journal again!

Journal Topic: do automobiles really improve our life?

Although some people indicate that the automobile has improved modern life because automobiles make our life more convenient, I, however, think that automobiles cause more harmful effect than benefits they brought us because automobiles cause air pollution, traffic jam and numerous accidences.

First, automobiles exhausts contain nitric oxides, carbon oxides and variable kinds of hydrocarbons. These gases are detrimental and can seriously pollute our environment. According to high school chemistry text book, the nitric oxides can cause acid rain; carbon dioxides and hydrocarbons can increase the green house effect; the carbon monoxide is toxic to human beings and other animal’s health. Now a day’s automobiles exhaust is being considered as one of the most serious environmental problems.

Second, when more and more automobiles on the road, traffic jam will become a serious problem. In my hometown Shenzhen, a metropolitan city, for example, every morning when people on their way to work by automobiles, there will be traffic jams for at least 1.5 hours ranging from 8am to 9:30am because more than 600,000 automobiles are gathering on the Shennan Road and Riverside Road (two main avenue of the City). Same situation happens in every evening during the time that people back to home at 5pm to 7pm. Approximately everyone who lives in comfortable suburb may waste at least 2 hours to suffer the traffic jam during their way to work and their way back home. So, recently a increasing number of people sell the comfortable house at suburb and move to the apartment in the downtown because they cannot stand the long time they waste in the road.

Third, traffic evidence had already killed more than 30,000,000 people totally (WHO’s Statistics, updated to 2007) In China，more than 200,000 people are killed by the car collisions and more than 20,000,000 people suffered from the injury of traffic accidents (Traffic agency of P.R.China). According a scientific report by Traffic Agency of PRC, the death accidents caused by every 10000 cars in Chinese City ranges from 10.8 to 50 per year, which means that every year in Chinese cities, every 10000cars can cause every 10.8 to 50 people die. How terrible it is!

To conclude, automobiles do bring convenience to us and in this case improve our life. However, because of the air pollution, the traffic jams and the traffic accidents, automobiles in fact, decrease our life quality.