In recent years， engine manufacturers have been required to reduce the levels of nitrogen oxides (NOx) in diesel engine exhaust to meet Tier 3 emission standards required by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) One of the reasons for this mandate by the EPA is because NOx has been associated with respiratory disease and This requirement is accomplished by changes in engine designs that include retarded timing， raised piston rings， selective catalytic reduction and the use of exhaust gas recirculating (EGR) New engine designs use EGR to control NOx emissions by recirculating exhaust gases back into the combustion chamber to be burned a second time， thereby reducing emissions associated with health The amount of exhaust gas introduced into the combustion chamber will displace oxygen， creating cooler In doing this， many of the exhaust contaminants end up in the engine lubricating Diesel engine oils are now exposed to a higher level of contamination that can degrade the oil and damage engine There is concern that exhaust gas recirculation can have a detrimental effect on engine durability and its effects on the Oils exposed to the EGR environment show an increase in soot content， acid number (AN) and viscosity， while the engine and oil are both exposed to corrosive/acidic gases and particle According to Elizabeth Kobert who wrote a article titled “Running on Fumes” for the New Yorker， she says that there are about 9 personal cars per 1，000 eligible people in C In India， there are about 11 cars per 1，000 eligible The comparison becomes interesting when you factor in cars in the United S Kobert says that we have 1，114 automobiles per 1，000 eligible These figures help us understand why the United States is the top consumer of fossil fuels and emitter of The really frightening aspect of all of this is knowing that both China and India's economies are on a substantial growth track that will forever change the above automobile They are hungry for all of the amenities that are synonymous with a comfortable modern life and driving is one of The urbanization of China has been dramatic over the past Peasants have left the countryside for jobs in urban areas and the promise of a better As a result， urban areas have sprung up almost overnight to accommodate the boom in With a population if over 1 billion people， China has over 200 cities with at least 1 million As they increase their income， they will have expendable income that will allow them to purchase The future looks bright for car sales in China and I Kobert argues that if China and India were to reach car ownership at just half the numbers of American drivers， those two countries would burn through 100 million barrels of oil a If they were to match the number of United States drivers， they would need 200 million barrels of oil a To the average person these numbers appear quite meaningless until you understand that the current total world consumption a day is about 86 million barrels of This level of oil production has plateaued since December of 2005 and many are worried that we have begun the inevitable decline in our ability to pump oil at these This would all be just an interesting academic discussion if it weren't for the fact that 35 billion dollars was just sucked out of our economy due to the increase in fuel prices as we were heading into the Christmas Money spent on fuel is not money spent on the A recent poll by by Gfk Roper Public Affairs and Media reports that 27 million Americans will need to borrow money to pay their fuel bills this winter， 20 million of them will use credit cards to pay for heat to stay This comes at a time when utility companies are expanding the payment options for households and for many this includes credit As we look forward， a prudent person would understand that we are facing several enormous First of all， the world must drastically reduce the amount of carbon we are releasing into the An increasing reliance on the internal combustion engine will obviously seal our If we were to develop an alternative car right now that does not emit carbon it would take years to replace the current stock of The average car stays on the road for 7 The hundreds of millions of vehicles on the road right now will be with us for years to As China and India add to their vehicle stock， it is likely that these vehicles will live out their life cycle as Lastly， it is clear that if we continue to burn fossil fuels we will all be competing for a dwindling The laws of economics tell us that prices will increase as demand outstrips The future appears The implications for increased military conflict to secure our energy future has already begun and will worsen as supply
