little to no emissions at all. The only emissions that the hydrogen powered cars produce as

harmless pollutants such as water vapor (Fuel Cell Electric Vehicles). Hydrogen powered cars
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have also been tested and proven to be as efficient or even more efficient than regular gasoline

powered cars. The hydrogen powered vehicles often have a range of around 300 miles as

compared to the average range of a gasoline powered car of around 300 to 400 miles. Some

major car companies, such as Toyota and Honda, have already bought into the idea of hydrogen

being a new alternate fuel source for cars with the production of their own types of hydrogen

powered cars. Toyota has come out with the Toyota Mirai (Toyota Mirai) and Honda has

produced their own hydrogen car with the Honda FCX (How Hydrogen Cars Work).

As new ideas and techniques are thought of on how to help the environment and help

improve the conditions society lives in, there are improvements being made in all areas of the

world. One of these improvements include helping the reduction of air pollution caused by

transportation vehicles such as cars and trucks. One way this improvement can be made is by

implementing new alternative fuel sources for cars and trucks that have the sole purpose of

aiming to reduce the harmful emissions of the fuel used. Many different types of alternative fuel

sources have already been thought about and tested on a global scale and have been proven to

have a positive impact on the environment such as the hydrogen powered car, the electric

powered car, and the biodiesel fuel for trucks. And because these fuel sources have been proven

to work and reduce the emissions caused by cars, I believe that more people should advocate for

major car companies to make this transition for traditional gasoline powered cars to these new,

better, and cleaner alternative fuel sources.

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References

Biodiesel Benefits - Why Use Biodiesel? - Pacific Biodiesel. (n.d.). Retrieved February 6, 2017.

http://www.biodiesel.com/biodiesel/benefits/

Biodiesel Benefits and Considerations. (n.d.). Retrieved February 5, 2017.

http://www.afdc.energy.gov/fuels/biodiesel_benefits.html

Biodiesel Fuel Basics. (n.d.). Retrieved February 07, 2017, from

https://energy.gov/eere/energybasics/articles/biodiesel-fuel-basics

Cars, Trucks, and Air Pollution. (n.d.). Retrieved February 6, 2017.

http://www.ucsusa.org/clean_vehicles/why-clean-cars/air-pollution-and-health/cars-

trucks-air-pollution.html#.VhcJ9npVikp

H., & H. (2000, September 18). How Fuel Cells Work. Retrieved February 07, 2017, from

http://auto.howstuffworks.com/fuel-efficiency/alternative-fuels/fuel-cell.htm

Fuel Cell Electric Vehicles. (n.d.). Retrieved February 5, 2017.

http://www.afdc.energy.gov/vehicles/fuel_cell.html

Toyota Mirai The Turning Point. (n.d.). Retrieved February 07, 2017, from

https://ssl.toyota.com/mirai/fcv.html?srchid=sem%257cGOOGLE%257cMirai

%257cModel_Mirai%257cMirai_General%257c6_1_16_Restructure_PreExisting

%257cMirai_MLP&gclid=CJDdr_ah_dECFQ3hDQodO3wAKg&gclsrc=ds