CAR COSTS II - March 1995 

     THE CAR FACTS PROJECT - Notes on the real costs of cars
     (tgomberg@freenet.edmonton.ab.ca)


Please credit information used, and send comments and
critiques.
current version:  Dec. 28, 1993

-400 million cars on the roads (sep)
-they burn almost 50% of world's fossil fuels (sep)
-1/3 of urban landscape for roads, parking lots, driveways
(sep)
-create many of pollutants washing into storm sewers (sep)
-contribute 40% of world's nitric acid and volatile organic
compounds (which create smog) (sep)
-responsible for 70% of world's man-made carbon monoxide
(sep)
-1/4 of N. America's carbon monoxide (sep)
-auto air conditioning responsible for more than 10% of CFC's
that are destroying ozone layer (sep)
-motor vehicles account for more of the world's air pollution
than any other human activity (sep)
-UBC environmental planner calling for bike routes and better
municipal zoning (sep)
-in Canada 15 million passenger vehicles (more than twice as
there were 20 years ago) (sep)
-gas consumption up 2.5% from 1987-1988 (sep)
-it's estimated that 45% of cars on road would fail emission
tests (sep)
-one 80 litre tank of gas puts 56kg. of carbon into the
atmosphere (176k of carbon dioxide) (sep)
-in LA people forced to ride in car pools, and officials want
to
rid streets of gas-powered vehicles within 20 years (sep)
-Michael Renner of Worldwatch institute believes that real
costs
of cars would include an extra $3,000 annually per car for
maintaining roads, parking lots, health care and
environmental
problems (sep)
-that would triple gas costs (sep)
-"Cars are the enemy" says fed. env. minister Lucien Bouchard
-each year 300 million litres of motor oil "vanishes" into
the
environment in Canada (that's 8X Valdez!) (sep)
SEP=Southam Environment Project
(SEP by Margaret Munro, Vancouver Sun)


-total miles driven in non-communist industrial world in 1985
2.5
trillion- half a light year! (wwm36)
-research from the Univ. of Miami show that the hidden costs
of
burning gasoline in auto engines are $0.80 per gallon (wwm36)
-Univ. of Cal at Davis scientists estimate that the use of
gasoline and diesel fuel in the US may cause 30,000 premature
deaths annually, especially among those suffering respiratory
ailments (wwm36)
-ground level ozone blamed for massive damage to Central
European
forest (wwm38)
-US Natn'l Crop Loss Assessment Program estimates that annual
ozone damage to four crops alone- corn, wheat, soybeans, and
peanuts may top $4 billion (wwm38)
-total acid rain damage to forest and aquatic ecosystems and
agricultural production in the US estimated at more than $5
billion per year (wwm38)
-diesel cars emit less CO, hydrocarbons and nitrogen oxides
than
gasoline powered cars, but the particulates they release
carry
carcinogenic compounds called polycyclic aromatic
hydrocarbons
(PAHs) that can lodge in the human lung (wwm40)
--new evidence is that ozone is unhealthy at considerably
lower
levels than previously assumed, and that ozone may have
cumulative effects (wwm41)
-operating a vehicle on methanol emits less CO2 than would
gasoline, but when the CO2 from the coal is included, it
doubles
the CO2 emissions(wwm43)
-natural gas has a 6-15% fuel efficiency over gas vehicles,
and
lower CO and particulates.  More NOx though, and more
methane, a
potent greenhouse gas so greenhouse warming is only slightly
reduced (wwm43)
-Athens, Budapest, Rome and Sao Paulo restrict cars to battle
pollution(wwm43)
-in Athens ozone based smog claims as many as 40 per year
(ww38)
-automobile fuels account for 17% of worldwide emissions of
carbon dioxide (wwm36)
-it took 50 years to get the lead out, even knowing the
hazards
(wwm37)
WWM=World Watch Magazine Vol. 1, #6 Nov./Dec. 1988
(WWM by Michael Renner, Worldwatch Institute, w(202)
452-1999,
h(718)956-7615

-roads destroy ecosystems by stripping vegetation, destroying
habitats, filling streams, etc. (ni12)
-asphalt is made from toxic tar that remains from coal and
oil
processing (ni12)
-to it is added aggregate from incinerators and power plants
which often contains dangerous heavy metals like cadmium and
mercury, and they slowly leach into the land and water (ni12)


-in the US 360,000 sq. miles, 10% of arable land has been
paved,
that's an area the size of England (ni12)
-parking lots are empty 80% of the time, and between parking
spaces at home, work and shopping centre the average car uses
3X
the space of the average home (ni12)
-motor vehicles in 1985 accounted for 65% of petroleum
consumed
in US (ni12)
-Canadians use about 800 gallons per car (ni12)
-pumping oil from the ground requires great quantities of
water
to push it out and fill the space, and in the process
drilling
brines and solvents contaminate groundwater (ni12)
-our oil addiction is taking us into sensitive wilderness
areas
-200 million pounds of plastics used annually in cars (ni13)
-2 pounds of hazardous waste produced per pound of plastic
(ni13)
-burning plastic from cars accounts for much of poisonous
dioxins
being released (ni13)
-each year 100 million lead car batteries are discarded,
releasing lead into the environment (ni13)
-CO slows the rate which oxygen is absorbed into the
bloodstream. 
Small exposures cause shortness of breath and decreased
alertness.  Large amounts can kill (ni13)
-less than 1 part per million nitrogen oxides can disable
people
with chronic respiratory diseases (ni13)
-hydrocarbons such as benzene are known carcinogens (ni13)
-diesels produce large quantities of particulates which
produce
cancer (ni13)
-gasoline and diesel fuels are distilled at refineries which
produce toxic waste and toxic air emissions, and cause
increased
cancer and occupational disease (ni13)
-deadly additives like lead, ethylene dibromide, benzene,
toluene
and xylene are added to improve performance (ni13)
(NI pps 12&13 written by Eric Draper, Clean Water Action,
Washington DC)


-in the US the car industry uses 1/5 of steel, 2/3 of its
rubber
(ni6)
-LA has nation's second largest bus fleet, but only 3% of
trips
by bus (ni11)
-a standard 6 lane highway can carry 85,000 cars or 120,000
people, and with junctions, approach roads, hard shoulders
every
mile of motorway takes up nearly 25 acres.  A double track
railway can easily move 200,000 people a day, on less than
1/6
the land (ni11)


-more than 100,000 cars produced each day, 1/3 owned by an
american (ni16)
-more than 250,000 people killed in car accidents in 1985
(ni16)
-people per car: Canada 2.2, US 1.8 (ni16)
-GM largest company in world- $40 billion in 1986, in 1980
12% of
global trade in manufactured goods was car related (ni17)


-7 times more likely to die of traffic accidents than
homicides
(CKUA)


-the president of Sweden's largest auto maker, Volvo, said
that
private cars should be banned from big cities to curb air
pollution and traffic congestion (Globe and Mail, June 26,
1989)
-the model American male devotes more than 1600 hours a year
to
his car, sitting in it while moving and idling, parking it
and
searching for it, working to pay for gasoline, tolls,
insurance,
taxes, tickets.(ee120)
-he spends 4 of his sixteen waking hours on the road or
gathering
resources for it (ee120)
-does not include time spent in hospital, traffic court,
garages,
watching car commercials, etc.  He puts in 1600 hours to
travel
7500 miles- less than 5 mph.  Walking is the same, and in
poorer
countries only takes 3-8% of time budget (ee120)
-18 bikes can park in the space of one car, 30 can move along
in
the space of a single auto.  It takes 3 lanes of a given size
to
move 40,000 people across a bridge in one hour using
automated
trains, 4 by bus, 12 by car, and 2 by bike. (ee137)
EE=Energy and Equity by Ivan Illich, in Toward a History of
Needs


-US dept of public health blames 60% of air pollution on the
car,
electric power plants 14% (db7)

-cars produce 82% of all CO poisoning, 1/5 of all energy used
in
US, 74% of all rubber, 63% of all lead (ks252)

-60% of urban trips less than 2.5 miles

-more than 500 people killed and 20,000 injured on Alberta
roads
each year (Pounder, Ed. Journal 89/6/23, from Alb. Dept. of
Transp. re 1987)
-Edmonton 1988- 44 dead, 5146 injured (Edmonton Police)
-Canada deaths, 1986= 3922 (Gov't of Canada Statistics)


-if you buy a car and keep it for 3 years and drive it
96,000kms,
it could range from $6559 for a Chev. Cavalier- $2,144 for
operations, $4,415 for fixed costs, to $10,756 for a Cadillac
DeVille ($2976 operate, $7,780 fixed).  Over $18/day (nac24)
-in Vancouver off peak costs $1.15, during rush hours a 3
zone
system takes effect, with long journeys costing $2.20, and
1/4 of
Vancouverites rush hour commute by Transit (nac25)
NAC= Do You Rally Need a Car? Robert J. Sawyer, Your Money,
May
1988

 
-there are 281 gas stations in Edmonton (tr689)
jjj-more than 950 million litres of gasoline and 324 million
litres of diesel sold in Edmonton in 1987 (tr689)
-1/10 of a cent per litre tax would raise approx $1.27
million
(tr689)
TR689=Transportation Report to Edmonton City Council, June
19,
1989


-City of Edmonton expects that farebox recovery from Transit
be
40-45% of Regular Transit Service Operating Costs


jjj-a plan in Denver Colorado is being studied where roadside
sensors would monitor passing cars, and those failing to meet
CO
standards would have to be cleaned up or kept out.  Denver
found
that 80% of exhaust pollution was coming from 10% of the cars
(ej89115)
-suggestions were to raise parking rates from current $8
minimum
to $50 per day, increase gas tax to fund rapid transit,
charge
tolls to drive into the city core, or ask employers to
provide
car allowance equivalent to those who walk or cycle to work
(ej89115)
-suggestions were to raise parking rates from current $8
minimum
to $50 per day, increase gas tax to fund rapid transit,
charge
tolls to drive into the city core, or ask employers to
provide
car allowance equivalent to those who walk or cycle to work
(ej89115)
EJ89115= Edmonton Journal, Nov. 5, 1989 "Pollution Problem
Grows
with the City" (about Toronto)


-a new $300 million plant is being built in Edmonton to
produce
MTBE (methyl tertiary butyl ether) a lead substitute for
gasoline
(ej89114)
-Alberta will produce methanol for California, but the fuel
produces 10X more formaldehyde, a carcinogen, than gasoline
(ej89114)
EJ89114=Edmonton Journal, Nov. 4, 1989 p.G1 Alberta's
Methanol
May Help Fuel LA's Drive for Cleaner Air


-diesels are 20-25% more efficient, but are dirtier and
noisier

-air pollution is a major contributor to disease, especially
among children.  The 1988 World Health Organization report
says
that "there is substantial evidence implicating exposure to
high
levels of outdoor pollution in the genesis of Chronic airways
diseases" which include chronic bronchitis, pulmonary
emphysema,
asthma, and chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases.  
Particular
care is required to avoid exposure of young children to high
levels of pollution.  Federal and provincial air monitoring
figures show that Edmonton's air exceeded the 8 hour Maximum
Acceptable Level for carbon monoxide 16 times between 1983
and
1988.  Twelve of those times were in the last 2 years of that
period.  (cs1089)
-traffic congestion, new chemical plants on refinery row,
more
temperature inversions probably caused by global warming may
be
at fault (cs1089)
CS1089= Clean Slate Media Release, Oct. 1989


space: in North America, a typical building allots about 200
sq.
ft. for each employee, while approx. 325 sq. ft is needed for
each parking space, including the space, ramps, and aisles. 
Developers set aside 1,300 sq ft of parking for every 1,000
sq
ft. of office space.  Leinberter, Christopher B. and Charles
Lockwood, 1986, "How Business is Reshaping America". Atlantic
Monthly, 258(4) 43-52)

-Jan. 1990 study by the American Lung Assoc. estimates that
motor
vehicle emissions responsible for $40 - 94 billion in annual
health care expenditures, and as many as 120,000 premature
deaths
each year (cm- clean motion) 

-Florence, Milan, Rome and other Italian cities have closed
their
central areas to all but essentiona and residents vehicles. 
Milan providing 1,000 yellow bicycles for the people of Milan
(league of american wheelmen fact sheet)

-1% decrease in ozone means 4-6% increase in some types of
skin
cancer (tca- the changing atmosphere conference statement)

-ozone in parts of southern hemisphere down by 3% (tca)

-gm and co-horts convicted in 1949 of conspiracy
(h281-Harpers
2/81)

--electric transit was popular (h281)

-bought up and wrecked electric transit systems in 30's and
40's
(h281)

-acid rain: 70% SO2 sulphates , 30% nitrates form internal
combustion engines



References to get:
-Driving Force,R.Kaplinsky and K. Hoffman, Westview Press
1988
-The Car Culture, James Flick, MIT Press, 1975