What follows is a partial list of categories of such problems. Water Quality - In 1989 the Exxon Valdez dumped 11 million gallons of oil in the Prince William Sound in Alaska. A single oil spill makes the headlines, yet the bigger crisis remains unknown to most citizens. Nine people were killed in Dallas in 1995 for their fancy wheels. It is highly ironical when commercials show automobiles amidst pristine nature, the very settings that their presence most disturbs.
Ads also promote a sense of being in control, which consumers seem to fall for.
There were 6.5 million motor vehicle accidents in the U.S. with 3.2 million injuries according to the 1996 Statistical Abstract of the United States. Worldwide the situation is often much worse. Officials warn that eventually all the cultivated olive and pine forests will disappear in this water-scarce region and Tel Aviv and Jerusalem will merge into one giant megalopolis. Today we have over 500 million cars. The number is expected to double by 2030.