Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
NOx emissions in 2002, respectively (Zhao, 2011). Though the built environment, pollution
and associated health problems are large, they are perhaps superseded by (road) safety as
transport's key negative externality. About 85 per cent of the 1.2 million people killed annually
in road accidents across the globe lived in developing and emerging economies, and this is
now the major source of child mortality (5-14-year-olds) in low- and middle-income countries
(World Health Organization, 2009). Williams (1991, pp. 32-35) describes: 'The new theatre
of war [. . .] seventeen million dead, and counting [. . .] a humdrum holocaust: the Third World
War nobody bothered to declare'.
Despite the physical limitations and the social costs of the car, the aspiration to own a
motor vehicle seems to be embedded within all societies, as owning and driving a car is seen
as a right or as a sign of prosperity, and many lifestyles are now impossible without the car.
It is the major item of consumer expenditure (possibly after housing) in terms of the costs of
ownership, and it is seen as a status symbol in many, if not most, societies. Variability in
levels of car ownership is not just based on income, but on a range of other factors (
Table
at equivalent income levels to those in the developed countries, and motorcycle ownership
in some cities far outnumbers cars. An example is Bangkok, with 30 per cent more cars than
Japan had at the equivalent income level (Barter, 2000).
The price of fuel is also a significant variable, again with a very large variability by country
due to level of subsidy and taxation (
Figure 1.20
). The price of crude oil was US$110 a barrel
Figure 1.19
Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. The oil-rich societies often show incredible desires towards
- and realisations of - the consumer society. These types of societies have extremely high levels
of CO2 emissions per capita, in travel and wider lifestyles.
Source
: Abu Dhabi Urban Planning Council.
