As the number of private cars has increased, so too has the level of pollution in many cities. What can be done to tackle this increasingly common problem?

As the number of private

cars

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has increased, so has the level of pollution. Overreliance on

cars

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at the expense of public

transport

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has made

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problem

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even worse, causing many concerned citizens to look for a solution to the

problem

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. One potential solution to

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problem

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is to discourage the use of private

cars

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by raising taxes. If the cost of petrol was increased,

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many

people

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would consider using alternative forms of

transport

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or even walking. Admittedly, there would be a number of complaints from car drivers, but these would not be of much importance when balanced against the environmental benefits. Another solution could be to look at more specific causes of the

problem

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. Modern

cars

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are fitted with cleaner-burning engines and catalytic converters.

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, they do not cause as much of an environmental hazard as some older

cars

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. In Japan,

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,

cars

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are heavily taxed once they have been on the road for three years or more, encouraging

people

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to buy new

cars

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which pollute less. By heavily taxing older vehicles from the road, some of the worst polluting vehicles would be taken off the road.

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,

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would not really be fair to those who cannot afford a new car with

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regularity. An improvement in the quality and efficiency of public

transport

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would

also

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encourage

people

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to use their

cars

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less. In London,

for example

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, a system has been operating for some time in which

people

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are allocated days of the week when they can use their

cars

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. On days that they are not allowed to drive, public

transport

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is taken.

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these are potential solutions to the

problem

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, none of them is perfect. Only by a concerted effort by both the government and the public can

this

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situation truly be resolved.