Cars and pollution In past years, levels of air, noise and visual pollution were much lower than they are today. Today there are more cars on the roads and for this reason there are higher levels of pollution than in the past. The car is probably the main cause of pollution in our cities. They release toxic emissions into our atmosphere. Cars are particularly linked to carbon monoxide pollution. They're noisy (especially if you live near the highway) and take up valuable space in the form of large parking lots that aren't very pleasing to the eye. Why are there more cars on the road today than in the past? Understanding the answer to this question is important when trying to propose an effective solution to the increasing levels of pollution we are experiencing. Our current high pollution levels are the result of an increase in the number of vehicles on the road. There are several factors that have caused the increase in the number of cars driving on our roads today. The first, and most obvious, is the fact that our population has grown over time and continues to grow exponentially, according to the US Census Bureau. Today we have more cars on our roads for the simple fact that there are more people living in our country. There is a larger percentage of drivers on our roads today as well as a larger population overall. I say this for the following reason. Our standard of living is relatively high, compared to other countries. Our per capita income is high enough for many of our citizens to purchase cars. This means that more and more people will continue to drive their single-seater vehicles into the city center to go to work or school, polluting everything... half of the document... conference/environment/automotive2.html2. Boehmer-Christiansen, Sonja and Helmut Weidner. "The policy of reducing vehicle emissions in Britain and Germany". Madison: Fairleigh Dickinson University Press. 1995.3. Kahn, Jeffrey, “Computer Model Predicts the Impact of Incentives on Automotive Fuel Efficiency,” Archive of Scientific Articles, last modified: January 13, 1994, 1 page, “homepage,” accessed 10/20/98, http ://www.lbl .gov/Science-Articles/Archive/auto-fuel-efficiency-model.html4. Miller, G. Tyler Jr. "Environmental Science: Working with the Earth." 6th ed. Belmont: Wadsworth Publishing House. 1997.5. “Monthly Estimates of the Population of the United States, April 1, 1980–August 1, 1998,” last modified: September 25, 1998, 1 page, US Census Bureau, date accessed: 10/20/98, http://www.census. gov/population/estimates/nation/intfile1-1.txt