Personally, I believe that the cut down on gasoline is necessary for the long term. I do not say that we have to do it immediately, reduce gas consumption in a large scale or change to use other renewable alternatives right away. There is no way a transition to a renewable can occur quickly and easily like the way we state we have to cut down on gasoline. Definitely, everything needs time and effort but first it is important for us to have a mindset that we must lessen the gas consumption sooner or later. Oil is now the most consumed energy and the amount of greenhouse created by it is tremendous and we cannot just exploit it relentlessly till it becomes exhausted. Gasoline is a non-renewable resource and it is still affordable for us now as it is still available for us. Once gas becomes scarcer and harder to exploit, its price will not be affordable anymore as we have to put more effort to get it. We cannot wait till that moment, when its impact on environment is damaging enough, to change our behavior. Remember that our core eventual purpose is the reduction of carbon. We have to keep the mindset of limiting and saving gas in specific and energy consumption in general as much as we possible. Any can afford more environmental-friendly approach to life should do it. Any cannot can limit the amount they use. If every individual and cooperation think and do like this, the amount of gas left will become exhausted slower, hopefully, giving us enough time to shift to renewables with less difficulty.
Month: September 2021 (page 1 of 5)
Switching to electric cars or not driving is simply not a possible conversion that a population could make in only ten years. America lacks the infrastructure to support total electric vehicle use. The way America is designed doesn’t support walking and biking either, with spread out cities and towns that lack useful bike paths or sidewalks. America’s green infrastructure pales in comparison to the European cities, where everything is close together and walking/biking is made convenient and widely used by citizens. When I first took an environmental science class, I was onboard with stopping the use of cars. However, when I actually became a driver I realized how beneficial cars are to our daily life, and they can’t be phased out. With many people not being able to afford an electric car so soon and who live in towns that lack green infrastructure, they need gas powered cars to survive. Synthetic fuel that is made from organic materials and can be pumped into an internal combustion engine like gasoline is the short-term answer because it greatly reduces carbon emissions and is sustainable for everyone in the U.S.
Car is an important aspect for our society, it allow us to advance rapidly in the way it did. It provide the transportation, allowing people to live in suburban area, travel, and go shopping or other place that they desire. I don’t want to give up this car privilege and I don’t think people need to do so to cut down the use of fossil fuel. There are alternate sources of energy, many of which don’t produce green house gas. At the same time, the efficiency of a car is important because the amount we drive doesn’t change. The only thing that change is the amount we use. New cars that are more efficiency, are coming out, some of them are slowly becoming more affordable. Yes there are people who can’t afford an alternate fuel car or more efficient car but there are plans and other resources that allow them to buy or trade their car for one. Although, I believe that the government need to do more to help with this issues. The cost of investing in a more efficient car and alternate fuel is a good investment for the future and the bank account of car holder. I have no doubt that in the next few years, the gas price will go up. People who can’t accord to change their car now will have to do it eventually. There is no pro in staying neutral other than resisting a change that benefit everyone.
Some may argue that cutting down the usage of cars and gasoline shouldn’t be a key concern to focus on at the moment. For those who agree with this position, it has been highlighted that the usage of gasoline helps benefit the economy and that switching to electric vehicles as an immediate substitute for cars may be challenging for others to immediately purchase as a result of its expense. While this may be true, by continuing to use cars and gasoline, in the long run, the consequences these two factors produce may outweigh the immediate pros for numerous people. Hence, when it comes to the car and gasoline issue, I feel like their usage should be cut in order to help reduce – and if possible prevent – future catastrophes. To start off, the major reason I chose the position of the need to cut the usage of cars and gasoline is due to car emissions burning fossil fuels – like gas – which has become a significant cause of climate change. The burning of fossil fuels is one of the main contributors of carbon dioxide as it has been found in the exhaust of cars. Yet, though carbon dioxide already exists in the atmosphere, more carbon dioxide has been released into the atmosphere mainly because of the rise of people driving cars. This has led to a slowing process of natural carbon sinks being able to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere due to its fast build-up; has further led to carbon trapping in more heat in the atmosphere. Thus, the increased usage of cars has become a critical factor that has helped lead to climate change. From sea-level rise to odd weather patterns to increased forest fires – climate change affects everyone. Not only are there environmental consequences that come with climate change but there are also socioeconomic challenges that arise like food scarcity due to extreme droughts. Using this as an example, situations like these have in some cases led to conflicts within and between communities. Last, but not least the burning of emissions from cars has also been linked to being a catalyst for many health problems that people have, especially in major cities. These health problems range from worsening conditions of cancer to a rise in asthma and bronchitis cases which have gone downhill for those who already suffer from these conditions. Although it may be easier to focus on the immediate benefits of continuing the usage of cars and gasoline, the long-term impacts and consequences must be taken into account. This doesn’t mean that cars and gasoline would be removed permanently. Instead more action would be focused on finding more sustainable energy sources and discovery of new and improved car models which may better benefit humanity, our environment, and future generations to come.
I believe that the reduction of our use of gasoline is necessary because of the damages gasoline causes the environment. We discussed in class some of the things that are released from the burning of gasoline and none of it is good for the earth. We decided as a group that moving to electric is the best way to cut down on the use of gasoline. The main reason I think we need to cut down on gasoline consumption is because of the environmental effects. Also to be clear cutting out gasoline completely would be great but is no where near feasible right now. Simple reduction of gasoline use could help lower the amount of gas we burn as a country. Next time you are about to get in your car, think to yourself “Do I really need to drive right now, I mean how bad could the walk be?”
The gasoline topic has been and will continue to be a problem in the automobile industry for the foreseeable future. Despite appearing to be a clear decision to cut off fossil fuel energy sources for cars, the approach to this is not yet ideal and most likely won’t be for a long time. That is why I am neutral on the touchy matter as while we all wish for the goal to be completely run by renewable energy, we are no where near that point and won’t be for many decades. The goals being set during these times aren’t just “ambitious,” they’re unreasonable. We are not able to cut back our uses of fossil fuels to the insane amounts that is being requested of us. Like it or not, we will continue to use fossil fuels until we find a more complete, and ideal system that will work in the automobile industry and other fields of our lives. While we can use more renewable energy in some cases, we must still use fossil fuels in the great majority as it is the most efficient, ideal, cheap, and logical approach to the matter. We cannot just carelessly call it quits on fossil fuels at a scale this large, but we must take it through small increments over the span of many years.
Taking the neutral side of the team might sound a little selfish in some peoples perspective but looking at it generally I would still be on the neutral side. The gasoline rate is of course increasing tremendously but there are somethings you just can’t let go. We consider food, clothing and housing as basic needs but in some peoples case from a specific area cars might fall in the same category as the basic needs. Peoples in the rural area are subjected to travel to a long distance to get to work, school ,markets and more importantly hospitals. So we can’t just come up with the idea of reducing gasoline and work on it. There are peoples who can afford getting an electric car and they should get one for the environmental safety sake. And there are also peoples who wouldn’t need to get a car in general and those peoples shouldn’t get one or just use bike for the environmental sake again. But the peoples who can’t go on with their life without a car shouldn’t be forced to let it go. We should work on the common good instead of directing the claim on gasoline reduction. There are plenty of factors affecting the natural resources and the environment so we should work on reducing things which are categorized luxury and not basic needs. And hopefully in the future there will come a solution for the gasoline run out. But right now we can’t afford cutting down the usage of cars,
The decision to take the neutral side in this discussion was a hard one to make. While I know that driving excessively is bad for the environment it’s one of my favorite things to do. I couldn’t support using more gas and cars because the consequences of adding more pollution is a nightmare for me. While on the other hand, I can’t support a radical slash in usage because I love to drive manual for fun. I am also a creature of habit and any change in either direction seems scary to me. I love the modern convenience of driving and personally am not ready to give that up. Meanwhile, I am not advocating for the repeal of emissions laws on new vehicles. Total emissions need to come down and change needs to happen I just don’t think that limiting gasoline is the best way to accomplish this because it would affect small towns the hardest.
I chose the neutral position on the use of gas. I think that while it would be ideal to cut down on gas use, it is simply not plausible right now. The United States and the people who live here do not have the resources or abilities to alter their gas usage habits by getting an electric car, reducing car use, or getting solar panels. Not all Americans can afford to buy an electric car, and it is not a plausible option for an area without any charging stations nearby. In many places, coal is still used very heavily, so charging stations for cars would not be very efficient because coal is still being burned to power these stations. In rural areas, cars are crucial to get from point A to point B, as riding a bike or even carpooling may not be a convenient or possible option. Solar panels are also not reliable for homes in places where it is not sunny all the time, or it rains/snows/hails for extended periods of time.
I chose the neutral position in class on 9/24. A big thing with gasoline is how convenient it is for Americans. Although I do think we need to cut down on the amount of gasoline we are using, I do not think we will ever get to a point where gasoline is out of the picture for good. Not everyone has the option to walk to work, purchase an electric car, or simply stop using a car in general. In order for a real change to happen, everyone as a whole needs to do something in order to cut down on the amount of gasoline they are using. However, I do not think collectively, people will want to give up the luxury of driving and using gasoline. I do recognize that greenhouse gas emissions will only rise more and more, but I do not think that if only a few people gave up driving or using gasoline that it would make a big difference in the emissions of greenhouse gases. A real change needs to start collectively with everyone doing their part in the amount of gasoline they are using which is why I took the neutral position in class.