The research group that first exposed the scandal, the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT), has come out swinging, saying that ‘it’s not over’ and that governments need to clean up their acts if we want to breathe fresh air again. However, not everyone is taking this warning as seriously as they should be.
Take, for instance, the owner of a ’97 VW Golf named Bob. Bob’s car has racked up over 200,000 miles over the years and still hasn’t been taken off the road despite its highly polluting emissions. When asked why he hasn’t decided to switch to a more eco-friendly vehicle yet, Bob just shrugged and said, “I mean, it’s still drivable. Why mess with a good thing?”
But not everyone is content with old, dirty cars. Some people are taking matters into their own hands and getting creative with their solutions. Take, for instance, the group of activists who have banded together to start an underground market for DIY car converters. These converters, made out of old soup cans and duct tape, supposedly filter out all the toxic air pollutants that traditional diesel cars spew out. When asked how well they actually work, one of the activists smiled and said, “Well, we haven’t died yet!”
In the end, it seems like no one is really stepping up to clean up our air pollution problem. But hey, maybe we’ll all grow gills and fins and learn how to breathe underwater. That’s something, right?
