Autogeddon or autoheaven: Environmental and social effects of the automotive industry from launch to present
Autogeddon or autoheaven: Environmental and social effects of the automotive industry from launch to present
The automotive industry is one of the most significant and increasing sources of pollution worldwide. Previous studies examining its impacts focus on the post-1950 era as data available before this period is scarce. This study carefully reconstructs six datasets from the early 20th century to 2019 for the UK: annual number of motor cars, road lengths, road fatalities, NOx and CO emissions, and fuel consumption. Interpolation was prudently used to fill gaps in the data sets. Results highlight changing health, social and environmental effects throughout the growth of the automotive sector. Ratios of fatalities to cars indicate social ingraining of the car and rapid response to legislation. Significant emissions resulted from the early industry. Successful remediation of emissions occurred in the late 20th century. All variables studied were interrelated, but expansion of road networks particularly contributed to a range of both positive and (unintended) negative consequences. World War 2 appears to have been a landmark for the automotive industry, producing capacity for mass production, personal mobility and research and therefore a struggle between impacts and social policies. We have demonstrated that technological developments and regulatory interventions relating to the motor industry, alongside events that have catalysed societal change, have been crucial in terms of subsequently providing benefits to society whilst also acting to mitigate (but not prevent) the adverse and frequently devastating impacts of motor vehicles on human health and the environment. A periodic, regular, overarching, independent review (~ every 5 years) of the collective positive and negative impacts of the motor vehicle industry and appropriate interventions are essential to maintain and improve social benefits and public and environmental health, as well as supporting delivery of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals by 2030 and beyond.
Cars, Emissions, Environmental impacts, Social impact, Time series, fatalities
Williams, Ian
c9d674ac-ee69-4937-ab43-17e716266e22
Blyth, Michael
a016db24-bd2d-4bc6-8a8c-003392ba2457
15 November 2022
Williams, Ian
c9d674ac-ee69-4937-ab43-17e716266e22
Blyth, Michael
a016db24-bd2d-4bc6-8a8c-003392ba2457
Williams, Ian and Blyth, Michael
(2022)
Autogeddon or autoheaven: Environmental and social effects of the automotive industry from launch to present.
Science of the Total Environment, 858 (part 3), [159987].
(doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.159987).
Abstract
The automotive industry is one of the most significant and increasing sources of pollution worldwide. Previous studies examining its impacts focus on the post-1950 era as data available before this period is scarce. This study carefully reconstructs six datasets from the early 20th century to 2019 for the UK: annual number of motor cars, road lengths, road fatalities, NOx and CO emissions, and fuel consumption. Interpolation was prudently used to fill gaps in the data sets. Results highlight changing health, social and environmental effects throughout the growth of the automotive sector. Ratios of fatalities to cars indicate social ingraining of the car and rapid response to legislation. Significant emissions resulted from the early industry. Successful remediation of emissions occurred in the late 20th century. All variables studied were interrelated, but expansion of road networks particularly contributed to a range of both positive and (unintended) negative consequences. World War 2 appears to have been a landmark for the automotive industry, producing capacity for mass production, personal mobility and research and therefore a struggle between impacts and social policies. We have demonstrated that technological developments and regulatory interventions relating to the motor industry, alongside events that have catalysed societal change, have been crucial in terms of subsequently providing benefits to society whilst also acting to mitigate (but not prevent) the adverse and frequently devastating impacts of motor vehicles on human health and the environment. A periodic, regular, overarching, independent review (~ every 5 years) of the collective positive and negative impacts of the motor vehicle industry and appropriate interventions are essential to maintain and improve social benefits and public and environmental health, as well as supporting delivery of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals by 2030 and beyond.
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Accepted/In Press date: 28 October 2022
e-pub ahead of print date: 11 November 2022
Published date: 15 November 2022
Additional Information:
Funding Information:
The authors would like to thank Jana Bentley and Jasmina Buron for ideas and inputs to this study.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 The Authors
Keywords:
Cars, Emissions, Environmental impacts, Social impact, Time series, fatalities
Identifiers
Local EPrints ID: 473416
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/473416
ISSN: 0048-9697
PURE UUID: 0157d896-4db6-45de-a8b6-664d949b5174
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Date deposited: 17 Jan 2023 17:57
Last modified: 06 Jun 2024 01:43
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Author:
Michael Blyth
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