Traffic Catastrophe

 Traffic coming out of Port of Spain on an evening

In Trinidad and Tobago, the car per household ratio has been increasing exponentially over the years. However with this increase in the number , there would also be an increase in the congestion in the nations roads and within the city because the transport system is not efficient enough to accommodate these large numbers in and out of the city. Even though the ministry has proposed several projects such as the major intersection by Grand Bazaar to enhance the efficiency of our countries road network, traffic congestion is still a major phenomenon seen throughout especially when exiting and entering the urban environment.

You may wonder what are the environmental effects traffic has because traffic as many of us has experienced is just intolerable to some as the waiting for hours in back to back traffic on your way home from work or school especially after a long day can be very tiring and cause people to experience feelings of  annoyance, become impatient, irritable and sometimes can create "road rage". An aspect of traffic congestion not explored in terms of its environmental effects is the economic inactivity due to congestion having high cost attached to the excess time wasted when getting to the place of work (Hall and Barett,2012: 290). "Time is money" , so when this time is decreased, productivity too decreases due to maximum capacity of the working population being held back.

When looking at the environmental impacts air pollution can be explored.  You may have notice before or at some period of time vehicles on  the road are seen to experience engine exhaust problems due to the black smoky fumes that diffuse into the atmosphere via the muffler. "This is a sign of incomplete combustion", stated by my CAPE lessons teacher. But what is this incomplete combustion? Incomplete combustion  in car engines occurs when not enough oxygen is available for the burning of the hydrocarbon fuels such as petrol. As a result carbon monoxide and  a black carbon deposit called soot is deposited in the exhaust pipe and it is seen when these vehicles are started and when mobile.

Most vehicular fuel consist of gasoline, natural gas, diesel and ethanol just to name a few.None of these fuels are burnt without there being the emission of pollutants into the environment as the equation will show.

Incomplete Engine Combustion Process:

Fuel(hydrocarbons) + Air (oxygen and nitrogen) = Partially burnt hydrocarbons (VOCs) + Nitrogen Oxides (NOx) + Carbon Monoxide (CO) + Carbon Dioxide (CO2) + Water (H2O)

From this equation, it can be noted that car exhaust contributes significantly to air pollution which even though in its small concentrations per vehicle, the concentration if calculated for the total households who own more than one car, the value would indeed pose a great risk to the environment and health.

The effects of these pollutants are as followed:

• Hydrocarbons- when it reacts with oxides of nitrogen and sunlight, there is the formation of ozone at the ground level which is a component of smog. This gas in the atmosphere can have severe effects on the eyes, lungs and also encourage respiratory problems. This is one of the major urban air pollution problems that is widely seen. Also there is the possibility of it being carcinogenic as some of these exhaust hydrocarbons are toxic.
• Nitrogen Oxide- like hydrocarbons they influence the formation of ozone and also can contribute to acid rain at its high concentration.
• Carbon Monoxide-  the main product of the incomplete combustion process. This occurs when the carbon in fuel is not fully burnt hence it is partially oxidized. As a result carbon monoxide is formed and not carbon dioxide which is formed when oxidation of the fuel occurs fully. This carbon dioxide if present in the bloodstream can reduce oxygenated blood flow and it is harmful to ones health. 
• Carbon Dioxide- one of the main greenhouse gases which when present in the atmosphere traps heat contributing to the greenhouse effect and potentially the change in climate.

Furthermore, there is noise pollution which is created as a result of the traffic moving in and out of the city. This is created due to the number of restless people stuck in traffic becoming agitated as a result of the discomfort faced whilst having to wait. This is seen daily on the streets for example numerous car horns are blown, drivers are seen to get in arguments with one another, the driving on the road becomes rough where no one individual is giving another a chance to pass. These are just a few examples that can be observed.

According to Hall and Barett 2012(290), auto-mobile emissions are the main contributors to the greenhouse gases responsible for increasing rates of climate change. It is said that road traffic at the city scale is the most rapidly growing contributor to air pollution and accounts to 50% of the pollution in many cities. Due to the deteriorating air quality which is usually concentrated in the inner cities for example the CBD of Port of Spain, many health problems ranging from respiratory disease to even cancer can be caused. Noise generation also as discussed due to traffic also inflicts harm on residents who usually consist of the low income groups who are concentrated on the inside and at the fringe of the city.Therefore in order for there to be a decrease in these emissions and noise, what should be happening is as the population density in the city increases, fuel consumption per person should drop only if car usage drops and the use of alternative modes of transport such as walking, bicycling, and public carpooling is increased (Hall and Barett, 2012:288).

Reference:

Elizabeth Olson et al. "Vehicles and the Emissions they Produce". n.p : n.d.Accessed March 30, 2014. <http://www.extraordinaryroadtrip.org/research-library/air-pollution/vehicle-emissions/combustion.asp>

Hall,T. and H. Barett.2012. Urban Geography.4th ed. London/ New York:Routeledge.