اسباب التلوث بالانجليزي
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The main causes of air pollution are related to the ignition of
fossil fuels (coal, oil and gas). The combustion of these raw materials occurs
mainly during or in the operation of the industrial and land transport sectors.
In the industrial sector it is necessary to differentiate the factories (for
example, cement or steel) and the power plants (which produce half of the
electricity consumed in our country).
The main causes of air pollution are related to the ignition of
fossil fuels (coal, oil and gas). The combustion of these raw materials occurs
mainly during or in the operation of the industrial and land transport sectors.
In the industrial sector it is necessary to differentiate the factories (for
example, cement or steel) and the power plants (which produce half of the
electricity consumed in our country).
The division of responsibilities in air pollution between the
industrial sector and land transport is clearly imbalanced towards transport.
About 80% of air pollution in Spain is due to road traffic.
Modern societies have organized themselves in connection with
transport, as in other aspects, and against all the basic principles of Nature.
As humanity has become surrounded by technologies, the means of transport have
acquired a more mechanical character, trying to satisfy two basic tendencies,
independently of the problems they may cause: on the one hand, increase of
speed and secondly allow a relative independence of the users. This surge in
transportation technology has resulted in greater convenience and efficiency in
service, but on the other hand, it is causing an intolerable increase in the
environmental and social impacts associated with this activity, between other
air pollution.
In Spain, transport uses almost 40% of the total energy consumed
(the EU average is 30%), this figure increases to 50% if we consider the
productive cycle of transport as a whole. Looking at the complete transport
cycle, not only does the fuel used by vehicles to move (the energy cost of
official statistics) be counted, but also the energy consumed in the
manufacture of the vehicle, the construction road infrastructure, its
maintenance and, ultimately, the destruction of the vehicle.
The road is today a means of transport and continues to gain
ground against the railways, as long as the development of road transport has
to be blamed on the unbridled increase of transport. Road transport represents
90% of the various means of transport, compared to the train which remains at a
small 5%. In road transport, the private car consumes half of the energy
resources , while public transport only consumes 3%. The average occupancy
index for private vehicles is 1.2 persons per car. In the city, half of the trips
made by car are for distances less than 3 kilometers, and about 10% for
journeys of less than 500 meters.
The same thing happens with the passenger traffic, but also with
the goods, which are mainly transported by road: on average 70% of the total
transport in the EU countries, which goes up to 90% in Spain, which means that
the train has gradually lost importance, abandoning lines and services, to
represent nowadays only 4.2% of this traffic. This rail decline coincided with
a large increase in freight transport, which was multiplied by 3 as a
consequence of the enlargement of the EU (with the entry of Spain and Portugal,
among others) which causes serious congestion problems in the main European
cities, congestion that is already happening 100km from major cities.
On the other hand, the transport of goods by road to a
significant environmental impact, which also continues to increase. Although
trucks represent only 10% of vehicles, they emit between 30 and 40% of nitrogen
oxides and suspended particles. They are also responsible for most of the
sulfur dioxide emissions from road transport.
This predominant situation is not the result of a natural
evolution of the economy, but it responds to transport policies that benefited
the latter to the detriment of others through fiscal measures, subsidies and
construction. infrastructure (year after year the road takes between 60 and 70%
of major investments in transport), although it is the least efficient means of
transport and creates environmental problems. This supremacy given to the
automobile supposes the abandonment of the concept of transport as a public service
that the State must provide to all citizens, which means the exclusion of all
those who do not have a car or a driving license. driving, who each time
encounter more mobility problems.
In the same way, behind this evolution is not only the relative
advantages of speed and comfort, but also the triumph of the excessive
productivist model imposed from the public and private authorities. This model
moves users and goods to private transport and means of transportation that are
less energy efficient.
In general, transport is considered as one more economic
activity, the optimal state of which is indefinite development and the best tax
possible. In Spain, the growth of transport is distributed in such a way that
it is the means of transport that causes the most environmental impact that
receive the greatest support and public investment, such as the automobile, the
high speed train and the 'plane.
The lack of policy conviction despite the facts stems, in part,
from the fact that they are largely immersed in the automotive culture they
promote, trying to solve congestion by increasing the capacity of the roads,
causing a greater traffic and, in the first instance, more congestion with more
vehicles in circulation. Thus, they persist in an obsolete policy that has
already largely demonstrated its inefficiency for more than thirty years.
industry
In December 2002 we celebrated the 50th anniversary of the great
smog episode in London. Stagnant weather conditions led to a sharp increase in
the concentration of air pollutants, due to gaseous emissions from industry,
for four days. As a result 4000 people died. This event did not lack
precedents, already in the 30s reports appeared on similar facts in
industrialized countries. This represents the peak of a trend that began with
the Industrial Revolution of the nineteenth century and whose specificity
depended on the consumption of fossil fuels. Twenty years ago, after the
strongest of a successful period in the reduction of traditional air pollutants,
it was thought that with concentrations found in developed countries the
negative effects of pollution on health could be considered negligible.
However, in the next two decades, air pollution came to the fore, emerging as a
major environmental health problem, caused mainly by transportation and leaving
the industry a secondary but significant role. We can not forget that in recent
years (2000, 2002, 2004, 2005) our country has exceeded the national emission
ceiling for Large Combustion Plants (which include thermal power generation
plants , but also refineries and other major polluters) for Nitrogen Oxides (
NOx ).
Conclusion
To summarize, transportation is the main cause of air pollution
in industry, whether factories or electricity generation. In transport, private
vehicles are mainly responsible for poor air quality. Which means that the use
of the car largely causes the serious problem we are talking about.
