Annotated Bibliography Example on the Environmental and Health Impact of Volkswagen Model Year 2009-2015 Vehicles

In this article, Ashok et al. illuminate on the environmental and health impact that the excess emission of NOx of Volkswagen model year 2009-2015 vehicles produced when in motion. The authors illustrate on how Volkswagen violated the Clear Air Act by using control defeat device to cheat on the level of emission that their vehicles were producing. The authors illuminate on how the control defeat devices tempered with the on-road emissions testing to produce fraudulent results on the level that were below the EPA standards thus giving the vehicles the green light.

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The authors endeavor to quantify the health implications and associated medical costs that resulted from the excess emission. Ashok et al. develop a distribution function of the excess NOx emitted by each Volkswagen vehicle per 50km traveled. The authors apply statistics from vehicle sales data STEP vehicle fleet model to determine the total distance covered by all Volkswagen cars in U.S. The authors employ the GEOS-CHEM adjoint-based rapid air pollution exposure model to determine the mortality and morbidity effects of the excess emission.

The paper provides meaningful insight on the fatal effects of engaging in unethical practices in business. The authors associate 59 deaths and over $450 million in social costs to the excess emission. The paper limits its scope to health effects on the society caused by the unethical practice. The paper will be instrumental in highlighting that unethical conduct in business has adverse effects on society at large.

Boffeetta, P., Chang, E., Crump, K., Lau, E., Luebeck, G.,McClellan, R. & Mooglavkar, S. 2015. Diesel engine exhaust and lung cancer mortality: time-related factors in exposure and risk. Risk Analysis, 35(4), 663-673.

The authors expose the health risk of being exposed to excessive emissions from diesel engines. The authors focus on explaining the direct correlation between long durations of exposure to diesel engine emissions and the concentration of the exhaust to increased risk of contracting lung cancer. The study employs a research on Diesel Miners Study (DEMS) to expose the link between diesel exhaust emissions and escalated mortality rate associated with lung cancer.

The article will be essential in justifying the harsh response that the U.S authorities exhibited upon learning of the Volkswagen emission scandal. The authorities only responded in the protection of their citizens. The article is only limited is creating a relation between excess emission and health implication. The article profoundly confines its study on the health implications to lung cancer. The study ignores environmental impact.

Coglianese, C. & Nash, J. The law of the test: performance-based regulation and diesel emissions control. Yale Journal on Registration, 34(1), 1-56.

Coglianese and Nash provide an extensive look into the Volkswagen emission scandal by first expounding on the laws and regulation of emission. The authors illustrate on the how the performance-based regulatory system for pollution control works. The authors highlight of the inflexibility of the system and offer several alternatives that are available. The article explains the process which the diesel engine works, how diesel emission is created and controlled. The article offers a brief history into regulatory efforts taken by EPA since 1950s to date. Coglianese and Nash expound on the EPA testing procedure and enforcement protocol. The article proceeds to articulate on how Volkswagen tempered with its emission control software to provide underestimations of the actual emission levels. The paper raises the alarm on the efficacy of the regulatory bodies, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) after the body failed to identify the scandal in advance. EPA had experienced the emission scandal among diesel truck engine manufacturers and should have learned from it. The authors exploit the Volkswagen scandal to illuminate on the limitation and shortcomings of EPA. The paper provides a step by step breakdown of the Volkswagen emission scandal from the testing cheat to the last discovery of the fraud.

The article heavily focuses on regulations of emission. The paper provides limited information on business ethic but instead focuses more on the law and the regulation surrounding emission by vehicles. The paper will be instrumental in providing insight into the regulation of omission and also on the Volkswagen emission scandal.

Tabuchi, J. (2017). Volkswagen Scandal Reaches All the Way to the Top, Lawsuits Say. Nytimes.com. Retrieved 6 June 2017, from

https://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/20/business/international/volkswagen-ny-attorney-general-emissions-scandal.htmlThe journalist report on the decision of three states attorney general to sue Volkswagen over the scandal which they refer to a preplanned well orchestrated fraud to cheat the U.S government and its citizens over the actual pollution levels of the vehicles. The trio dismissed statements from Volkswagen that the top management had no prior knowledge of the cheat software before the scandal. Through substantial evidence in the form of internal company documents, email communications and statements from witnesses, they accuse the top management of full knowledge of the deliberate scheme to cheat on pollution test. The reporter notes that the three attorneys general implicate Matthias Muller, the Volkswagens chief executive, of being aware of the scandal since 2006. The journalist expounds on the attorneys general position that the top management was aware of the scam and should face legal actions.

The newspaper article provides meaningful insight on who planned the installation of the defeat devices. The article will be critical in laying responsibility to the planners of the scam. The article is only limited to identifying the source of the scandal and does not provide information on the how the Volkswagen scandal occurred.