332
come to stay.” The newspaper went on to say that “man loves the horse, and he is
not likely ever to love the automobile” (Cohn 2009 ). We all know which one of
those two predictions was wrong.
After a century of undisputed domination, the gasoline- or diesel-powered internal combustion vehicle (ICV) fi nally has to contend with some serious competition.
The staple automotive material, steel, has also come under considerable competitive
pressure. Interestingly, all contenders, be they biofuels, hydrogen, hybrid or pure
electric powertrains, aluminum, or fi ber-reinforced polymers, are all marketed as
ways to reduce the environmental impacts of cars. For this reason, the demand for
industrial ecology expertise, especially life cycle assessment, has increased signifi -
cantly in the automotive world. While all these developments are relatively recent,
the history of environmental concerns caused by cars is almost as old as the history
of the car itself.
The modern automobile, or car, was fi rst created in Europe in the late nineteenth
century by inventors and entrepreneurs such as Karl Benz, Gottlieb Daimler, and
Wilhelm Maybach. It is based on four-stroke gasoline or diesel engines, invented,
among others, by Nikolaus Otto and Rudolf Diesel, even though cars using steam
engines and electric motors were also developed at that time. While electric vehicles
(EVs) enjoyed considerable success in the early twentieth century, continuous
improvement of ICV design and performance together with a steady decline in ICV
prices and increasing availability of gasoline lead to an eventual demise of the EV
industry by 1920. After the turn of the century, supply and demand of ICVs started
to increase rapidly, both in Europe and in the United States. While France was initially the largest producer of vehicles, it was soon overtaken by the United States,
which introduced and perfected mass production of vehicles. No car epitomizes the
affordable, mass-produced automobile more than the Model T, introduced by Henry
Ford in 1908. Over 15 million models were produced worldwide by the time Ford
ceased production of the Model T in 1927.
The fi rst environmental drama began to unfold in 1921 when Thomas Midgley,
who was working for Charles Kettering at the General Motors Research Corporation,
discovered tetraethyl lead’s (TEL) excellent antiknock properties and patented it
(Kitman 2000 ). Both were aware of viable antiknock alternatives to TEL which
couldn’t be patented, such as ethanol. The toxicity of lead had been known for several thousand years, and the proposal to use TEL as gasoline additive almost
instantly sparked public health controversies. Acute lead poisoning was common in
the early TEL production plants. In fall 1924, 5 of 49 TEL workers in Standard Oil’s
Bayway Refi nery in New Jersey died of acute lead poisoning, and 32 had to be hospitalized. As a result, New York City, New Jersey, and Philadelphia banned leaded
gasoline, jeopardizing GM, DuPont, and Standard Oil’s plan to make TEL the leading antiknock additive. To address and preempt growing public health concerns
about TEL, General Motors commissioned research from the US Bureau of Mines
in 1923 and asked the Surgeon General Hugh Cumming to hold public hearings in
1925. The hearings were inconclusive and charged an expert committee to further
investigate the public safety of TEL. While some experts mentioned the risk of
chronic exposure, all offi cial reports and statements focused on the risk of acute lead
R. Geyer
come to stay.” The newspaper went on to say that “man loves the horse, and he is
not likely ever to love the automobile” (Cohn 2009 ). We all know which one of
those two predictions was wrong.
After a century of undisputed domination, the gasoline- or diesel-powered internal combustion vehicle (ICV) fi nally has to contend with some serious competition.
The staple automotive material, steel, has also come under considerable competitive
pressure. Interestingly, all contenders, be they biofuels, hydrogen, hybrid or pure
electric powertrains, aluminum, or fi ber-reinforced polymers, are all marketed as
ways to reduce the environmental impacts of cars. For this reason, the demand for
industrial ecology expertise, especially life cycle assessment, has increased signifi -
cantly in the automotive world. While all these developments are relatively recent,
the history of environmental concerns caused by cars is almost as old as the history
of the car itself.
The modern automobile, or car, was fi rst created in Europe in the late nineteenth
century by inventors and entrepreneurs such as Karl Benz, Gottlieb Daimler, and
Wilhelm Maybach. It is based on four-stroke gasoline or diesel engines, invented,
among others, by Nikolaus Otto and Rudolf Diesel, even though cars using steam
engines and electric motors were also developed at that time. While electric vehicles
(EVs) enjoyed considerable success in the early twentieth century, continuous
improvement of ICV design and performance together with a steady decline in ICV
prices and increasing availability of gasoline lead to an eventual demise of the EV
industry by 1920. After the turn of the century, supply and demand of ICVs started
to increase rapidly, both in Europe and in the United States. While France was initially the largest producer of vehicles, it was soon overtaken by the United States,
which introduced and perfected mass production of vehicles. No car epitomizes the
affordable, mass-produced automobile more than the Model T, introduced by Henry
Ford in 1908. Over 15 million models were produced worldwide by the time Ford
ceased production of the Model T in 1927.
The fi rst environmental drama began to unfold in 1921 when Thomas Midgley,
who was working for Charles Kettering at the General Motors Research Corporation,
discovered tetraethyl lead’s (TEL) excellent antiknock properties and patented it
(Kitman 2000 ). Both were aware of viable antiknock alternatives to TEL which
couldn’t be patented, such as ethanol. The toxicity of lead had been known for several thousand years, and the proposal to use TEL as gasoline additive almost
instantly sparked public health controversies. Acute lead poisoning was common in
the early TEL production plants. In fall 1924, 5 of 49 TEL workers in Standard Oil’s
Bayway Refi nery in New Jersey died of acute lead poisoning, and 32 had to be hospitalized. As a result, New York City, New Jersey, and Philadelphia banned leaded
gasoline, jeopardizing GM, DuPont, and Standard Oil’s plan to make TEL the leading antiknock additive. To address and preempt growing public health concerns
about TEL, General Motors commissioned research from the US Bureau of Mines
in 1923 and asked the Surgeon General Hugh Cumming to hold public hearings in
1925. The hearings were inconclusive and charged an expert committee to further
investigate the public safety of TEL. While some experts mentioned the risk of
chronic exposure, all offi cial reports and statements focused on the risk of acute lead
R. Geyer