Life and death

Cars have declared war on the earth, say ecologists, and it is a war humanity must not let them win. Anna Timms reports on the advance of the life-threatening armies

There are now 124 million cars in the European Community. Car ownership has increased by 8 per cent since 1985 and is likely to grow another third by the year 2010, according to EC predictions.

If drastic action is not taken soon to limit pollution caused by the growing army of cars, then many animal and plant species could die out and large areas of the world become submerged under the sea.

Exhaust fumes are responsible for 90 per cent of the carbon dioxide emissions in most European cities. They are the direct cause of the life-threatening intensification of the greenhouse effect, the cocktail of gases which traps solar radiation reflected from the Earth’s surface.

Anita Gordon, a scientific broadcaster and author of a new book, It’s a Matter of Survival, warns that if urgent measures are not taken within the next decade, world temperatures will rise by five degrees Celsius. This will place stress on natural and social systems unprecedented since the Ice Age.

She predicts that grain harvests will dwindle and sea levels will rise dramatically, causing hordes of refugees to flee to cities. Denmark, Holland and the south-east of England are at risk from flooding.

Miss Gordon said: «It’s not a question of being «green», it’s a question of survival. The car has declared war on this planet and we must not let it win».

In some cities air pollution caused by cars has already reached crisis level, posing a serious health risk to their inhabitants. Duncan McLaren of the pressure group Friends of the Earth says that London is particularly badly affected: «Ninety per cent of the particles in the air we breathe are from car fumes. The blackening effect on city buildings is clear to see – Britain alone spends &90 million ($151 million) a year cleaning them – so imagine what it is doing to our lungs».

Asthma, bronchitis and brain strokes are just three of the consequences of traffic pollution. Dr. Robert Read of the British Lung Foundation estimates that ten per cent of Europe’s population has lung problems aggravated by traffic fumes. Traffic noise is another hazard leading to stress-related physical symptoms and aggression, while acid rain, caused when sulphur and other exhaust gases are dissolved in the atmosphere, is eating away at plants, woodlands and buildings.

European governments are tackling the problems in the wrong way, according to the environmentalists. Extensive road construction is not the answer.

Nicholas Henley of the EC urban environment unit said: «It just encourages more traffic. If anything, the roads should be narrowed».

He recommends tighter parking restrictions. «Oslo has introduced road tolls which make people think twice, while Germany taxes cars according to their emission levels».

But until countries improve their public transport systems the problem will never be solved. While Scandinavia is trying to force people onto trams to reduce congestion, some other countries are actually cutting services.

«The real answer is to rethink our life patterns», said McLaren. «Our cities need to be much more compact with facilities and employment on hand in residential areas to reduce the need to travel».

So how can we be «green» and mobile? «Cycling is ideal», said Henley. Miss Gordon suggests solar and hydrogen-powered vehicles, while Norway already has gas-powered buses in operation. But it did once seem that Brazil had found the best answer by masking fuel alcohol from its abundance of sugar. Though this is a cheap way to get round the expense of importing oil, it needs a hot climate to function properly.

And in any case, it is turning out to be by no means pollution-free. Tinkering with what drives cars is perhaps not the solution at all.