The Impact of Motor Sports to the Environment: Introduction of Green Motor Sports - Coursework Example

THE IMPACT OF MOTOR SPORTS TO THE ENVIRONMENT: INTRODUCTION OF GREEN MOTOR SPORTS Introduction The deterioration of our planet’s ecosystem and atmosphere cannot be ignored: if we must act, we have to act now. The earth’s ozone layer has been depleted by severe coal gas emissions. Worse is the reality that greenhouse gases have altered meteorological conditions. There are pollutants everywhere, in the atmosphere, in our homes and places of work, in business as well as in motor sports. Major air pollutants come from transportation, and from stationary sources such as factories, power plants and industries. Air pollutants include carbon monoxide, sulfur oxides, nitrogen oxides, particulates, hydrocarbons, and photochemical oxidants. All these harm the environment and change the course of human destiny. If we introduce reusable and sustainable energy and control gas emissions from the millions of cars and means of transportation, pollutants will be minimized and we might be able to restore the beauty and freshness of mother Earth. In view of the rapid expansion of the world’s economies and the ever increasing means of transportation, demand for fossil fuel will become severe but the effects might be long lasting and cannot be reversed. The world’s program of action has not improved these past decades because we still depend on fossil fuel; specifically, eighty percent of energy comes from fossil fuels. There will come a time that supply of oil will come to its peak. There must be a way to substitute fossil fuels and coal, for instance we substitute the millions of cars with electric cars. This is not harmful to the environment. Green motorsport is fast becoming a trend. Motor sports have a negative impact on the environment. Environmental concerns include the use of a great amount of fuel, the degradation of waterways, unsustainable manufacturing, the lack of adequate transport accessibility during sports events, and other environmental threats. (Smith & Westerbeek, 2004, p. 139) Background It is an established fact that products come from raw materials extracted from the environment. The extraction of the material requires a rigorous technological process, sometimes with the use of chemicals and other complicated methods to separate the core element from the raw material that may finally produce a product. The process poses a serious threat to the environment. Where before manufacturers were only concerned of making products, sell them to the end users and never thought of what would happen to the environment, there are some industries now that have different concept of supply chain. Businesses and organizations tried new ways of dealing with the influx of countless products that were made haphazardly. Wastes, hazardous chemicals, plastics, and disposing of all the dangerous metals and substances have to be dealt with. It is time the world realizes that all of humanity has a role to play in controlling global warming and climate change. One of these industries is the motor sports. Motorsport has a negative impact on the environment but it can be used to provide environmental awareness and help fight climate change. Concerns have been focused on carbon emissions from tailpipes including noise pollution, oil spills, and disposal of vehicle parts and tires. New strategies are focused on raw materials and finished products that do not pose a great amount of environmental impact. Green engineering principles Processes of extracting, manufacturing, and transporting of products must be carefully planned taking into consideration the environmental threats they can create. The process requires green engineering and management of a product. Engineering must also look into how the end product will help reduce environmental impact. A driver of change is the continuing demand and attention paid to health issues by consumers. The term quality has many meanings in the new context of supply chain. While before quality applies to durability and long-lasting, now quality applies to the entire process of extracting the material to become a product, added with ‘green principles’. Quality should be ‘green’ and must not threaten the environment. Quality means a simple product that goes back to the manufacturer for recycle to avoid waste. It is not only important to produce a product under a green supply chain process and guideline, but it is also significant that the product be handled properly and goes back to the manufacturer for recycle and reuse. This is part of green engineering principles. The Green supply chain management covers the time from the planning stage to making the product, to delivering it to end users until the product is not anymore in use and to be disposed. (Wang & Gupta, 2011, p. xv) The concept of green motorsport Porter (1985) popularized the term value chain which referred to adding value to products by performing primary and support activities in the production and processing of the product. Green engineering is making products valuable to customers. Manufacturing products especially engines that reduce gas emissions is an aspect of green engineering. An important related term in management is green supply chain management which adds value to the supply chain by making every product valuable and reducing product inventory. In the United States, the government used the Clean Air Act 1970 and its underlying implementing rules and policies to regulate the manufacture and operation of motor vehicles to minimize environmental impact (Hempel, 1995, p. 66). In the UK, a growing awareness of motorsport’s environmental impact helped to promote environmental racing and reduce carbon dioxide emission. America has also awakened and is freeing itself from dependence on oil. The US government under President Barack Obama and ten of the world’s largest car makers has joined forces to break its dependence on oil. As we can see, the United States is the biggest importer of oil, roughly one fourth of the world’s demand for oil. The focus for these big players is to enhance manufacture of hybrid and electric cars, manufacture of products that foster green motorsports, and enhance R&D on this growing industry. (Green MotorSport.com, 2012) Green MotorSport started in 2001 (Fuel Cell Markets, 2012), but it was not until 2003 when green motorsport racing events, initiated by concerned individuals and groups in the racing community, became popular. By that time, green motorsport was at its infancy. (Tranter & Lowes, 2007, p. 170) The road is long and there’s still much to be seen for this growing industry, but it has produced a nice start. In the UK, people and government are spearheading to ‘heal’ the environment through green motorsport, with initial programmes focused on alternative fuels and technologies. Electric vehicles are becoming a trend with ‘smaller UK companies’ being urged and motivated to manufacture green-inspired motor vehicles. (Fuel Cell Markets, 2012) Moreover, the government has released an incentive programme in the amount of £250 million to help private companies in fast tracking the manufacture and putting to immediate use electric and plug-in hybrid passenger cars, with each qualified passenger car provided a £5,000 grant. Private and public sectors are building recharging stations in various places. Others are designing and refining technologies with environmental objectives. (Fuel Cell Markets, 2012) Green MotorSport is an organization that leads in ‘green motoring’, spearheading to develop new technologies to reduce CO2 emissions. Similar smaller businesses or SMEs are developing – and perfecting – production of electric vehicles. But not only in the UK, in many parts of the world, particularly Japan, larger business organizations have been into manufacture of fast and effective electric vehicles. In fact, electric vehicles are found in the open market competing with faster cars but are not within what we call ‘green business’. Toyota has been in the forefront of manufacturing and commercializing electric vehicles and hybrid cars. Toyota manufactured Prius, an electric car that runs on fuel and electricity. Back in the UK, some pioneering and inspired moves by concerned individuals and groups led to the production of the Electric Vehicle Solar Canopy, built in strategic places to provide protection to ‘green vehicles’. These stations serve as parking spaces but actually they have semi transparent solar arrays used to recharge the batteries of electric cars. Each Canopy can provide at least 1,100kWh/year and is made available for a starting capital of £15,000 for private companies wanting to install it in their parking areas. Other green-inspired vehicles and products include the EVO race bike which has a zero carbon fuel for propulsion and uses ‘renewable and sustainable materials’ (Green MotorSport.com, 2012). Another green application for vehicles is the GMS Dual Power Train, driven by electricity that can replace the internal combustion engine. There are two types for this: ‘the M1 single motor and the dual drive system’. These are electric motors which provide efficient power without the need for gear differentials, economical and no air emissions. (Green MotorSport.com, 2012) Political implications Environmental innovations have three distinct features with respect to political implications. First, environmental programs need to have political support, and this all the more means that green motorsports application is a political exercise; second, environmental innovations address environmental problems that are global in scope and therefore they have global market potential; and third, the global economy needs environmental innovations since natural resources are becoming scarce and depleted. The most important implication of green motorsports lies in the fact that politicians cooperate with industries or firms which also seek political and regulatory support for their technologies. Green motorsports need help from various sectors to further the aims of motorsports engineering and transform the streets into avenues full of environmentally-friendly vehicles. The government can encourage green motorsports by way of its political power and influence. Providing incentives to manufacture electric vehicles is one way of motivating manufacturers. Recommendations to improve green motorsports There should be a database of customer information for the promotion of green motorsports. This records business interaction of customer and the green motorsports. It can involve coordination to manage a continuous communication and exchange of ideas by different units and the information can be used to further the aims of green motorsports. In analyzing the customers’ information, green motorsports agencies and companies can shift focus to analyzing what the future holds for the industry. Engineering of green motorsports can be improved through research and development (R&D) of new products and perfecting hybrid and electric cars. The automotive industry should focus on environmentally friendly methods and processes in supply chains, putting measures that revert back to environment protection and care. The different processes in supply chains added with technological methods putting emphasis on environmental protection will help improve green motorsports. The activities involved in the production of green motorsports products should have coordination, integrity, sharing of contents of database and adequate flexibility between partners. Private and public sector partnership should be enhanced focusing on motorsports with environmental concerns. The New Automotive Innovation Growth Team (NAIGT) is a program that proposed reduction of carbon dioxide emissions. The aim is to meet European targets focusing on new environmentally-friendly passenger cars. The concept proposed by NAIGT is to have a private sector and government partnership, with the UK Government Automotive Council to provide cash and tax incentives to encourage the growth of the electric and hybrid cars industry. (Green MotorSport.com, 2012) References Fuel Cell Markets: Government action to introduce electric vehicles. (2012). Retrieved 26 June 2012 from http://www.fuelcellmarkets.com/green_motorsport/news_and_information/3,1,388,1,28792.html Green MotorSport.com: The future of motoring. (2012). Retrieved 26 June 2012 from http://www.greenmotorsport.com/green_motorsport/news_and_information/3,1,388,1,28052.html Hempel, L. (1995). Environmental technology and the green car: towards a sustainable transportation policy. In F. Fischer & M. Black (Eds.), Greening environmental policy: the politics of a sustainable future (pp. 66-86). London: Paul Chapman Publishing Ltd. Smith, A. & Westerbeek, H. (2004). The sport business future. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. Tranter, P. & Lowes, M. (2007). Communicating urban values through megasport events: The case of Australia’s “high performance” cities. In T. Gibson & M. Lowes (Eds.), Urban communication: production, text, context (pp. 165-176). Maryland, USA & United Kingdom: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc. Wang, H. & Gupta, S. (2011). Green supply chain management: product life cycle approach. United States of America: The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Read More