Austin Smith - Motor Racing and The Environment

April 12, 2019

We all know the effects that automobiles have on the environment. It seems like every two seconds we are hearing about how bad fossil fuel powered machines are for the environment, how they produce immense amounts of greenhouse gases, and how electric cars are the future. While all of this may be true, sometimes we forget that there is a subsection of automobiles that, while not unregulated in the slightest, has not exactly been eco-friendly in the past: motor racing.

Motor racing is not exactly a clean sport, ecologically. It is completely centered around making extremely inefficient machines become more efficient, all for the purpose of going faster and burning even more fuel in the process. Your average car may get 20-30 MPG on the highway, but what about these machines? Formula 1 cars are usually recorded at getting around 2-4 MPG! These engines are very inefficient (they need to be to go this fast) but they are used to irresponsibly that they go through fuel extremely quickly. This is why Formula 1 has implemented regulations to help the sport be more environmentally friendly. One of these regulations is that the engine capacity for these machines has been slashed from 2.4 liters to just 1.6 liters, and these motors are now being assisted by a hybrid system, ensuring that the cars do not lose any power in hopes of being more eco-friendly.

Also, since most of Europe has adopted gasoline policy's requiring the substitution of biofuels for a percentage of gasoline (such as 10% ethanol/gallon), Formula 1 has also created regulations requiring similar restrictions for their cars. Biofuels still create similar CO2 emissions to their fossil-fuel counterparts, but since biofuels come from plants, and plants use CO2 during photosynthesis, we are able to learn that the very things that makeup biofuels (plants) are helping reduce the environmental impact that the fuels are creating. Biofuels are better for the environment than fossil fuels because the plants that are required to make them are helping decrease their CO2 emissions into the atmosphere when they undergo photosynthesis.

While Formula 1 racing is not very popular in the US, there is one motorsport that is extremely popular stateside: NASCAR. While the organization has not exactly had the ecosystem in mind in the past (it took them until 2007 to ban lead-based fuels when the US had legislation passed in 1973), they have recently made efforts to promote more eco-friendly practices among their fanbase. NASCAR has teamed up with the United States Environmental Protection Agency to promote high-MPG cars at races to encourage their fans to purchase cars which use less fuel and, in effect, create fewer greenhouse gases than their gas-guzzling counterparts. Another effort being made by the popular racing organization is the use of carbon credits. The Hall of Fame racing team has committed to purchasing carbon credits to offset the carbon emissions that it creates, whether it be during testing, practice, or racing. While it is debatable whether these efforts will actually make a difference in the foundation's greenhouse gas emissions, it is certainly a step in the right direction.

Even though motorsport racing does not have a massive effect on greenhouse gas emissions compared to the rest of the world (one weekend on NASCAR racing uses 6,000 gallons of fuel while the US alone uses 400 million in a day) it is important to make sure that every player in this ecological game is playing fairly. Another factor that is important to consider is that many of the technological advances in Formula 1 race cars trickle down to consumers' cars, meaning more efficient and environmentally-friendly cars are possible when Formula 1 implements regulations to its racing teams. While it is scary to think that many of the previously mentioned changes have only happened recently, it is good to see that these teams are taking steps in the right direction to contribute less to climate change. Our job will be putting increasing pressure on these organizations to keep enacting regulations to lessen their impact on the environment.

Questions:

-Do you think that motor racing firms should enact more or less legislation to keep improve their ecological footprint? Why?

-How many of these regulations do you think should "trickle down" to vehicles available to consumers?

-What other regulations have been enacted to lessen these companies' impacts on the environment?

-What side effects could these regulations have on the environment?

Sources:

https://www.racecar-engineering.com/technology-explained/formula-1-and-the-environment/

http://biofuel.org.uk/greenhouse-gas-emissions.html

https://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/green-science/nascar-environment2.htm

https://archive.epa.gov/epa/aboutepa/epa-takes-final-step-phaseout-leaded-gasoline.html

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-motor-f1-mercedes-hamilton/motor-racing-mercedes-strategist-hails-hamilton-for-finishing-in-australia-idUSKCN1R12GY

https://www.bbc.com/sport/formula1/45522628

https://www.enjoyillinois.com/plan-your-trip/things-to-do/sports/auto-racing-in-illinois/

http://www.espn.com/racing/nascar/story/_/id/25925314/nascar-disqualify-illegal-cars-move-squash-cheating

Comments

Anonymous said…

Although motor racing negatively impacts the environment, it’s cool to see that NASCAR is promoting to its fan base to buy cars that are more environmentally friendly. Because alterations and regulations put on race cars later affect consumers’ cars, it makes sense to put pressure on organizations like NASCAR to promote improving the environment. We would not be able to enjoy motorsport racing without the environment, and we need to take action about the emissions. Even though racing doesn’t contribute a major part of greenhouse gas emission, by having one industry change to more environmentally friendly processes, other industries might follow suit.

April 13, 2019 at 11:40 PM

Anonymous said…

As previously mentioned in few of my comments, what we will do with what we have created in the past should be where our focal point is. In the case of NASCAR, we should point out that NASCAR has adequately reacted to what they were dealing with. Specifically, despite managing and hosting numerous motor races that may have created a noise pollution-related issue, NASCAR has put its effort to reduce what they can for right now. NASCAR held its responsibility and moved what they thought was right to action in real life, which have resulted in visible impacts for our environment. Such manner of thought can be seen as what other industries, even us as individuals, can learn in order to better our environment as a whole.

April 15, 2019 at 8:32 AM

Anonymous said…

When I think of NASCAR Racing I think of drivers going over 200 miles per hour for more than 300 miles. These NASCAR cars have a mileage of 2-5 miles per gallon of gas, and the NASCAR's annual carbon footprint is the area of 4 million pounds. When thinking about it, that's a lot of CO2 that gets released into the atmosphere. When thinking about one of the more popular sports in America, this sport can result in increased CO2 emission which leads to global warming. More regulation needs to be placed on this sport to help save the environment.

April 15, 2019 at 9:00 AM

Anonymous said…

It is interesting that while we discuss how cars (the type that we, as everyday civilians, use) impact the environment, we don’t really talk about how extreme versions of everyday things (i.e. NASCAR) can have a severe impact on the environment, In fact, the cars that race in NACAR have non-EPA-regulated engines. Interestingly enough, NASCAR cars collectively burn so much fuel that the US government labeled NASCAR as a waste of gas during the 1970s fuel shortage. In modern days, NASCAR forces its cars to implement certain sustainable practices; even then, these limitations are few and far between so that they don’t pose a risk to the sport itself.

April 15, 2019 at 9:23 AM

Anonymous said…

This was a very unique post! I never thought about the effects which race cars could have on our environment. While they clearly pollute the environment less than typical automobiles, this does not mean that they should not be regulated. After all, we should all be working to lessen our carbon emissions to regulate global warming and climate change. I do believe that NASCAR should do everything in its power to institute regulations for the betterment of all of us.

April 15, 2019 at 11:31 AM

Anonymous said…

Regulating an industry or holding them to higher standards is always a delicate business. After all, going even slightly too far can cause whole businesses to collapse, or and regulating entertainment can cause mass uproar from the people. Unfortunately, taking action is what we need to do whenever possible, and race cars are no exception. Let’s hope the government and the businesses can team up and both work towards more environmentally sound entertainment.

April 16, 2019 at 6:23 AM

Anonymous said…

While the amount of emissions may not seem high for these sports, the lack of regulation sure does contribute to the emissions of fossil fuels into the environment. I am hopeful because they are already taking action to lessen this, but I fear they will come to the point where they say, “Yeah close enough”. I hope that they eventually regulate it that it so small (the amount of emissions) that it is minuscule, I just expect them to get to about 1/3rd less than they normally use then stop. THe regulating can be powerful, but it takers the courage to take it all the way.

April 16, 2019 at 11:33 AM

Anonymous said…

This was a very interesting post! I think many people fail to realize the extent of the negative environmental impacts that come from race cars. Even though they pollute less than regular cas, it still builds up and therefore must also be regulated. I think it’s important that NASCAR does its best to promote stricter regulations on pollution for the future. However I thought that it was really interesting how NASCAR promoted buying more eco friendly cars to its customers. A lot of the time the greatest influence comes from the suppliers themselves.

April 16, 2019 at 10:56 PM

Anonymous said…

NASCAR is such a big part of our economy and culture here in the USA, and I’d hate to see it come to an end... Regulating anything (emissions in this case) is always a touchy subject, and would probably cause some turmoil in the racing industry. However, it can be said that in order to survive moving forward, it may be necessary to do so. Skeptics may say, “Oh, so you’re gonna regulate race cars and not the cars millions of people drive every day on the street?” And, to that, I say, I don’t know either man.

April 17, 2019 at 11:46 AM

Anonymous said…

Many people get upset about how our cars that get 20 mpg are environmentally unsustainable, but race cars get less than 5 mpg. This causes an incredibly large amount of CO2 to enter the atmosphere, as more fuel is required for the race cars to complete 500 laps. Also, race cars do not have devices such as catalytic converters in them that lessen the amount of emissions. Cars in general have negative consequences on the environment, but race cars are substantially worse.

April 18, 2019 at 11:00 AM

Anonymous said…

This was a really cool topic to do your blog post on! I think that the regulation of race cars certainly isn’t a negative. Pushing anything to be more ecologically friendly may change a general environment around talking about sustainability in general, and that’s always a good thing. Since race cars aren’t a huge part of what’s contributing to global warming/climate change, I think what’s so important about this is the implication. If we can make race cars more eco-friendly, then we can possibly make everyday use cars more eco-friendly as well (setting a precedent). Adding more regulations on race cars, as mentioned by my fellow classmates, may cause complaints in the community. However, if we advocate for these changes ( but not necessarily force them), the impact could be extremely beneficial.

April 18, 2019 at 2:21 PM

Meredith Miller said…

This was such an interesting blog post to read! I had never even thought of the effect motorsports like NASCAR had on the environment. I found an interesting fact that at one point, the sport was burning so much fuel that the U.S. government labeled NASCAR a waste of gas during the fuel shortage of the 1970s. As a result, NASCAR shortened one of its races from 500 miles (804 kilometers) to 450 miles (724 kilometers) as a goodwill gesture. (It was a temporary change.)

April 18, 2019 at 8:57 PM

Anonymous said…

Whenever I think of major consumers of fossil fuels, I think of your typical, everyday automobiles. However, I have never even considered the impact of the vehicles used in motor racing! It's frightening to think that NASCAR did not take significant action and legislation to account for sustainability in the environment until relatively recently. We should try to learn from the eco-friendly measures that are being used in racecars and implement some to cars and vehicles in general.

April 18, 2019 at 11:25 PM

Anonymous said…

This was a great post! I agree with my classmates that although it seems obvious, many of us don’t consider the impact of motor racing on the environment. I find it interesting that NASCAR is working to implement more environmentally friendly practices. To answer your question, I think that several of the regulations of NASCAR will and should “trickle down” to consumers in America. For example, since the EPA has teamed up with NASCAR to promote the purchase of cars with less fuels to their fans, a reduction in the emission of greenhouse gases can occur as consumers consider and heed the advice of NASCAR. These efforts do demonstrate a step in the right direction to promoting the preservation of the environment, and these efforts are especially important in industries that at first sight seem to only work against environmental protection.

April 19, 2019 at 9:47 AM

Anonymous said…

NASCAR has taken initiative to offset its impact on the environment and to preserve the natural environment. According to their website, NASCAR has collaborated with key stakeholders that care deeply about sustainability and currently works with more than 15 green partners, doing business with the mindset of being as environmentally responsible as possible. Industry-wide ‘NASCAR Green’ initiatives take place at NASCAR events throughout the racing season; this includes racing on a blended biofuel called Sunoco Green E15, expansive in-venue recycling efforts, food diversion, solar powered tracks, and several other sustainable ventures.

April 19, 2019 at 9:58 PM

Anonymous said…

This was an amazing gpost, thank you so much for telling me about the subject. NASCAR needs to take more of an initiative to make sure that this doesn't happen in the future, because these problems will only continue to hurt the environment. Action such as NASCAR green needs to be taken for further help

April 19, 2019 at 11:59 PM

Anonymous said…

This night come off as a bit offensive, but through some quick research, I was able to find that the audience that NASCAR caters towards are older, Caucasian males, an audience that, by the numbers, cares less about climate change and environmental destruction than any other group. As a result, to keep their most passionate fans and keep ratings and sales of NASCAR races up, it is not in their best interest to make changes that positevely effect the environment while having an adverse effect on car style or speed. However, the small steps that you outlined that NASCAR is taking is a very good sign, and I hope that the positive reaction to more eco-friendly regulations causes more steps to be taken in the future.

April 21, 2019 at 2:16 PM

Unknown said…

I never knew NASCAR vehicles have a big impact on our environment. When I think about pollution, I think about normal cars and trucks. We should follow NASCASRs ideology and try to make the world a better place. NASCAR has recognized the harm their cars had on the environment. They have taken the first steps to reducing this pollution and helping the environment.

April 21, 2019 at 9:11 PM

Anonymous said…

April 21, 2019 at 9:14 PM

Anonymous said…

What an interesting post! I knew cars obviously polluted the environment, but I didn’t think twice about NASCAR. I read up online about NASCAR and learned that in just one weekend their cars put nearly 120,000 pounds of CO2 into the atmosphere. For perspective, the average person puts about 45,000 pounds of CO2 in the atmosphere in a YEAR. NASCAR is hands down the “dirtiest” sport and its great to see that they have recognized that and are taking action to reduce pollution!

April 22, 2019 at 10:07 AM

Anonymous said…

Although it seems like a small market of fossil fuels, it is more the idea than the impact that I feel is the importance of this. The fact is that not many people are aware of the effects of the depleted fossil fuel sources. This is a great way to reach an audience that may not be educated on this in any other way. But this only works if people are actively trying to push that agenda. That is the only way that this would be beneficial.

April 22, 2019 at 11:13 AM

Anonymous said…

I feel that we can have the same racing we have always had but also make it more environmentally friendly. For example, we can try to get companies working toward environmentally friendly fuel alternatives to sponsor certain racers to promote their brand and decrease the detrimental effects of racing. We can also work towards making electric cars better for racing, which will get some racers to switch over, helping the environment without hurting their chances of winning races.

April 22, 2019 at 6:13 PM

Anonymous said…

I think it’s imortant for NASCAR to promote and maintain environmental standards. I never paid NASCAR any attention, so I never thought about the negative environmental consequences it has, but it makes a lot of sense now that I’m reading about it. Although some may say NASCAR doesn’t harm the environment nearly as much as the average day-to-day population does, the races still impact the environment negatively.

April 22, 2019 at 7:53 PM

Anonymous said…

I think it is crucial for NASCAR and other racing organizations to implement higher environmental standards. Before I paid no attention to NASCAR and just considered it to be like any other televised sport: something for entertainment. I never even glanced at the negative environmental impacts it has and it becomes more and more clear the more that I read about it. I feel that more legislation is crucial in order to decrease its effects and to promote the importance of sustaining the environment.

April 22, 2019 at 8:28 PM

Anonymous said…

I do think that motor racing firms should enact more legislation to keep improving their ecological footprint. While it's quite obvious that the impact motor sport racing has on carbon emissions is relatively tiny, there's still no reason why we shouldn't make an effort. After all, any change towards sustainability should be encouraged and our entertainment is not detached nor exempt from our environmental impact. While it may seem overly-regulating, making efforts to promote sustainable models in racing will make a greater impact than just shilling the model to the consumer. If the racers themselves use sustainable car models, those models become more attractive to the consumer that follows motor racing and makes the endorsement more genuine to the consumer, as their favorite racer is actually using the car instead of promoting the product while using something else. Though the direct environmental impact may not seem huge, the indirect impact impact motor sport regulations have, through their psychological and subsequent economic impact, are a large step towards reducing carbon emissions.

April 23, 2019 at 1:03 AM

Anonymous said…

Interesting post! It is an issue, how bad cars are for the environment, but I wonder if there is a chance that we will ever cut down on their usage. As noted, the car is ubiquitous, whether in racing or the simple commute, so I do not think that we will ever find a way to completely replace the automobile as a form of transportation. What I do think will happen is the advancement of technology in the way of making cars better for the environment.

April 23, 2019 at 6:07 AM

Anonymous said…

A very interesting post! There are many things that affect our enviroment considering air pollution but motor racing is definitely something of a rare topic involving this issue. I’m sure that the motor racing industry accounts for very little of the pollution, but that doesn’t mean we should skimp out on being enviromentally friendly! The racing industry can do much to influence others such as making and using more enviromentally friendly cars. Not only that, but to make enviromentally friendly cars a common type of car so we can start to move towards a more ecologically positive lifestyle.

April 23, 2019 at 6:33 AM

Anonymous said…

I had no idea how inefficient race cars were. I do believe there should be some form of regulation on their emmisions, however it is so minimal compared the rest of the world that I don’t believe politicians would pay any attention to it. Personally I do not see how driving cars in circles is entertaining, but it does have a huge fan base and culture. Thus, it would be hard to change much of this industry.

April 23, 2019 at 7:14 AM

Anonymous said…

This was a very interesting post. I had no conception of the massive waste of energy stemming from race cars. I think an interesting concept would be to race electric cars to really test the innovative capacity of engineers. If the sport is based on the speed of pit stops, how fast can the battery be recharged? How many miles can you get out of a battery-powered engine at high speeds? This would require research that could flow over into civilian life, making electric cars more practical and sustainable.

April 23, 2019 at 8:48 AM

Anonymous said…

This post was very interesting. I had no idea that NASCAR had such a negative effect on the environment. Since racing is such a popular sport and watched by many, I think NASCAR should find ways to make the sport more environmentally friendly so it can continue. I think regulation is needed to decrease the negative effects and promote sustainability of the environment .

April 23, 2019 at 8:59 AM

Anonymous said…

There are no real set of regulations for NASCAR race cars shockingly, and the EPA has taken no action against racing. NASCAR cars lack emission control devices, unlike regular cars, which should be installed to decrease emissions. Furthermore, the race car drivers themselves should take initiative to improve the eco-friendliness of their cars. There are essential ways to cutback on emissions without a trade off in speed.

April 23, 2019 at 5:19 PM

Cathy Kim said…

This was a really interesting post to read! Like most of my classmates have mentioned, I had no idea that NASCAR and race cars in general could have such an impact on our environment. I think more people should be educated on this topic and push for laws/regulations to be enforced to reduce emissions and make the sport become more environmentally friendly. In my opinion, if NASCAR were to promote environmental sustainability would make the sport much more appealing to the public and could create a win-win scenario.

April 23, 2019 at 6:26 PM

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