Green Motorsports - Research Paper Example

Green Motorsports Introduction Competition is a vital part of the human experience. Human beings have been known to possess an innate drive to be the best at what they do, to prove their worth in relation to their peers and contemporaries, be it for recognition or an otherwise more tangible reward. Gladiators in ancient Rome would fight to the death for the sake of honor and glory, whereas the Middle Ages saw jousting tournaments between armored knights. What awaited the winner was wealth and glory; on the other hand, the loser was left dishonored, if not dead. Needless to say, the drive towards success has long been hardwired into our nature as human beings. Such is still the case in this day and age, although the nature of today's competitive endeavors is decidedly less life-threatening than it used to be. Among the most unique and exhilarating sporting events of today are motorsports which, as the word itself implies, are done primarily with the use of motor vehicles. In fact, the popularity of motorsports has reached the point where multiple leagues have been established with the intent of managing these events. Among the most popular of these leagues is NASCAR, which even today holds the distinction of being the motorsport league most sponsored by companies belonging to the Fortune 500 (Gregory, 2010). Of course, corporations will always have their share of critics, and NASCAR is no exception. Critics have long raised the environmental effects brought on by NASCAR's racing events, and especially their perceived lack of concern when it comes to addressing these effects. One of the most consistent criticisms pertaining to NASCAR concerns its fuel consumption, which has been known to reach up to 7.57 liters of gasoline in a season (Servino, 2007). This point of concern has consistently been raised since 1974, and has become much more important in the present situation. For instance, the burning of fossil fuels has long been known to have certain detrimental effects on the environment, especially with respect to the predicament of global warming (IPCC, 2007). This paper, then, aims to provide an in-depth discussion of how the burning of fossil fuels serves to aggravate already serious environmental issues, and then to relate this to the present situation surrounding NASCAR. The implications on health, society, culture and economics shall also be inferred, and shall be used to draw conclusions on the matter. Fossil Fuels - An Overview As implied by the term itself, fossil fuels are those formed by the decomposition of organisms that have been dead for millions of years - fossils, as it were (Mann et al, ed.). These fuels tend to be rich in carbon, and may also contain coal, petroleum and natural gas. Approximately 21.3 billion tons of carbon dioxide per year are produced through the burning of fossil fuels, which becomes problematic when one considers that the atmosphere can only absorb half that amount, and even more so when one remembers that carbon dioxide is a major, major contributor to global warming - and, ultimately, to a plethora of adverse effects (US Energy Information Administration, 2012). The widespread use of fossil fuels seen today dates back to the Industrial Revolution, while the commercial exportation of fossil fuels began in the 19th century (Hulse, 1999; Ball et al, 1965). Since then, the concentration of carbon dioxide in the Earth's atmosphere has increased to 395 ppm, in stark contrast to the 280 ppm concentration present during pre-industrial times (Etheridge et al, 1996). Simple deduction would point at the widespread burning of fossil fuels as the cause for such a drastic increase. In general, the burning of fossil fuels results in the emission of flue gas to the ambient atmosphere as the product of combustion, and accounts for the massive spike in the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere that has resulted after 800,000 years (Spahni et al, 2005; Zumdahl, 2005). Even today, carbon dioxide emissions continue to increase. The Kyoto Protocol that came into effect in 2005 was an attempt to address this situation, but even then, much more remains to be done (UNFCCC, 2011). Given NASCAR's authority over various motorsports, it can be safely assumed that their events contribute substantially to the greenhouse gases circulating within the atmosphere. When one considers that their vehicles go unregulated by the US Environmental Protection Agency, and that these vehicles tend to do without emissions control devices such as mufflers or catalytic converters, the carbon dioxide footprint left by NASCAR's vehicles becomes a bigger cause for concern. In fact, it was only recently that their attention was called to concerns pertaining to the health of those exposed to the fumes of their vehicles (Passrock, 2006). The High Cost of Fossil Fuels As has been said above, the burning of fossil fuels has a number of consequences to keep in mind, and which motorsports leagues such as NASCAR would do well to keep in mind. After all, all the smoke coming from their vehicles' exhaust pipes cannot be a good thing. Indeed, as already noted, NASCAR themselves took cognizance of the possible effects on their fans and their crew members, if their recent green-initiative - the largest in NASCAR's 50-year history - is anything to go by (Rodman, 2011). Among the biggest consequences of widespread burning of fossil fuels is the production of photochemical smog which, even today, continues to pose a terrible, terrible threat to human health. A report by Watson (2004) of USA Today told of high levels of pollution in certain major cities in California and in the East, where a total of 160 million people were said to reside. The same article also made note of standards set by the US Environmental Protection Agency, which were made more stringent following reports of the terrible, terrible damage capable of being wrought to one's health by seemingly negligible levels of air pollution. High levels of smog in particular have been known to cause lung problems such as asthma, most if not all of which could eventually have lethal consequences if not arrested. While no mention of NASCAR was made by the article, it can nevertheless be inferred that the racing events held throughout the season undoubtedly contribute to such alarming levels of air pollution. As repeated over and over throughout the preceding paragraphs, even relatively low levels air pollution have been known to wreak havoc on the human body, especially on the young and on those of old age. At its worst, air pollution has the potential to result in an alarmingly high body count. That being said, fossil fuels are a non-renewable resource, which means that prices will inevitably go up as supplies dwindle. A cursory look at recent history will reveal that continued reliance on fossil fuels despite such rising costs tends to result in an economic recession, which indeed came to pass between the years 2004 and 2008. And while the worst of it could probably be staved off through the suspension or even abolition of gas taxes, such would obviously not be as effective in the US, where gas taxes have never been high in the first place (Kanter, 2007). Given how much more poorly the economy tends to handle abrupt price spikes than gradual increases, such a scenario will likely not end well (Plumer, 2012). Thus, it would be much more prudent to hasten the transition to the use of renewable energy, especially in an industry like NASCAR which all but treats gasoline as its lifeblood. As a matter of fact, biofuels have already provided as much as 2.7% of the world's transport fuel in 2010, making such a transition not only desirable, but also viable (REN21, 2011). This being the case, it would definitely be in the best interests of NASCAR were it to adapt its vehicles to run on biofuels instead of petrol. As already noted, the transition to biofuels has already been confirmed to be inevitable given the steadily depleting supply of fossil fuels. Therefore, NASCAR has little to lose, and much more to gain, were it to count itself as one of the first motorsports leagues to embrace the use of biofuel as an alternative to petrol. Synthesis / Conclusion For the longest time, people all over the world have used fossil fuels to power their engines. As a result, fossil fuels have all but become the lifeblood of nations the world over, so much so that countries have come into conflict over them. Middle Eastern countries have never been above using their vast oil reserves as bargaining chips to gain the advantage over others, while jealously guarding them against those they perceive to be after their oil. The recent dispute over the Scarborough Shoal located in Southeast Asia is yet another example - one that could very well have turned violent had it not been for intervention on the part of the UN and of the US. Given that the non-renewable nature of fossil fuels has served to turn nations against each other, it would definitely be to everyone's advantage to make a transition to alternative energy sources such as biofuels. The same is necessarily true for lesser organizations, especially a gasoline-dependent association such as NASCAR. Fossil fuels are not getting any more abundant, nor are they getting any cheaper; indeed, there are countries in which oil price hikes occur almost everyday. The low supply, coupled with a near-astronomic demand, has resulted in the expenditure of progressively more funds on a progressively less amount of petrol - which becomes a rather sensitive issue in light of the detrimental effects fossil fuels have on the environment. Were biofuels to be used instead, quite a lot of money could be saved, which could then be used for more meaningful pursuits. And in addition, the environment would be spared deterioration. Were NASCAR to make the transition to biofuels, a wide range of benefits would be observed. First and foremost, NASCAR practically lives off of gasoline by its very nature as a motorsports league; by shifting to alternative forms of energy, they would be able to demonstrate that fossil fuels are not quite as much of a necessity as they are believed to be, especially in light of the pollution they tend to cause. Such an act on their part would also constitute arguably the ultimate and most sincere show of corporate social responsibility, inspiring other leagues to do the same. Last but not least, NASCAR itself stands to benefit; not only will they end up spending much less on biofuels than they would on petrol, they would also be hailed by the general public for their demonstration of stewardship to the environment. Indeed, were NASCAR to shift to biofuels, it would only benefit them in the long run. References Ball, M. W., Ball, D. and Turner, D. S. (1965) This fascinating oil business. Indianapolis: Bobbs-Merrill. Etheridge, D. M., Steele, L., Langenfelds, R., Francey, R. 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