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Turn: Environment

US cars key to global emissions.

West ‘12

(Larry, 20-year professional writer and editor who has written many articles about environmental issues for leading newspapers, magazines and online publications citing from: John DeCicco, author of the report and senior fellow at Environmental Defense, “U.S. Autos Account for Half of Global Warming Linked to Cars Worldwide,” http://environment.about.com/od/globalwarming/a/autoemissions.htm)

U.S. automobiles and light trucks are responsible for nearly half of all greenhouse gases emitted by automobiles globally, according to a new study by Environmental Defense.The study, Global Warming on the Road [PDF], also found that the Big Three automakers—General Motors, Ford and DaimlerChrysler—accounted for nearly three-quarters of the carbon dioxide released by cars and pickup trucks on U.S. roads in 2004, the latest year for which statistics were available.“Cutting greenhouse gas emissions from U.S. automobiles will be critical to any strategy for slowing global warming,” said John DeCicco, author of the report and senior fellow at Environmental Defense, in a press release. “To address global warming, we’ll need a clear picture of what sources are contributing to the problem. This report details, by automaker and vehicle type, the greenhouse gas contributions from America's auto sector, for the first time.”Carbon dioxide emissions from personal vehicles in the United States equaled 314 million metric tons in 2004. That much carbon could fill a coal train 55,000 miles long—long enough to circle the Earth twice. Cars and trucks made by GM gave off 99 million metric tons of carbon dioxide or 31 percent of the total; Ford vehicles emitted 80 million metric tons or 25 percent; and Daimler Chrysler vehicles emitted 51 million metric tons or 16 percent, according to the report.

Global warming leads to extinction

Mazo 10 – PhD in Paleoclimatology from UCLA, Jeffrey Mazo, Managing Editor, Survival and Research Fellow for Environmental Security and Science Policy at the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London, 3-2010, “Climate Conflict: How global warming threatens security and what to do about it,” pg. 122
The best estimates for global warming to the end of the century range from 2.5-4.~C above pre-industrial levels, depending on the scenario. Even in the best-case scenario, the low end of the likely range is 1.6°C, and in the worst 'business as usual' projections, which actual emissions have been matching, the range of likely warming runs from 3.1--7.1°C. Even keeping emissions at constant 2000 levels (which have already been exceeded), global temperature would still be expected to reach 1.2°C (O'9""1.5°C)above pre-industrial levels by the end of the century." Without early and severe reductions in emissions, the effects of climate change in the second half of the twenty-first century are likely to be catastrophic for the stability and security of countries in the developing world - not to mention the associated human tragedy. Climate change could even undermine the strength and stability of emerging and advanced economies, beyond the knock-on effects on security of widespread state failure and collapse in developing countries.' And although they have been condemned as melodramatic and alarmist, many informed observers believe that unmitigated climate change beyond the end of the century could pose an existential threat to civilisation." What is certain is that there is no precedent in human experience for such rapid change or such climatic conditions, and even in the best case adaptation to these extremes would mean profound social, cultural and political changes.

AT Green cars

Oil companies prevent green cars

Diamond 11 (Regina L. Diamond studies Arts And Sciences at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, NJ.,2011, Student Pulse Vol. 3 No. 01 http://www.studentpulse.com/articles/353/big-oils-stranglehold-on-america “Big Oil's Stranglehold on America“)
Big oil’s ruthless supply and demand tactics have monopolized the entire energy industry by shredding competitors’ attempts to offer alternatives. Consumers are thus forced to surrender their right to choose due to the aggressive techniques being used by the oil industry to prevent the use of clean energy. Unfortunately, the American government has historically sided with the oil tycoons. In the movie Who Killed the Electric Car the executive director for Energy and Climate Solutions, Joseph J. Romm accurately declares, “There’s no question that the people who control the marketplace today, the oil companies, have a strong incentive to discourage alternatives except the alternatives that they themselves control.” This seems rather unfair considering the alarming amount of evidence that shows the ill effects the use and production of fossil fuels cause to the environment. The ideal solution would be to replace oil with one of the safer alternatives that have been introduced into the markets over the past forty years; however, the American economy, being driven by capitalism and big oil interests, has protected the status quo and prevented change from occurring. There is a significant need to revise the profit motive as it pertains to energy and the environment. Presently, the oil industry controls the environmental future of America, which does not bode well for the future. Over the past forty years there have been several notable attempts to revolutionize technology, all of which have been stomped into the ground by the oil industry. The first occurred in 1985 when Ronald Reagan tore down the solar panels from the roof of the White House. The incident and the events surrounding it were documented in Joshua Green’s essay, “Better Luck This Time.” In “The Specter Haunting Alaska” Peter Canby tells of another win for the oil industry. Canby gives details on Donald Hodel’s decision to drill in Alaska despite explicit warnings from environmentalists of disastrous results for the environment. Most recently, the California Air and Resource Board made an attempt to soften the blow that the oil industry is taking on the atmosphere. They passed the Zero Emissions Vehicle Mandate in1990, which stated that each year car manufacturers were required to produce a small percentage of vehicles that did not produce harmful emissions. This effort by the auto industry to infiltrate the use of electric vehicles was stopped by the oil industry but not without the help of the United States government. This disturbing occurrence was documented in the movie Who Killed the Electric Car. It is absolutely necessary for a major revision to take place in order for the environment to have any chance at survival. These attempts were made by influential people, over the past four decades, yet still remain unsuccessful, suggesting that there is little hope for the environment.

AT Electric Cars

Electric cars bad-- China proves

Koebler 12 (Jason, "Chinese Electric Car Pollution More Harmful to Humans Than Gas Cars," 2/13/12, http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2012/02/13/chinese-electric-car-pollution-more-harmful-to-humans-than-gas-cars)

It's a line the American public has been hearing for a while—switch to an electric car and save the environment. But in China, where there are more than 100 million electrically-powered scooters and cars, alternatively-powered vehicles may be worse for the environment than gasoline-powered vehicles, according to a report released Monday by a team from the University of Tennessee. The problem in China comes from the way most electricity is generated—more than 75 percent of power in China is generated by coal. So, rather than look at vehicle-emissions alone, where electric cars easily beat gas- and diesel-powered cars, the researchers studied the environmental impact of the whole power chain. [See a slide show of the 10 states that use the most energy per capita.] "An implicit assumption has been that air quality and health impacts are lower for electric vehicles than for conventional vehicles," Chris Cherry, one of the University of Tennessee researchers, explains. "Our findings challenge that by comparing what is emitted by vehicle use to what people are actually exposed to." Essentially, the human health risk with electric vehicles is moved from the exhaust pipe to the areas surrounding coal power plants. "Electric vehicles are much cleaner when you consider carbon emissions," Cherry says. "But coal power plants emit a number of different pollutions that have very clear health impacts." Those emissions include fine particles—metals, acids, allergens, and dust that the Environmental Protection Agency says "have shown a significant association … with premature death from heart or lung disease." [Are Cars' Internal Computers Vulnerable to Attacks By Hackers?] About 10 years ago, China set out to revolutionize its streets with electric cars, something that Cherry calls "perhaps the single largest adoption of an alternative fuel in the history of mobility." But because China has a large population that lives near these coal power plants, the emissions from the plants affect nearby humans almost four times as much as gas-operated cars. America has been slower on the uptake. Last year, the Department of Energy estimated that America will have about 1 million electric cars on the road by 2015.