ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the issue of industrial metabolism in terms of the consumption and use of energy by cars and their impact on environmental systems. This impact can be best understood by examining the link between human practices and environmental change. In America the car initially was adopted by wealthier individuals and was attached to social status as it had been in Europe. When this market was saturated, entrepreneurs like Henry Ford began designing a car for the average person. Solutions to the problems caused by the car began in America. Early in the century, automobile clubs introduced rules and regulations regarding safety with a focus on speed. Mexico City, the most populated and polluted city in the world, is a good example of the growth of car culture and its impacts on the local population and environment. In 1990 the government introduced reformulated gasoline with a minimum of lead for cars equipped with catalytic converters.
