Environmental, Economic, and Social Costs of the Car

1. Environmental, Economic, and Social Costs of the Car TREN 3P18: Sustainable Transportation

2. ‘The World Car Crisis’ • Wolfgang Zuckermann (1922- ) shakespeare.bookshop.free.fr/ GB/home_page.htm

3. ‘The World Car Crisis’ • Wolfgang Zuckermann (1991) described the aggregate global impacts and influences of the automobile as ‘the world car crisis’

4. Problems and consequences • 500 million vehicles were on the road in 1991 • More than 550 million were on the road by 2002 (1) • More than 1 billion cars were on the road by 2013 (2), (3) people.hofstra.edu/.../ conc3en/carprodfleet.html Graph source:WorldwatchInstitute

5. Problems and consequences • Mounting traffic congestion • Air, noise, and aesthetic pollution • Near-total dependence on fossil fuels (often dirty and imported) • Highly wasteful usage of materials and energy • More than 250,000 traffic deaths each year

6. Problems and consequences • Negative impacts on cities and land use • Approximately sixty million new vehicles are added each year (165,000 per day) (1) • Approaching the limits of the carrying capacity of the planet • Climate modification with serious consequences

7. Increasing auto dependency • Even with cleaner fuel, we’re driving more in low miles-per-gallon vehicles. Air pollution damages human health, crops, structures, and our climate. • Litman, Todd, Transportation Cost Analysis: Techniques, Estimates,and Implications Victoria Transport Institute, June 2002

9. Increasing auto dependency: Urban density factors • There is a strong link between urban population density and petroleum consumption • USA, Canada, Australia and New Zealand have the lowest urban densities and highest per capita petroleum consumption - (Newman and Kenworthy 1989)

10. Increasing auto dependency: China • China led the way in vehicle growth, with the number of cars on Chinese roads increasing by 27.5 per cent between 2009-2010 (half the entire global growth) • China now has the world's second largest car population, with 78 million vehicles • United States still constitutes by far the largest vehicle population in the world, with 239.8 million cars • http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2011/08/23/car-population_n_934291.html

11. Increasing auto dependency: European cities • Larger European cities are becoming more car dependent due to sprawl • Since 1975, the average distance between home and the workplace has more than doubled • journeys by private car continue to increase • In Europe, the car is used more often for leisure activities or for shopping • http://www.22september.org/info/en/air.html

12. Increasing auto dependency: European cities • European car use is approaching that of the USA: by 2002, 82% of urban journeys in European cities were undertaken by car (12% transit, 6% bicycle) • http://www.22september.org/info/en/air.html

13. Increasing auto dependency: European cities However, modal split (walking / cycling / public transit / private car) is quite variable – • Spanish cities are most walkable • Danish and Dutch cities are most cyclable • Slovakia, Switzerland, Estonia use public transit the most • Italy and Spain have highest car use (Modal split for European cities of over 250,000 population, 2004 data – www.urbanaudit.com )

14. …include the following (nonexclusive) categories: Internal economic costs (borne by car users) External economic costs(borne by society) Environmental costs (borne by the environment) Social costs(borne by all of society) Costs and impacts of the car

15. Download worksheet from course home page Internal economic costs (borne by users) • Fixed costs • Operating costs • Personal costs • Financial benefits?

16. Direct Costs paid by motorist • Fixed costs – insurance, licensing, registration and taxes • Finance charges – interest on borrowed money for vehicle purchase • Depreciation – The difference between what you paid for a car and what you can sell it for • Fuel and Oil Expenses • Maintenance and Tires • Parking

17. Direct Costs paid by motorist • Annual costs of ownership of most vehicles in US and Canada can be compared online at Vincentric website: • Brand Analysis by Segment - Ownership Costs

19. 284,763 212,454 Baht– exch.05 Feb 13 246,688

20. Direct and Societal Costs Travel time • cost to drivers of unpaid time • cost to employers for work time spent in travel • costs of opportunities lost to travel time • Measured door-to-door (including time spent parking and walking to and from vehicle.) Variable rate depending on congestion and travel distances • Litman, Todd, Transportation Cost Analysis: Techniques, Estimates,and Implications Victoria Transport Institute, June 2002

21. External economic costs (borne by society) • Infrastructure development and maintenance costs • Government subsidies to auto industry, petroleum industry, etc. • All other non-environmental external costs

22. Environmental costs

23. Environmental impacts of cars Impacts to… • Atmosphere (air) • Hydrosphere (water) • Lithosphere (soil) • Biosphere (biota) … affecting ecosystem process and function

24. Waste Disposal Costs • Disposal of tires, batteries, junked cars, oil and other hazardous and semi-hazardous materials are environmental costs paid by all. • Litman, Todd, Transportation Cost Analysis: Techniques, Estimates,and Implications Victoria Transport Institute, June 2002

25. Resource Consumption Costs • Cars use many nonrenewable natural resources – petroleum, metals and synthetic rubber. • Passenger vehicles account for 40% of petroleum products consumed in the U.S. each year. • Environmental and national defense costs associated with extraction, processing, transport, recycling and depletion of non-renewable resources are not covered by the purchase prices of gas and automobiles. • Litman, Todd, Transportation Cost Analysis: Techniques, Estimates,and Implications Victoria Transport Institute, June 2002 • U.S. Department of Energy, "Conserve Resources for the Future Generations," [online] 2002 • Alliance to Save Energy, Increasing America's Fuel Economy, February 2002

26. Road Noise • Noise negatively affects human health and wildlife and it causes declines in property values. Noise mitigation measures are not always successful and come at a high price. • Litman, Todd, Transportation Cost Analysis: Techniques, Estimates,and Implications Victoria Transport Institute, June 2002

27. Atmosphere • Large scale atmospheric diffusion of pollutants • Local concentration of pollutants (e.g. urban smog) • Photochemical reactions e.g., ultraviolet light inducing reactions with ozone, SO2, NO2 • Climate change (global warming) • Acidic precipitation • Synergistic / cumulative effects (e.g. smog and greenhouse gases)

28. Hydrosphere Water Pollution Impacts include: • crankcase oil and fluid drips • roadside herbicides • leaking underground storage tanks • oil tanker spills contribute to water pollution, degradation of surface, ground and drinking water and destruction of wildlife habitat. Hydrologic Impacts include: • increased impervious surfaces • shoreline modifications • reduced groundwater recharge • Litman, Todd, Transportation Cost Analysis: Techniques, Estimates,and Implications Victoria Transport Institute, June 2002

29. Hydrosphere • Diffusion of pollutants in a dissolved or colloidal state. • Acidification of groundwater and underground water; loss of buffering capacity • Decline of pH following snow melt (aquatic organisms are particularly vulnerable) • Increased solubility and toxicity of heavy metals due to acidification • Additions of organic compounds, aluminum, lead, manganese, calcium, magnesium and potassium to water bodies through runoff • Contamination of ground and underground water by nitrates • Modification of hydrological systems by the construction and maintenance of automotive infrastructure

30. Lithosphere • Liberation of toxic metallic ions from soil (aluminum, cadmium, etc.) through acidification • Loss of soil nutrients, notably calcium and magnesium • Inhibition of nitrification • Inhibition of microbial decomposition through pH changes and toxic effects • Loss of soil flora and fauna • Fixation by plants of heavy metals (e.g. lead) and contamination • Consumption of land • Impacts of raw material extractions (metals, aggregates, fossil fuels)

31. Automobile production… • is among the world's most resource-intensive and polluting industries • is expanding globally • consumes the majority of the rubber, iron and lead in the United States • is also a top user of steel, zinc and copper • is responsible for a significant proportion of the massive pollution from primary resource industries • Clean Production Action.www.cleanproduction.org/ what/vehicles.htm

32. Environmental impacts of cars: Specific toxicants attributable to automobile use Image credit: www.epa.gov/.../programs/ caa/caaenfstatreq.html

33. Fuel and additives

34. Lead • gasoline additive banned in the 1970s • still sold for use in older vehicles in some jurisdictions (e.g. sales reinstated in UK, despite initial ban in 2000) • extremely toxic; can affect almost any organ in the body • low level chronic exposure to lead affects the nervous system (learning disorders) and the blood (anemia)

35. Lead • even low levels of lead can impair the mental abilities of children • soil in parts of West Oakland, CA is so highly contaminated with lead from highways and leaking underground petroleum storage tanks, that it qualifies as a Superfund Hazardous waste site

36. Benzene • Fuel additive (up to 5% in some areas) which improves the performance of unleaded gasoline • limited in Canada (since 1999) to < 1% by volume CEPA Benzene in Gasoline Regulations (SOR/97-493) • Sources in air: emissions from motor vehicles; evaporation losses during handling, distribution, and storage of gasoline

37. Benzene • levels are higher in urban areas (highest near filling stations, gasoline storage tanks and benzene producing and handling industries) • proven carcinogen; no known safe threshold level

38. MMT (Methylcyclopentadienyl manganese tricarbonyl) • used for many years in Canada as an additive to boost octane and to prevent valve problems in old cars designed for leaded fuel • a suspected neurotoxin and respiratory toxin (manganese may cause memory impairment, tremors, and psychosis similar to Parkinson's Disease)

39. MMT (Methylcyclopentadienyl manganese tricarbonyl) • banned in California and most of the US eastern seaboard • 85% of U.S. gasoline is MMT free • virtually every European country has also banned the additive • Government of Canada banned trade and transportation of MMT in 1996 due to health concerns

40. MMT (Methylcyclopentadienyl manganese tricarbonyl) • Ethyl Corporation (now Afton Chemical) used Chapter 11 of the NAFTA to sue Canada for 350 million dollars - the amount Ethyl says the ban cost them in lost profits and damage to their reputation(Chapter 11 allows corporations to sue a government for compensation if that government passes a law that harms a corporation's profits or reputation)

41. In an out of court settlement, the Govt. of Canada: • paid US $13 million in damages to Ethyl • agreed as a part of the settlement to allow MMT back into the Canadian market • issued a statement through Health Canada (now buried, and available through special request only) saying that the additive poses no health threat • Contrast health concerns with industry position (Afton Chemical, manufacturer of MMT)

42. Combustion Byproducts

43. Carbon monoxide (CO) • colorless and odorless gas • affects human health by impairing the oxygen-carrying capacity of blood • Fatal at high concentrations • Lower levels of CO can result in impaired perception, slowed reflexes, drowsiness, headaches and effects on the central nervous system, the heart, and blood circulation around the body

44. Carbon dioxide (CO2) • one of the major greenhouse gases contributing to global climate change • One-third of CO2 emissions in the U.S. are transportation-related • Cars, SUV’s and light trucks in the U.S. account for more than 300 million tons of CO2 emitted into the atmosphere each year • Litman, Todd, Transportation Cost Analysis: Techniques, Estimates,and Implications Victoria Transport Institute, June 2002 • Environmental Defense, "Carbon Emissions Fact Sheet: Clearing the Air on Climate Change," [online] July 2002

45. Oxides of nitrogen • include nitrogen dioxide (NO2), nitric oxide (NO), and nitrous oxide (N2O) • derived from automobile emissions • irritate the respiratory tract, reduce lung function, and increase susceptibility to asthma and viral infections • play a major role in the formation of acid rain and ground-level ozone

46. Hydrocarbons /VOCs • unburned or partly burned fuel from exhaust • some are carcinogenic; others cause drowsiness, eye and respiratory tract irritation, and coughing • react with nitrogen oxides to form tropospheric ozone, a principal component of photochemical smog

47. Photochemical smog • causes eye irritation, headaches, coughing, impaired lung function, and eye, nose and throat irritation. • asthmatics and children are most at risk • adverse health effects increase during heavy exercise or outdoor activity

48. Particulates • fine particles such assoot that result from the incomplete combustion of fuel • higher output from diesel engines • can aggravate respiratory diseases such as bronchitis and asthma • carcinogenic

49. Aldehydes • a group of chemicals emitted from car exhaust as a result of incomplete fuel combustion • pungent odor; responsible for much of the smell associated with traffic, particularly diesel vehicles

50. Aldehydes • cause irritation of the eyes, nose, and throat; sneezing, coughing, nausea, and breathing difficulties. • Children, the elderly, and asthmatics most sensitive • Some (e.g., formaldehyde) are carcinogenic