22 September 2010
Belarus to mark Car Free Day 22 September
MINSK, 22 September (BelTA) – Car Free Day will be held in Belarus on 22 September, BelTA learnt from the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection. It is the third time Belarus is to take part in the European Carfree Day campaign. Belarus organized its first Car Free Day in 2008. The action resulted in cutting pollutant emissions by more than 400 tonnes including nearly 100 tonnes in Minsk. An estimated 100,000 cars are made every day in the world, i.e. one car per second. Cars exert a dramatically negative impact on the planet emitting waste almost 50 times more their weight and polluting air similar to the amount of pollutants discharged by all the industrial companies of the city. A car making 15,000 kilometers a year burns 2 tonnes of petrol and consumes 30 tonnes of air including 4.5 tonnes of oxygen. It emits 700 kilos of carbon monoxide, 400 kilos of nitrogen dioxide and 230 kilos of hydrocarbon. Car exhausts cause numerous diseases including cancer, intoxication, bronchitis and lung troubles. The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection calls upon all car drivers to support the Car Free Day campaign and leave their personal vehicles at home.БЕЛТА