Gasoline-powered cars are all the rage around the globe. They drive us to school, to work, to the store — and to entertaining destinations with family and friends. But did you know that gasoline-powered cars can have some impact on the environment, too?
The environmental footprint of gas-burning cars is something scientists and experts spend a lot of time contemplating. When cars burn gas as a way to make them go, they let off a thing called carbon dioxide in the air. This carbon dioxide can thicken the atmosphere of Earth, and such a thickened atmosphere can warm the Earth. This is called global warming. Something called global warming can cause the weather all over the world to be different in ways that could be worse for people, animals, and even plants.
But cars powered by gas have evolved a good deal over their history. Gas-powered cars have become dramatically cleaner and more efficient. Or car engineers have developed new technologies, to help cars burn gas more cleanly. They have also produced engines that burn less gas to travel the same distance. Which is to say that cars have never been cleaner.
Gasoline prices can also be all over the place for cars that have gas tanks. Gas prices rise and gas prices fall. These can be a result of things like the world’s oil supply changing, or they can come as a result of things like taxes placed on gas by the government. higher gas prices it can cost more money at the pump to fill your car with gas. This can increase the cost of using a car.
There are pros and cons to cars that are powered by gas. One advantage is that gas is readily available in much of the world. There are gas stations on practically every corner, so you can fill a car with gas rather easily. Another advantage is that cars running on gasoline can become extremely fast and can cover huge distances without stopping.
But there are also drawbacks to gas-burning cars. One obvious downside is that burning gas can be harmful to the planet, as we discussed in an earlier lesson. Gas-powered cars also can be noisy and can pollute the air. Petrol is also produced from oil, which is a non-renewable source. This tells us that at some point we will not be able to make gas any more, because we will run out of oil.
One day, gas-guzzling cars could be a thing of the past. New technologies are being developed by scientists and engineers that would enable vehicles to be powered by things other than gas — such as electricity or hydrogen. Some of these green energy sources can be even better for the environment than gas. They can also be more economical and cleaner to operate.
