The evolution of the automobile industry has brought in several changes in the world. The book entitled “Twentieth-Century Technologies” mainly focuses on the automobile industry and its evolution in the United States. Though the basic idea of automobiles began way back in the 18th century, it was only in the early 1900s this industry gained popularity in the US. The history of the automobile industry in the US points out that there was hardly any competition prior to the world war. However, after the Second World War, other nations such as Japan and European countries also joined the industry and created massive growth.
With this development came several other advantages such as improving road connectivity, developing efficient fuel, improving engine efficiency, etc. There were also several policies that were formulated in order to encourage and support the goal of the automobile industry. There is no doubt that these developments helped human society tremendously. In fact, these developments, including other technological advances, can be said to have connected the entire world into a global village.
Building roads, maintaining them, and increasing connectivity have become major developmental activities in past centuries. These infrastructures have not only made way for automobiles but also disturbed the habitat of other earthly inhabitants. Increasing demand for automobiles and increasing pressure on the environment due to pollution are serious concerns. Fuels such as petrol and diesel are a source of highly toxic oxides of sulfur and nitrogen, in addition to carbon monoxide and hydrocarbons. With the ever-increasing growth of the automobile industry, the problems such as ozone depletion, increased traffic, depletion of fossil fuel, air pollution, etc., are a major cause of concern.
Extensive use of automobiles that run on gasoline are a major source of several environmental and social problems such as decreasing fuel source, increased harmful emissions, noise pollution, as well as ever-increasing demand for infrastructure with the worsened traffic congestion. This is the challenge for the present-day scientific community around the world to find a solution within the next few decades before fuel sources are completely depleted, and more irreversible environmental damage is done.
Today, the atmosphere is polluted by the by-products of gasoline or diesel combustion that contain a variety of harmful gases and particles such as carbon monoxide (CO), hydrocarbons (HC), nitrogen oxides (NOx), ozone particles, and some toxic hydrocarbons such as benzene. These are poisonous gases, and carbon monoxide is one that poses a serious threat to human health, such as impaired vision, breathing problems, etc. Pollutants such as nitrogen oxides also have adverse effects on health as well as the environment. Greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, and methane increase the earth’s surface temperatures are causing overall climate change and global warming.
The evolution of the automobile industry in the initial stages has resulted in policies that encouraged the growth of this industry. Recent years have seen several policies to cut down vehicular pollution and other problems.
The automotive industry, with many challenges, will require proficiency and facts from various fields of engineering. Today, the aim of these industries is to develop a transportation system that is clean and energy-efficient at the same time, provides individuals affordable and economical mode of locomotion. The opportunities are endless with these new developments. It is possible that the researchers may come up with innovative technologies that may be beneficial and more eco-friendly. It is important to keep in mind that future technological advancement needs to be sustainable so that future generations will not have to suffer the depletion of resources.