Band 8 essay sample about excessive use of cars
Essay topic
The first car appeared on British roads in 1888. By the year 2000 there may be as many as 28 million vehicles on British roads. Alternative forms of transport should be encouraged and international las introduced to contrôle car ownership and car use. To what agree do you agree or disagree ?
Sample response
Since their invention by the end of the 19th century, the use and the number of cars on the roads have increased tremendously in Britain as well as other countries. It is true that cars have made traveling easier, but they have disastrous consequences for nature and mankind. Therefore, I agree with the argument that public measures such as enhancing other forms of transport and passing international laws should be taken to reduce the negative impact of cars.
The negative impact of abusive car use is evident. First of all there is pollution, partly induced by cars. It causes acid rains which destroys forest and water. Chronic respiratory diseases such as asthma and COPD are enhanced by pollution. But even cardiovascular diseases and mortality are largely aggravated by bad air quality. It is well known that in days of smog the mortality due to cardiovascular accidents rises in all the big cities. The abusive car use contributes to the irreplaceable depletion of natural resources. Burning fuel warms up the atmosphere and weather condition will become more and more extreme. The overall use of cars has changed our lifestyle. We sit more and exercise less. This results in bad health conditions.
There are solutions. Governments must encourage alternative forms of transport. This can be done in various ways. Cities must be changed. The car use within town centers can be limited, the number of bicycle ways increased, green areas extended and the public transport improved. The use of car sharing services should be encouraged. This can be done with financial incentives. The problems linked to abusive car use such as air pollution and resource consumption have become global problems. Therefore I believe they must be addressed an an international level as well. For example, we need laws in order to limit CO emission.
Based on what I explained above, I think that abusive car use has disastrous consequences on nature and mankind. Solutions exist and must be implemented, first locally but eventually at the international level.
