333
poisoning and eventually declared TEL’s use as gasoline additive safe. The existence of less toxic alternatives, such as ethanol, was ignored by both the industry
and relevant public health offi cials.
By the early 1960s, TEL was in virtually all US gasoline and was quickly expanding in the rest of the world. Around the same time cars were identifi ed as a major
source of photochemical smog in highly motorized areas such as Los Angeles. That
ICVs powered by (leaded) gasoline cause signifi cant environmental problems
fi nally became undeniable when scientists started to notice dangerous and rising
levels of lead in the environment and human blood, and the smog caused by cars
went from bad to worse. In the early 1970s, US car makers decided to use catalytic
converters to meet the emerging tailpipe emission standards. This was bad news for
TEL, which poisons catalytic converters. At the same time the recently founded US
EPA started to consider phasing out leaded gasoline to reduce chronic lead exposure. TEL was eventually banned in California in 1992 and in the rest of the United
States in 1996. In the EU, catalytic converters became mandatory in 1990, and lead
was fi nally banned in 2000.
By then, the use of lead in gasoline had caused catastrophic levels of lead pollution. While lead levels in human blood decrease quickly in regions where leaded
gasoline is banned, TEL is still used in many developing economies, and elevated
levels of lead can be found in virtually every corner of the earth. Banning TEL
required the use of an alternative antiknock. The United States and other countries
decided to use methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE) to replace lead, a typical material
substitution approach to pollution prevention. Unfortunately, MTBE is highly water
soluble, and even small fuel spills can contaminate large amounts of groundwater.
MTBE may also be a carcinogen. This is an example of the environmental trade-offs
that are frequently involved in substitution approaches. As a result, the use of MTBE
has been phased out in the United States, which now uses ethanol as antiknock and
oxygenate, the same substance that was ignored in the 1920s. There seems to be a
certain amount of reinventing the wheel in environmental problem solving. The
rediscovery of reusable bags, containers, and packaging come to mind here.
Three-way catalytic converters are classic end-of-pipe technology designed to
control pollution. They are extremely successful in reducing CO, NO X , and hydrocarbon emissions from vehicles but require platinum and slightly reduce powertrain
performance. More importantly, it could be argued that they have enabled staggering levels of ICV ownership and use. This means that photochemical smog is still a
major problem in areas like Los Angeles, only now caused by vast numbers of low
or ultralow-emission vehicles as opposed to the fewer cars with high emissions in
the 1960s. Also, catalytic converters do nothing to CO 2 , so the enormous proliferation of ICVs, partially enabled by this end-of-pipe technology, leads to an equal
increase in automotive greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, which has fi nally come
under scrutiny. In 2006, the UNFCCC reported rising GHG emission trends and
noted that “in particular, transport remains a sector where emission reductions are
urgently required but seem to be especially diffi cult to achieve.”
Initially, environmental automotive regulation focused on the air pollutants CO,
VOC, NO X , and PM. After the oil crisis in 1973, the United States also added fuel
18 The Industrial Ecology of the Automobile
poisoning and eventually declared TEL’s use as gasoline additive safe. The existence of less toxic alternatives, such as ethanol, was ignored by both the industry
and relevant public health offi cials.
By the early 1960s, TEL was in virtually all US gasoline and was quickly expanding in the rest of the world. Around the same time cars were identifi ed as a major
source of photochemical smog in highly motorized areas such as Los Angeles. That
ICVs powered by (leaded) gasoline cause signifi cant environmental problems
fi nally became undeniable when scientists started to notice dangerous and rising
levels of lead in the environment and human blood, and the smog caused by cars
went from bad to worse. In the early 1970s, US car makers decided to use catalytic
converters to meet the emerging tailpipe emission standards. This was bad news for
TEL, which poisons catalytic converters. At the same time the recently founded US
EPA started to consider phasing out leaded gasoline to reduce chronic lead exposure. TEL was eventually banned in California in 1992 and in the rest of the United
States in 1996. In the EU, catalytic converters became mandatory in 1990, and lead
was fi nally banned in 2000.
By then, the use of lead in gasoline had caused catastrophic levels of lead pollution. While lead levels in human blood decrease quickly in regions where leaded
gasoline is banned, TEL is still used in many developing economies, and elevated
levels of lead can be found in virtually every corner of the earth. Banning TEL
required the use of an alternative antiknock. The United States and other countries
decided to use methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE) to replace lead, a typical material
substitution approach to pollution prevention. Unfortunately, MTBE is highly water
soluble, and even small fuel spills can contaminate large amounts of groundwater.
MTBE may also be a carcinogen. This is an example of the environmental trade-offs
that are frequently involved in substitution approaches. As a result, the use of MTBE
has been phased out in the United States, which now uses ethanol as antiknock and
oxygenate, the same substance that was ignored in the 1920s. There seems to be a
certain amount of reinventing the wheel in environmental problem solving. The
rediscovery of reusable bags, containers, and packaging come to mind here.
Three-way catalytic converters are classic end-of-pipe technology designed to
control pollution. They are extremely successful in reducing CO, NO X , and hydrocarbon emissions from vehicles but require platinum and slightly reduce powertrain
performance. More importantly, it could be argued that they have enabled staggering levels of ICV ownership and use. This means that photochemical smog is still a
major problem in areas like Los Angeles, only now caused by vast numbers of low
or ultralow-emission vehicles as opposed to the fewer cars with high emissions in
the 1960s. Also, catalytic converters do nothing to CO 2 , so the enormous proliferation of ICVs, partially enabled by this end-of-pipe technology, leads to an equal
increase in automotive greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, which has fi nally come
under scrutiny. In 2006, the UNFCCC reported rising GHG emission trends and
noted that “in particular, transport remains a sector where emission reductions are
urgently required but seem to be especially diffi cult to achieve.”
Initially, environmental automotive regulation focused on the air pollutants CO,
VOC, NO X , and PM. After the oil crisis in 1973, the United States also added fuel
18 The Industrial Ecology of the Automobile