THE CONTRIBUTION OF THE CAR, AND CAR-RELATED, INDUSTRIES TO GLOBAL BURNING

THE DAMAGE CAUSED BY THE CAR, AND CAR-RELATED, INDUSTRIES TO THE EARTH'S LIFE SUPPORT SYSTEM

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In 1997 there were 680,000,000 vehicles (cars, vans, trucks, lorries) on the world's roads.(1) Cars consume vast quantities of fossil fuels and release vast clouds of atmospheric pollution. Car exhaust emissions boost the greenhouse effect and decrease the Photosynthetic effect (i.e. damage to the Earth's Photosynthetic capacity) both of which boost global burning. The car is thus one of the biggest contributors to global burning. However, the contribution that cars make to global burning through both geophysiological damage (the destruction of the Earth's Photosynthetic capacity) and greenhouse gas pollution is just the tip of a colossal pyramid of planetary devastation. The following article outlines the huge range of industries which help to keep cars on the world's roads. The geophysiological damage and greenhouse pollution generated by the industries servicing the car can be deemed to be a part of the contribution which the car, and car related, industries make to global burning.

THE CAR

It has been stated, "Transport now accounts for one-quarter of world energy use, and about one-half of the world's oil production; motor vehicles account for nearly 80 per cent of all transport-related energy."(2) In america, "From 1936 to 1985, United States drivers burned 3 trillion gallons of oil, making the automobile the largest single consumer of non-renewable energy in the 20thC."(3) Cars release vast clouds of atmospheric pollution. They are the biggest single contributor to all the major forms of atmospheric pollution such as stratospheric ozone depletion, tropospheric ozone pollution, acid rain, and greenhouse gas emissions.(4) All of these forms of pollution contribute to global burning. Tropospheric ozone pollution and greenhouse gas emissions contribute to the greenhouse effect whilst stratospheric ozone depletion and acid rain destroy the Earth's Photosynthetic capacity and thus contribute to global burning. The car is thus one of the biggest contributors to global burning.

THE CAR AND CAR INDUSTRY

The car industry contributes to all the major forms of pollution boosting the greenhouse effect. It also contributes to the Photosynthetic effect by devastating the Earth's Photosynthetic capacity which is the Earth's climate stabilization system. The car industry's contribution to the Photosynthetic effect is far bigger than that made by cars and this gives a huge boost to global burning.

THE CAR AND THE CAR/ROAD INDUSTRIES

The road construction industry deposits thousands of miles of oil slicks across the Earth's landmasses every year (primarily, and, seemingly if at all possible, through greenfield sites, sites of special scientific interest, areas of outstanding natural beauty, Forests, Wilderness areas, etc).(5) The road construction industry and the corrupt politicians in their pay, seem to believe there should be no roadless area around the planet - as if a roadless area was an affront to oomano-imperialism, oomans attempt to mould the Earth to their own interests.

THE CAR AND THE CAR/ROAD/OIL INDUSTRIES

Cars also have to take responsibility for a substantial part of the geophysiological damage caused by the oil industry given that over half the world's oil is used, in one way or another, by motorists and the transportation industry.(6) The contribution that cars make to global burning through the use of oil goes far beyond the release of vast quantities of vehicle exhaust fumes.(7) Motorists and the oil industry dump vast quantities of oil into the environment which reduces the Earth's Photosynthetic effect and thus boosts global burning. Although western oil experts condemn the dilapidated russian oil industry for creating oil slicks in siberia which are alleged to be 400 times bigger than the exxon valdez disaster, western oil companies have caused far more extensive damage in tropical Rainforests around the world.(8)

THE CAR AND THE CAR/ROAD/OIL/TRANSPORTATION INDUSTRIES

Paradoxically, cars are highly dependent on the transportation industry. A significant fraction of the goods carried by the transportation industry are used by the car, and the car related, industries. Tens of millions of cars are shipped around the world firstly from factories to ports; then overseas by ship; and, finally, inland by car transporters. Vast numbers of car components and accessories are transported by vans, lorries, or heavy goods vehicles, to car assembly plants, garages, car showrooms, and retail outlets all over the world. By the time a car rolls off the production line and leaves the factory gate it has already travelled around the Earth several times.

THE CAR AND THE CAR/ROAD/OIL/TRANSPORTATION/MINING INDUSTRIES

Cars are also responsible for much of the damage caused by the mining industry given that a huge proportion of the raw materials gouged out of the Earth's mantle are destined for the car, and car related industries.(9) Mining uproots large areas of Forests and Top-soil and reduces the Earth's Photosynthetic effect.(10) It destroys more Forests and Top-soil through the creation of waste dumps. The toxic run-off from waste dumps poisons more Phytomass further decreasing the Photosynthetic effect thereby boosting global burning. Mining also boosts atmospheric pollution. The scale of the geophysiological damage caused by mining can be gauged from the fact that the global mining industry currently shifts more soil and rock than all the world's rivers combined.(11)

THE CAR AND THE CAR/ROAD/OIL/TRANSPORTATION/MINING/PROCESSING INDUSTRIES

Once mined, the processing of raw materials causes additional geophysiological damage and greenhouse pollution. Processing creates more slag heaps which suffocates and poisons more Phytomass. It leads to the construction of dams in Wilderness areas (drowning vast areas of Forests and Wildlife habitats under reservoirs) to provide cheap electricity to smelt aluminium (10% of which is used by the car industry).(12) It encourages the logging of vast stretches of Rainforests to create charcoal to smelt iron ore (much of which is also used by the world's car industry). The brazilian grand carajas project has 26 pig-iron plants consuming 300,000 hectares of Forest per annum.(13)

THE CAR AND THE CAR/ROAD/OIL/TRANSPORTATION/MINING/PROCESSING/CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRIES

Cars can also be blamed for a large part of the geophysiological damage and greenhouse pollution caused by the construction industry which is suffocating the Earth's Photosynthetic capacity under an increasingly vast network of factories; petrol service stations; garages; car showrooms; car hire depots; motorway cafeterias; vehicle testing centres; car accessory/component shops; car parks; motoring organizations' office blocks; car insurance office blocks; car registration/road tax/petrol tax offices; local, and national, government transport departments, etc..(14)

THE CAR AND THE CAR/ROAD/OIL/TRANSPORTATION/MINING/PROCESSING/CONSTRUCTION/PIPELINE INDUSTRIES

The global pipeline industry is one of the biggest in the world but is rarely mentioned for the simple reason that it is out of sight. The pipeline business carries water, drainage, sewage, as well as oil and gas. The oil industry has built massive pipelines around the world to serve the car.(15) Many service stations are refilled with petrol via pipelines.(16)

THE CAR AND THE CAR/ROAD/OIL/TRANSPORTATION/MINING/PROCESSING/CONSTRUCTION/PIPELINE/SHIPBUILDING INDUSTRIES

Cars are also indirectly responsible for a substantial part of the geophysiological damage and greenhouse gas pollution created by the world's shipbuilding industry which constructs oil supertankers (accounting for 40% of all seaborne trade),(17) bulk cargo carriers (carrying raw materials for the car/road/oil/mining/processing/construction industries), ferries/barges (transporting cars, car components/accessories), and oil derricks.(18)

THE CAR AND THE CAR/ROAD/OIL/TRANSPORTATION/MINING/PROCESSING/CONSTRUCTION/PIPELINE/SHIPBUILDING/CHEMICALS INDUSTRIES

A large part of the geophysiological damage and greenhouse pollution generated by the chemicals industry can also be attributed to cars given the huge quantities of paints/solvents/dyes/acids used by the car, and car related road/oil/transportation/mining/processing/construction/shipbuilding, industries.(19) Huge amounts of chemicals are used to manufacture cars which poison the environment, so more chemicals have to be produced to produce a fresh environment for motorists in their cars, "Christmas accounts for almost 75% of annual perfume sales, but it's not just wives, girlfriends and lovers that receive a fragrent present this time of the year - the loved one parked outside are also remembered. The Economist Intelligence Unit reports that 178 million car air freshners were sold in the UK last year and the market is worth almost £124 million annually."(20) It is amazing that motorists believe that all that matters is creating a lovely pleasant smelling environment inside their cars whilst the environment outside their cars i.e. the Earth's life support system, is collapsing.

It is commonly believed that most cfcs are used in aerosol spray cans or in domestic/retail refrigeration units but in fact most cfcs are used in cars. Large quantities of cfcs are used in the car manufacturing process but their biggest use is in car air conditioning units. In others words, cars are the biggest single cause of stratospheric ozone depletion, "A substantial proportion possibly more than half of the cfcs entering the atmosphere, comes from leaking air conditioners in American cars."(21) There might be those who believe that the damage to the stratospheric ozone layer is no longer a threat because the world's governments have realized their stupidity in allowing the manufacture of cfcs. Unfortunately the american and the japanese governments have sought only to diminish, not ban, the use of cfcs, "In late 1993, DuPont, the US chemical giant, was persuaded by the Clinton Administration to continue producing CFCs - the chemicals most responsible for ozone depletion - in the developed world for a full year beyond the date when the company had publicly committed itself to ceasing domestic CFC production. This was in response to pressure from vehicle manufacturers which still had not done sufficient work to find alternatives for automobile air-conditioners."(22) The american government is trying to reduce the use of cfcs by pricing them off the market. This has led to the development of a huge black market in these chemicals. It is possible to make huge profits by smuggling the chemicals into america and evading the tariffs imposed on cfcs, "Use of CFCs is likely to continue long after they are officially phased out - a huge black market for CFCs has developed in the US, where, according to a US Customs' agent, they are the second biggest item of contraband into Port Miami after cocaine."(23) The cars' destruction of the ozone layer continues.

THE CAR AND THE CAR/ROAD/OIL/TRANSPORTATION/MINING/PROCESSING/CONSTRUCTION/PIPELINE/SHIPBUILDING/CHEMICALS/MICRO-ELECTRONICS INDUSTRIES

A bit more surprising is that cars are responsible for a large proportion of the geophysiological damage and greenhouse pollution created by the micro-electronics industry. The world's vehicles have been transformed by the micro-chip and may possess as much computing power as all the world's personal computers. It has been alleged that, "The BMX has more computing power than was used to put a man on the moon."(24) In addition, the car related road/oil/transportation/mining/processing/construction/shipbuilding/chemicals, industries also use vast numbers of micro-chips and computers.(25)

THE CAR AND THE CAR/ROAD/OIL/TRANSPORTATION/MINING/PROCESSING/CONSTRUCTION/PIPELINE/SHIPBUILDING/CHEMICALS/MICRO-ELECTRONICS/MEDIA INDUSTRIES

It might seem a little strange but cars are also responsible for a significant part of the Photosynthetic devastation and greenhouse pollution caused by the media industry since it is heavily financed by the car, and oil, industries. Without these industries providing the media industry with vast amounts of advertising revenue it would be nothing like its current size.(26) In the united states $5 billion a year is spent on car advertising alone (more than the country spends on public transport).(27) Some believe this is a gross underestimate.(28)

Cars require vast quantities of paper if they are to function properly and the production of paper causes geophysiological damage to the Earth's Photosynthetic capacity and greenhouse pollution, "Millions of motorists are getting under the bonnet to avoid hefty garage bills. That's a blessing for Haynes Publishing, which makes repair manuals for nearly every car and motorbike in Britain. Haynes, which sells five million manuals worldwide each year covering 450 vehicle makes, jacked up profits by two-thirds to nearly £4 million in the year to May. The manuals have to be translated into French, Spanish and Japanese."(29)

THE CAR AND THE CAR/ROAD/OIL/TRANSPORTATION/MINING/PROCESSING/CONSTRUCTION/PIPELINE/SHIPBUILDING/CHEMICALS/MICRO-ELECTRONICS/MEDIA/WASTE DISPOSAL INDUSTRIES

As the biggest consumer of the world's raw materials, cars are responsible for a significant proportion of the geophysiological damage and greenhouse pollution caused by the waste disposal industry. The car, and car related road/oil/transportation/mining/processing/construction/shipbuilding/chemicals/micro-electronics/media, industries produce more waste than any other industrial complex. Some 650 million cars have been dumped in the united states alone since 1900 - which means, say 650 million x 20 tyres; 650 million by 5 batteries, etc..(30) Virtually no part of the car, and car related industries, make any contribution to recycling in order to reduce their contribution to global burning. It is as if for motorists, car industry executives, and the advertising world, the pleasure of driving around in a car is knowing that they are not merely driving around in a car but doing something far more grandiose - causing a vast amount of geophysiological devastation around the Earth and destabilizing the climate.

THE CAR AND THE CAR/ROAD/OIL/TRANSPORTATION/MINING/PROCESSING/CONSTRUCTION/PIPELINE/SHIPBUILDING/CHEMICALS/MICRO-ELECTRONICS/MEDIA/WASTE DISPOSAL/ELECTRICITY SUPPLY INDUSTRIES

There are only a pifflingly small number of electric cars in the world and the amount of electricity they consume is a negligible proportion of total electricity output. However, the car, and car related road/oil/transportation/mining/processing/construction/shipbuilding/chemicals/micro-electronics/media/waste disposal, industries consume a significant proportion of the world's output of electricity and are thus responsible for the geophysiological damage and greenhouse gas pollution which this causes. Given the large proportion of electricity generated by coal, then clearly cars run as much on coal as they do on oil. Some of the car industry's waste materials are used to generate what is rather absurdly called green energy/electricity.(31)

THE CAR AND THE CAR/ROAD/OIL/TRANSPORTATION/MINING/PROCESSING/CONSTRUCTION/PIPELINE/SHIPBUILDING/CHEMICALS/MICRO-ELECTRONICS/MEDIA/WASTE DISPOSAL/ELECTRICITY SUPPLY/WATER INDUSTRIES

The car and car related industries consume vast amounts of water. It takes vast amounts of water to keep cars on the roads. Volkeswagen's car plant at Wolfsburg .. "uses some 360 million cubic metres of water a year (81 billion gallons)."(32) ; "Water is essential to every aspect of living. Indeed, that great energy guzzler and polluter, the modern motor car, could not be constructed without vast quantities of water, something like 500,000 gallons per vehicle."(33) In addition, vast amounts of water are used to replace oil extracted from oilfields, "Oil that is pumped from the ground needs huge amounts of water to push it out and fill the space it occupied."(34) The car and car related industries must therefore take responsibility for a significant part of the geophysiological damage and greenhouse pollution caused by the water industry.

THE CAR AND THE CAR/ROAD/OIL/TRANSPORTATION/MINING/PROCESSING/CONSTRUCTION/PIPELINE/SHIPBUILDING/CHEMICALS/MICRO-ELECTRONICS/MEDIA/WASTE DISPOSAL/ELECTRICITY SUPPLY/WATER/TOURISM INDUSTRIES

The culture, tourism, entertainment, and leisure industries are highly dependent upon the car. Firstly, most of their employees travel to work in their cars. Secondly, the people who visit entertainment centres usually do so in their cars. Thirdly, the people who help to run and maintain the industries also use cars. This means that each leisure facility around the world has to provide car parks for vast numbers of petrol/steam driven machines. This causes a vast scale of geophysiological devastation which reduces the Photosynthetic effect and increases the heat island effect - both of which boost global burning. Although the leisure industry (which, according to some experts, will soon become the world's number one industry) is often regarded as environmentally friendly it causes far more pollution than traditional heavy industries because of the vast distances that people travel to reach entertainment facilities.(35) Wallyland causes more pollution than the average steel foundry.(36) Even worse is that many leisure facilities, in some countries perhaps the majority, would never have been built on greenfield sites if it wasn't for the car which gives people the mobility to reach such places.

THE CAR AND THE CAR/ROAD/OIL/TRANSPORTATION/MINING/PROCESSING/CONSTRUCTION/PIPELINE/SHIPBUILDING/CHEMICALS/MICRO-ELECTRONICS/MEDIA/WASTE DISPOSAL/ELECTRICITY SUPPLY/WATER/TOURISM/FORESTRY INDUSTRIES

Although it is one of the basic contributors to car related industries, the Forest industry is often overlooked because of its supposedly green nature. However, modern forestry is far from green. Motorists thus have to take responsibility for some of the geophysiological damage caused by global forestry e.g. the huge rubber plantations, which provide the raw materials for the manufacture of billions of tyres, have been created by torching vast stretches of tropical Rainforests. As an indication of the scale of the destruction which has taken place, the rubber industry 'employs' 16 million people in the third world.(37) The car, and car related road/oil/transportation/mining/processing/construction/shipbuilding/chemicals/micro-electronics/media(38) /waste disposal/electricity generation/water/leisure(39), industries also use considerable amounts of timber.

THE CAR AND THE CAR/ROAD/OIL/TRANSPORTATION/MINING/PROCESSING/CONSTRUCTION/PIPELINE/SHIPBUILDING/CHEMICALS/MICRO-ELECTRONICS/MEDIA/WASTE DISPOSAL/ELECTRICITY SUPPLY/WATER/TOURISM/FORESTRY/AGRICULTURE INDUSTRIES

The car, and car related road/oil/transportation/mining/processing/construction/shipbuilding/chemicals/micro-electronics/media/waste disposal/electricity generation/water/leisure/forestry, industries also use agricultural products. If the predictions of a number of car-owning greens come true then cars will be increasingly dependent upon agricultural crops providing biofuels. For many years a number of countries have been producing ethanol what is laughably called 'green petrol' on large scale sugar cane plantations - only to end up using as much oil growing, distilling, and transporting, the fuel as the crop produces.(40) Never mind the reality just keep pumping out the green propaganda - doubtlessly the green organic pharming industry will claim they could produce biofuels in a far more environmentally friendly way. Some car industries also produce agricultural equipment, "Tractor sales in western Europe dropped from 350,000 in 1977 to around 150,000 last year. The shrinking market for tractors helped to reduce Renault's net profits last year. Renault strengthened its position as France's top selling tractor."(41)

THE CAR AND THE CAR/ROAD/OIL/TRANSPORTATION/MINING/PROCESSING/CONSTRUCTION/PIPELINE/SHIPBUILDING/CHEMICALS/MICRO-ELECTRONICS/MEDIA/WASTE DISPOSAL/ELECTRICITY SUPPLY/WATER/TOURISM/FORESTRY/AGRICULTURE/MEDICAL INDUSTRIES

At the end of the 20thc, the car was responsible for the deaths of nearly 250,000 people on the world's roads. Vehicle pollution causes a whole range of diseases from lead poisoning to asthma which leads to even more deaths. It may be the case that more people are killed by vehicle exhaust pollution than by car accidents, "Traffic fumes kill more people than road crashes, a report reveals. The report from the world health organization highlights one of the fastest growing killers, a cocktail of noxious gases and particles spewing out of cars, buses and lorries."(42) The car, and car related industries, require a substantial proportion of the world's total medical services and thus a corresponding proportion of the geophysiological damage and greenhouse pollution generated by the medical industry can be blamed on the car. Medical authorities cause geophysiological destruction through the construction of hospitals and car parks. They also cause a considerable amount of pollution through the car journeys made by people visiting hospitals(43) and through emissions from their own waste incinerators. In brutland, some of this pollution involves the burning of organs stolen from the dead without the permission of the deceased or their relatives - if tourists are visiting brutland they would be well advised to count their organs before going into one of the country's hospitals as patients cannot be refunded once they have left the building.(44)

THE CAR AND THE CAR/ROAD/OIL/TRANSPORTATION/MINING/PROCESSING/CONSTRUCTION/PIPELINE/SHIPBUILDING/CHEMICALS/MICRO-ELECTRONICS/MEDIA/WASTE DISPOSAL/ELECTRICITY SUPPLY/WATER/TOURISM/FORESTRY/AGRICULTURE/MEDICAL/FINANCE INDUSTRIES

As if this massive contribution to global burning wasn't sufficient the car, and car related road/oil/transportation/mining/processing/construction/shipbuilding/chemicals/micro-electronics/media/waste disposal/electricity generation/water/leisure/forestry/agriculture/medical, industries also have extensive connections to the financial/insurance/banking world which means a portion of the damage they cause to the destabilization of the climate also has to be allocated to the car and car related industries. Some car manufacturers reinvest their profits in further acts of geophysiological devastation - e.g. volkswagen, and other car-makers, who have razed hundreds of thousands of acres of Amazonian Rainforest,(45) and japanese/south korean car-makers currently clear cutting their way across the world's Rainforests and the siberian Taiga. The car industry also contributes to the finance industries firstly, through the loans taken out to buy cars; secondly, to provide car insurance cover; thirdly, through insurance claims, "Insurers paid out a record £648 million to victims last year - 40% up on 1990. Car theft is now britain's fastest growing crime with 570,000 claims last year. They included £478.5 million for thefts from private cars - compared to £324 million in 1990 and £52 million in 1982. Police list 600,000 cars as officially stolen."(46) ; finally, some car industries even produce their own credit card.(47)

THE CAR AND THE CAR/ROAD/OIL/TRANSPORTATION/MINING/PROCESSING/CONSTRUCTION/PIPELINE/SHIPBUILDING/CHEMICALS/MICRO-ELECTRONICS/MEDIA/WASTE DISPOSAL/ELECTRICITY SUPPLY/WATER/TOURISM/FORESTRY/AGRICULTURE/MEDICAL/FINANCE/SPACE

INDUSTRIES Increasingly involved in the car industry is the space industry which boosts telecommunications throughout the car, and car related, industries; helps to guide oil tankers across the Earth's oceans; and, increasingly, to locate stolen vehicles. Special devices can be fitted to cars so that if they are stolen their location can be traced immediately by satellites orbiting the Earth. It is believed the aerospace industry is also developing a mobile phone which is able to detect when motorists, busily nattering on their phones, plough into a pedestrian or another car.

THE CAR AND THE CAR/ROAD/OIL/TRANSPORTATION/MINING/PROCESSING/CONSTRUCTION/PIPELINE/SHIPBUILDING/CHEMICALS/MICRO-ELECTRONICS/MEDIA/WASTE DISPOSAL/ELECTRICITY SUPPLY/WATER/TOURISM/FORESTRY/AGRICULTURE/MEDICAL/FINANCE/SPACE/NUCLEAR POWER INDUSTRIES

The car and car related industries are already dependent upon the nuclear power industry to the extent that they use electricity generated by the nuclear power industry. In the future this dependency may become far more significant. To the extent that the car industry is one of the main initiators of the switch from fossil fuels to natural gas, and then hydrogen, powered societies, it would also be responsible for rejuvenating the nuclear power industry. It may well be true that, "The real saviour of the north american car culture may be something that's a long way off; hydrogen fuel."(48) but by the same token it will also be the saviour of the nuclear power industry.(49)

THE CAR AND THE CAR/ROAD/OIL/TRANSPORTATION/MINING/PROCESSING/CONSTRUCTION/PIPELINE/SHIPBUILDING/CHEMICALS/MICRO-ELECTRONICS/MEDIA/WASTE DISPOSAL/ELECTRICITY SUPPLY/WATER/TOURISM/FORESTRY/AGRICULTURE/MEDICAL/FINANCE/SPACE/NUCLEAR POWER/RETAIL INDUSTRIES

The mobility created by the car has completely reshaped the retail industries in the over-industrialized world. City centres are no longer the focus of shopping but out of town shopping complexes. Vast numbers of people are using their cars to visit out of town shopping centres whilst city centres become ghost towns.(50)

THE CAR AND THE CAR/ROAD/OIL/TRANSPORTATION/MINING/PROCESSING/CONSTRUCTION/PIPELINE/SHIPBUILDING/CHEMICALS/MICRO-ELECTRONICS/MEDIA/WASTE DISPOSAL/ELECTRICITY SUPPLY/WATER/TOURISM/FORESTRY/AGRICULTURE/MEDICAL/FINANCE/SPACE/NUCLEAR POWER/RETAIL/SECURITY INDUSTRIES

For want of a better word the car is also highly dependent upon the security industry which covers the military protection given to oil producing countries; then police who try to catch car thieves; car park attendants, traffic wardens, etc. A number of wars have been fought over oil, "The estimated total release of carbon in the form of carbon dioxide from oil well fires in Kuwait during 1991 was 0.065 GtC about 1% of total anthropogenic emissions."(51) Large numbers of police are required to try and catch those stealing cars and also to stop motorists from breaking the law by speeding. The Lex report on Motoring "offered a particularly damning image of driving habits among company car motorists. Almost twice as likely to break motorway speed limits than private motorists, company car drivers also break speed limits on main roads more readily."(52)

CONCLUSIONS.

The car releases a wide range of pollutants which make a considerable contribution to global burning. The car related industries also contribute to all the major forms of greenhouse pollution. Their contribution to the greenhouse effect may be even bigger than cars.(53) The car related industries cause far more damage to the Earth's Photosynthetic capacity than the car itself so, the overall contribution of car related industries to global burning may be greater than that of cars alone. In addition, cars and the car related industry may contribute more to global burning through the Photosynthetic effect i.e. damage to the Earth's Photosynthetic capacity, than through the release of greenhouse gas pollution.

So, having traced some of the major sources of geophysiological devastation and greenhouse gas pollution emanating from this vast, inter-locking, global network of industries which are now required to keep cars on the road, it should not be too difficult to conclude that the car is a geophysiological disaster of truly colossal proportions and that, to put it graphically, cars are nothing less than a 680 million strong panzer tank force currently engaged in a blitzkreig attack on the Earth's life support system, "In the modern war against nature, the automobile ranks as the single most destructive tool in the nonmilitary arsenal."(54)

What is truly galling about motorists' geocidal attack on the Earth is their sheer waste and extravagance, "The british use their cars for almost 80% of all journeys, even on distances of less than a few hundred yards, a report commissioned by the RAC revealed yesterday. The report says that 6.9% of journeys by car are less than half a mile, up from 3.8% in the mid 1970s. Trips of between half a mile and one mile increased from 14.7% to 24.1%."(55) In other words, "I'll just pop around the corner for a packet of fags - where's the car keys, love." Almost as bad is motorists' refusal to question the geophysiological consequences of the car - wimps in bangers. Having said this it should be noted that the Animal enslavement industry is a far bigger cause of geophysiological destruction than the car and car related industries.

ALL MOTORISTS ARE ECO-NAZIS

ALL MOTORISTS ARE HOTTERS