Impact of Cars on the Environment
Cars consume a lot of energy before they ever make it to the road. Automotive production leaves a giant footprint because materials like steel, rubber, glass, plastics, paints, and many more must be created before a new ride is ready to go. Similarly, the end of a car’s life doesn’t mark the end of its environmental impact. Plastics, toxic battery acids, and other products may stay in the environment. Fortunately junkyards are slowly decreasing in size over time. About three-quarters of today’s average car, including most of a steel frame, can be recycled. Production, recycling, and disposal costs to the environment are difficult to quantify and largely beyond the control of most consumers. Most of an automobile's impact (80-90%) will be due to fuel consumption and emissions of air pollution and greenhouse gases that climate scientists say are driving global warming.