The Importance Of Transportation In The United States

Superior Essays
The Federal Highway Administration reported that last year, Americans drove a record of 3.15 trillion in vehicle miles; while the year before, in 2014, Americans drove an average of 3.02 trillion of vehicle miles. The numbers are there, showing that the vehicle miles that Americans are driving every year are going up as the gas prices is going down. Furthermore, the general population is spending more time on the roads compare to previous years, either sitting in their own cars or on any other form of transportation. On the other hand, The National Highway traffic safety administration announced that traffic deaths in the United States increase 9.3 percent in 2015 in relation to the year before. When comparing the increase of vehicle miles Americans are driving and the high numbers of fatal traffic accidents with the fall of oil prices, United State citizens may wonder how beneficial the low price of gas can be for the entire American nation. Now, lets discuss some of the reasons behind the low value of gas for the economy of most of the American families ' and the impact of such a "great" event has on the environment which brings serious health complication on individuals. After evaluating the hide reasons and the outcome of the petroleum oil panoramic, Americans may rethink if in reality the low price of gas is the "greatest" event Unite States has had since the nine eleven tragedy. The national media are posting the news everywhere in every possible form of advertisement ( radio stations, television channels, internet, magazines, journals) "the gas price is dropping and it will continue to fall on the following months". Lowering the price of gas was a resolution that the United States ' President Barak Obama made on his second mandate, 2012. Mainly, he promised the change in favor of the low income families, who are the ones working harder and struggling financially because the economy resection. One of the factors that help the president Obama meet his promise to the public was the increase of the USA natural gas production through the implementation and improvement of a technology that was first introduced in the United States in the 1950s and is called "Fracking" (Shellenberger, 2014). The Merriam-Webster dictionary define Fracking technology or Hydraulic fracturing as " injection of fluid into shale beds at high pressure in order to free up petroleum resources, such as oil or natural gas". The national extraction of petroleum oil from shell formation not only increase internal gas production, it also reduced its importation from eastern nations, a fact that indirectly is forcing those producer countries to reduce the price of crude petroleum barrel in the global trade market. Walking through the downtown confines of any big city is not enjoyable anymore because the smell of the smog is on the air and the darkness of forest and vegetation prevent citizens from breathing natural fresh air. …show more content…
Those are some signs of the environment being affected by the increase of vehicle miles driven per year. The USA Environmental Protection Agency reported that "about one third of all energy-related greenhouse emission comes from transportation". The smog, carbon monoxide, and other air pollution gases (such as carbon dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, and sulfur dioxide, just to mention some), from the combustion of petroleum products used in transportation, compromise the quality of the planet air. Since gas price is extremely low, it does not only encourage individuals to travel more often it also may influence their decision of buying a less efficient car over a more clean and ecologic vehicle, which in turn is increasing the greenhouse-gas-emission. Although the used of hydraulic fracturing methods, to accelerate the natural process of oil extraction, may be beneficial for the United State economy, this technique is being argued by geologist because its negative impact to the environment which include the contamination of the ground, the air, and the water surfaces , along with the risk of induced earthquakes (Brown, 2014). Overall the contamination of the environment from the methods used to extract fossil oil, and from the high volume of combustible burned in transportation are expressed in global warming, with natural disasters and climate changes,

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