text: As a new driver, there is nothing I despise more than waking up to servere smog, squinting as I corral my vehicle down blurred roadways en route to school. By utilizing my own vehicle, however, I am adding to the problem. Smog and other forms of un-aestetic air pollution are caused in part by the greenhouse gas emissions from cars' tailpipes. In the United States, passenger cars are responsible for up to 50% of greenhouse gas emissions. (Source 1) Another large percentage of these emissions comes from the unefficient, energy-wasting, carbon-spewing processes required to create gasoline and diesel fuel. Essentially, we emit large amounts of greehouse gases to produce fuel for our vehicles which, in turn, release more greenhouse gases. As an AP Environmental Science student, I know better than anyone the degrading results of excessive greenhouse gases. As these particles accumulate in the atmosphere, light from the sun, including harmful ultraviolet rays, stays trapped in our planet, causing a gradual rise in average temperature. This process is known as global warming. Besides being dangerous to our planet, air pollution is unappealing visualy to all inhabitants of Earth. Smog once reached such high levels in Paris, the capital of France, that a partial driving ban was placed on the city to purify the air. After one day of diminishing the number of cars on the roads by 50%, the smog had cleared enough for civilians to continue their daily activities. (Source 2) The grotesque images associated with smog can harm Paris' economy; tourists want to view the Palace of Versailles with a tear in their eye from its beauty, not from the sting of air pollutants.