By the turn of the twentieth century, what had been a technical curiosity, a rich man’s plaything, and a noise-belching menace to the nerves of humans and horses alike, began to gain acceptance.
Over the years, the car has been viewed as a benefactor as well as an environmental threat, as a boon to individualism, freedom, and liberation, and as the bane of modern society. Beyond its role as polluter and artifact, the automobile has transformed the city and the countryside as much as or more than any technology designed by humans.ĭespite its dramatic impact, the environmental history of the automobile is not easy to depict. Derelict or scrapped vehicles pile up once automobiles end their productive lives. Since the internal combustion engine continues to dominate automobile propulsion, cars dispense vast amounts of pollution in the form of air emissions, noise, used oil, and disposable parts. Once on the road, automobiles are the prime consumers of oil and gas, stimulating increased drilling, transporting, and refining of petroleum products to meet the rising demand. The production process itself consumes enormous amounts of energy, and the factory output produces its own array of pollutants. The building of automobiles requires gathering vast quantities of metal, glass, plastics, rubber, and other materials, and then assembling thousands of vehicles through human and machine labor. From the manufacturing process to the junkyard, cars-and all motorized vehicles for that matter-consume resources pollute the air, land, and water and transform space. The impact of the automobile and the auto-centered transport system on the American environment has been enormous. The Automobile and the Environment in American History Automobile and the Environment in American History: Introduction
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