اسباب
التلوث بالانجليزي
اسباب التلوث بالانجليزي
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Causes of
air pollution
"
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, although it is the least efficient means of transport...
