The correlation between cars and air pollution has been talked about before the word environmentalism ever came to be known as a political movement. The very premise of an exhaust pipe on a moving vehicle that belched out smoke into the air was not one that was met with the staunchest approval at the dawn of the last century when cars began to become a bit more commonplace.
Unfortunately, as the human race is want to do, people forgot just how bad the idea of an exhaust was and began to accept the pumping of noxious gases into the atmosphere as an everyday occurrence that shouldn’t be overly concerning to those going about their business.
However, as that century began to draw to a close and the effects of what those little exhaust pipes were doing to the environment began to come into unsettling focus, they began to be talked about again. Maybe there was a way to improve them and filter out the gases; maybe a car needed to have it removed, store its own emissions and deposit them somewhere safe at a later time; perhaps cars needed to stop being driven entirely.
Most of these options have been dismissed as either ineffective or impractical, but the need to watch exactly what is coming out of those small metal pipes at the back of the car has never been more important. However, small steps have been made. Study into emissions has found that the way a car is driven can drastically effect how much gas it pumps into the atmosphere.
Gentle acceleration in lower gears, smooth braking that is initiated well ahead of the stop-point, conservative speed levels and good clutch control have all been shown to reduce the amount of carbon emitted from the exhaust. Also, this has even been shown to save both money and petrol, and insurers such as Kwik Fit Insurance are much more likely to reduce your insurance premium if you have been on an environmental driving course as the benefits to the engine from safer and more conservative driving pay dividends in avoiding damage. Try the Kwik Fit Insurance website for more on car insurance.
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