Eco - friendly automobile owners are becoming more and more concerned about what ’s coming out of their railcar ' tailpipes . When an engine burn fossil fuel , it breathe a wide variety of potentially harmful substances : carbon copy monoxide , glasshouse gases , sulfur oxides , nitrogen oxides , hydrocarbons and so on .

What do those substances really mean for the environment and our wellness ? The news program is n’t good : Carbon monoxide makes it hard for the profligate to bear oxygen and can make essence and lung disease . S dioxide can cause acid rain . Nitrogen oxides do the xanthous dark-brown haze that hovers over crowded cities . Carbon dioxide can lead to the dreadedgreenhouse effect– the trapping of gas and heating to make the atmosphere warmer than it should be – and hydrocarbons can make cancer [ source : Electric Auto Association ] .

In other Son , we ’re all driving around in machine that are destructive to our wellness , our surroundings and – as many scientist believe – are heavily contributing to world warming .

We ’re still a few years away from having affordable and promptly available machine on the road that eject no harmful emanation , likehydrogen fuel cellor all - galvanic vehicles . Until then , there are a few things that all of us can do to cut down on fuel consumption and car defilement . For example , we can concentrate on fuel efficiency and eco - friendly drive by buy low - emissions vehicles and check that our car pass the yearly emissions inspections mandated in many nation . These inspections try out your railway car ’s prophylactic features and mechanical state , and they also make indisputable your car ’s not polluting too much , which is peculiarly important for older gondola that lack today ’s modern emission - ascendency technology .

Because of the dangers they pose to the environs , fomite discharge need to be closely controlled and supervise to keep the atmosphere above our route and urban center from filling with smog . For this purpose , the Union governing and some states have established emission credential standards – rule that govern the amount of harmful emissions that vehicles can de jure eject .

In this clause , we ’ll discuss how the emission certification standards work and learn more about light-green drive .

Establishing Emission Certification Standards

After the end of World War II , Americans began moving en masse shot out of the cities and into the suburbia . These Modern suburbanite need car to make their day-after-day commute , and the nation presently started motoring on an unprecedented level . Along with the increase in automobile on the road came an increase in fuel consumption – and an unexpected rise in air travel pollution . California became the first state to establish clean zephyr standard , due in part to the neighborhood ’s heat and natural topography that snare smog over engorged city like Los Angeles . By the forties , resident had already begun to suffer from watery optic and respiratory problems as a result of the added defilement [ source : Melosi ] .

By the 1960s – at the objections of auto manufacturer – California began ask various expelling control devices be grade on gondola . This is what led to the advent ofcatalytic convertersand the demise of leash - based gasoline . In 1970 , President Richard Nixon signed the Clean Air Act into law . This human action gave the federal Environmental Protection Agency ( EPA ) the authority to protect and improve the nation ’s air timbre [ source : EPA ] . The Clean Air Act direct to declines in carbon copy monoxide , hydrocarbon and nitrogen oxide emission [ source : Melosi ] . The act has since undergo a few revisions – several major revisions in 1990 and some minor ace in the years since .

The 1990 act proposed two national " tier " that spelled out exactly how car maker must reduce emissions . The Tier 1 standards drop dead into effect in the mid-1990s , and are currently being phased out for stricter Tier 2 standards . Under the Tier 2 rules , SUVs , pickups , vans and large passenger vehicle are subject to the same internal emission touchstone as car . It also mandates the use of low - sulfur petrol that will allow car to unravel cleaner and says that diesel engine engines must abide by the same emissions standards as gasoline engines [ generator : EPA ] .

California ’s emission standards are stricter than the federal ones . commonwealth can choose to follow the California standard if they choose , and several do . Cars are classified fit in to a number of acronyms :

On the next page , we ’ll examine how car maker comply with federal and body politic discharge regulation to help promote fuel efficiency and green drive . We ’ll also see how eco - friendly driving technologies can aid us reduce our carbon footprint .

Complying with Emission Certification Standards

Under grade 2 standard , vehicles are disunite into emissions standards calledbins . There are 11 bin currently , range from 1 ( the clean vehicle ) to 11 ( the most polluting ) . A binful 1 fomite is equivalent to a zero - emission fomite ; 5 is the fair railroad car ( all new vehicles must run across this standard for nitric oxide emission ) and 11 is applied only to very enceinte trucks [ root : GreenerCars.org ] . Under Tier 2 , light duty trucks like SUVs are also subject to the same emissions standards as passenger cars , irrespective of weight .

So , how do you make your car greener ? There are several agency .

First , witness out how your vehicle is classified allot to the emanation standard . An automaker ’s website will probably have this information , and many cars have the emissions evaluation on a stumper in the windowpane . All newer cars , however , have a compulsory recording label under the hood that identifies the emission standard .

secondly , get your car inspect each year and make trusted it complies with your state ’s emissions standards . During the inspection , a auto-mechanic will place your gondola on a ergometer – a kind of treadmill for a car that lease it travel at dissimilar speeds while staying in place – with a twist hook up to the tailpipe . Your auto will fail the run if it releases an excessively mellow amount of hydrocarbons , carbon monoxide or nitrogen oxides [ source : Texas Department of Public Safety ] .

Besides the fact that the law in many states take drivers to get a annual review , and that the automobile shop class will verify yourbrakesand other mechanical and electric constituent are working aright while you ’re there , this psychometric test will keep you from driving around in a smog - spew clunker . What ’s more , these cars unremarkably get better fuel economy , so you do n’t have to worry as much about uneconomical fuel consumption on the road .

For those seem to purchase a new car or a late build up used car , there are many models available with lowly emissions in mind . For instance , theToyota Priusis a ABA transit number 3 car , while theHonda Civic Hybridis even lower at bin 2 . Ford ’s Escape Hybrid is a bin 3 fomite , which is an telling rating for an SUV . Under the tough California emissions standards , the non - intercrossed Toyota Yaris and Honda Fit are both considered extremist - Low Emissions Vehicles [ source : GreenerCars.org ] .

Someday we just may all be drivingelectricorhydrogen - power carsthat do n’t give off chemicals that harm our health or the surround . But until then , we ’ll simply have to make do by maximizing our car ’s fuel efficiency , by con as much about green drive as we can , and by check that our older auto do n’t pollute too much .

For more information regarding discharge certification and eco - friendly driving , take a look at the links on the next varlet .

Lots More Information

source