In 1886, the internal combustion engine car was a revolutionary concept that transformed society. But in 2021, it has connotations that mean something very different.
In 1888, a journey was made that changed everything. Bertha Benz drove the Patent Motor Car Model 3 from Mannheim to Pforzheim in Germany. It was the first long-distance trip ever undertaken by a car. The 66 mile range was completed without any major problems, and the minor technical issues that did occur, were fixed on route. For that period of time, it was an audacious venture to undertake.
The car was built by Carl Benz, husband to Bertha. From an early stage, she could see the potential in his invention. But to demonstrate its capability, the car needed to prove it could operate with long-distance driving. To allay this fundamental anxiety, Bertha decided to attempt one herself. That way, it would provide concrete evidence that the car was a revolutionary creation. It would convince people, instil them with confidence, and capture their imagination.
Bertha told sons Eugen and Richard of her plan. And in the early hours of August 5th 1888, they put that plan into action. That morning, the family went together to the workshop, and quietly manoeuvred the car outside. They pushed the car away from the house and workshop before starting it. Once underway, the realisation struck them that they did not know the route to Pforzheim. The three decided to stick to roads they knew.
There was no fuel tank, and supplies were scarce. Chemists sold ligroin – a hydrocarbon mixture obtained from petroleum – in small amounts. Bertha purchased some on route. But cooling the engine was a bigger concern. A thermosiphon system managed this process, with the water supply needing to be refilled on route. Sources of supply came from public houses, streams and ditches. After a day of travel, mother and sons arrived at Pforzheim at twilight.
"The easiest and simplest way of deciphering how an ICE works is succinctly summarised with a well-known slogan: suck, squeeze, bang, blow"
It had taken 12 hours to complete the journey, but Bertha, Eugen and Richard had done it. They had proved what they set out to prove, that the Benz Patent Motor Car Model 3 worked. The trip had also disclosed the importance of road testing to uncover weakness on the car. These foibles could then be improved, and made better. It was the perfect partnership: Carl Benz was the inventor, Bertha Benz was the innovator.
What had been designed was the first ever internal combustion engine (ICE) car of its kind. It featured a one-cylinder, four-stroke engine with a miniscule 2.5bhp power output at just 500rpm. To start it up, you had to turn the flywheel by hand. At full chat, it had a giddy top speed of 10mph. The Benz Patent Motor Car Model 3 was the start of something special. And the ICE was what made the car possible.
In 1888, it was a revolutionary concept. The easiest and simplest way of deciphering how an ICE works is succinctly summarised with a well-known slogan: suck, squeeze, bang, blow. An engine consists of a cylinder and a piston. The intake of fuel and air happens when the piston is open – suck. The piston closes, compressing the fuel and air – squeeze. The piston opens as fuel and air combust, expanding gas in the cylinder – bang. The piston then closes, discarding used gases through the exhaust – blow. To begin with, it was form following function.
Research and development has improved engine performance and emission efficiency of this process over time. But the ICE became more than just a machine. It’s what came to define the unique characteristics of each individual car. It’s what helped to create a connection with human emotion. Yet in 2021, the perception of how the ICE is interpreted is starkly different.
Fossil fuels are the source of power that drives the ICE. They are formed by natural processes, like the decomposition of buried dead organisms. This resource contains organic molecules that originate from ancient photosynthesis. During combustion, fossil fuels release energy. But despite the transformative change that a global carbon economy has had for people, burning fossil fuels has deeply negative consequences for biodiverse nature on the earth.
Carbon dioxide (CO2) is a gas in the atmosphere that allows sunlight to reach the earth’s surface, but blocks excess heat escaping into space. Since the start of the industrial revolution in 1750, CO2 levels have been increasing at an unprecedented rate. This can be directly attributed to human activity. The reason why air temperatures have not increased by more than 1 degree is because oceans have absorbed nine-tenths of the excess heat emitted from fossil fuels. Oceans currently absorb half of CO2 emitted by fossil fuels.
Put simply: oceans have masked the impact that fossil fuels are having on the health of the earth. The continued absorption of carbon dioxide emissions is increasing ocean acidity. This happens through chemical changes. And that means it's putting unrelenting pressure on marine life, threatening biodiverse ecosystems. Oceans have a limited absorbtion capacity, there is a saturation point. And the accumulated impact over decades is reaching breaking point.
Increased ocean acidity is lethal for ocean biodiversity. One of the most affected species from excess CO2 absorbtion in the ocean, is coral. A coral is an animal made up of thousands of structures called polyps. Inside the tissues live small plants called micro algae. Coral algae are photosynthetic, that means they produce their own food. This natural phenomenon makes coral one of the natural wonders of the world.
"Coral reefs require pristine conditions to thrive. It’s a community of thousands of species interacting together in a complex way"
Coral reef structures are so big that they can be seen from space. However they are seriously misunderstood creatures. Coral reefs require pristine conditions to thrive. It’s a community of thousands of species interacting together in a complex way. And the more complex a coral structure, the more biodiversity can potentially live there. 25% of all marine life relies on coral reefs. But this wonderland is under existential threat, and unless the current trends are corrected, corals reefs will be turned into wasteland.
There are increasing signs that conditions corals reefs have to endure are toxic and corrosive. Coral reefs have been turning white. These events are known as coral bleaching. It’s a stress response to the increasing temperatures of earth’s oceans. This situation impairs a coral’s ability to photosynthesise. It means that the small plants living in the animal tissues that feed the animal host cannot function properly. But that’s not the only signal coral reefs are transmitting.
Corals have also reacted to the warming oceans by fluorescing. It’s a measure taken whereby a chemical sunscreen is produced to protect them from the heat. But it means so much more than just that. The response triggers fluorescent colours that have a striking vibrancy. The bold pigmentations are like a distress signal that’s desperately trying to attract attention to their plight. Corals are pleading for help.
Without oceans absorbing the excess CO2 that’s been emitted from fossil fuels, the average surface temperature on earth would rise from 14 degrees, to 50 degrees. There are a range of projections for oceans temperatures in the future. But the rate of change is at such a pace that corals won’t be able to keep up, and adapt to. If current trends continue, in 25 years’ time, oceans will become too warm for coral reefs to survive.
To humans, corals are out of sight, and out of mind. It’s typical of humans to be oblivious to such a tragic predicament. This transpiring disaster matters more to me than to most people. The reason why is because I’m a qualified scuba diver. One of my main motivations to learn this water sport was so that I could experience and explore the sprawling and splendorous marine life metropolises in the earth’s oceans. But I fear I'm in a race against time to do so.
I don’t come from a privileged background. But I am fortunate to have travelled to the Caribbean on four occasions. It’s a paradise. It’s every bit as good as you imagine it to be. It’s a precious place. It's a location of refuge to outrun my reality. Here the tropical waters of the Caribbean Sea have a georgous turquoise glow. The beauty is breathtaking. Submerged under the surface is a treasure trove of marine life, an underwater world that most people will never see.
Scuba diving is one of the most spellbinding activities that I have ever done. Exploring an unknown dive site is an exhilarating venture. The anticipation of witnessing marine life and coral reef first hand is wondrous in a world of enduring hardship. This underwater world is hiding in plain sight. But it’s a challenging environment for a human to adapt to. In the preparation before a dive, there’s a tension in the air. A combination of adrenalin and dopamine heighten your senses.
Scuba Diving is a very psychological sport: it intensifies all of your fears, anxieties and insecurities. It exposes all of your weaknesses and vulnerabilities. In recreational diving, you don’t dive alone. The buddy system is used. It provides shared assistance and safety benefits with another diver or divers in a team. Together, dives are planned, help is given to check each other’s equipment, and assistance is provided if there’s a problem. It’s a reassurance policy, to know that if there’s trouble, you are not alone.
"It doesn’t feel like you are underwater, it feels like you are floating, like an astronaut in space"
Your dive equipment is your life support underwater. With a wetsuit shrink-wrapping your body, you can assemble your scuba kit onto yourself. It comprises of four equipment systems fitted together into one package. There’s the Buoyancy Control Device (BCD) that holds together the scuba kit as well as functioning to adjust buoyancy. Then there’s the Regulator, which is your breathing apparatus. The air you inhale is stored in the Cylinder. And the Weight system is in place to counteract buoyancy. Every part is interlinked.
Out of the water, with the dive equipment strapped to your body, it’s heavy and cumbersome. On a dive boat, you walk like a penguin! But underwater, all that weight disappears. On a boat, you can enter the water in two ways: the giant stride method or the back roll entry. But before you do, make sure your BCD is inflated – otherwise you will sink like a stone! As you plunge into the ocean, a rush of warm water envelops you. It’s the most invigorating sensation.
There are calculated risks with scuba diving, but it’s worth it for the considerable rewards. Bobbing on the surface, you are ready to descend. As you let the air out of your BCD, a hissing noise signals its deflation as you sink below the surface. The Caribbean Sea has a clarity and purity that’s mesmeric. It doesn’t feel like you are underwater, it feels like you are floating, like an astronaut in space. For a brief moment you are enthralled. Then the challenges demand your attention. Be sure to breathe, never hold your breath!
Right now, in the atmosphere, air is exerting pressure on you. Underwater, you are subjected to more pressure, as water has weight. Water can’t be compressed, so its properties cannot be changed. Your body tissues are mostly made of water, so you don’t feel pressure changes on most of your body when diving. But air volume and density does change with pressure. Air density increases the deeper underwater you go, as the molecules are crammed into a smaller space.
This affects all air spaces in or in contact with your body. As air volume decreases, water pressure pushes in on the surrounding body tissues. And you feel it. This typically affects your ears, sinuses and mask. To counteract that squeezing pressure, you do something called equalisation. As you go deeper, pinch your nose and blow gently. And the discomfort disappears. If you don’t, the pressure can damage your ears.
Communication is important underwater. But you can’t speak. So, you communicate using hand signals. There are two dozen or so that cover most of what you need to know. There are so many more skills that make up the credentials of a scuba diver. This set of skills licenses you to scuba dive at your own volition. And the tropics of the Caribbean Sea are one of best locations to witness marine life and coral reefs on earth.
Symbiosis is the interaction between two separate organisms that are adapted to each other for mutually beneficial purposes. An example of this would be an anemone and clownfish. The anemone provides protection for the clownfish and the clownfish provides food for the anemone. With coral, that coexistence is embedded deeper. The plant symbiont is integrated into the organism. Coral cannot exist without plant cells.
The types of coral species are too numerous to mention. As you scuba dive close to them, you become fixated by their shapes and colours and their intricacy and delicacy. They are remarkable and extraordinary. Scuba diving is like escaping from my reality to another world. My life is in balance and at peace for one brief moment. You forget the pressures and problems in your life.
"On current projections, annual bleaching will kill most of the earth’s corals within the next 30 years"
Instead, you are focused on the problems with corals. In the last 30 years, 50% of the world’s corals have been killed. 29% of the Great Barrier Reef in Australia died in 2016 alone. On current projections, annual bleaching will kill most of the earth’s corals within the next 30 years. And ocean warming is not slowing down, it's speeding up. In 2020, the oceans were the warmest ever recorded. The facts and evidence fill me with a sense of sadness. It is hard to be happy.
No one intended for this to happen. But it is happening, right now, under our watch. There is a reason why scuba divers are called Guardians of the Ocean. I’m an ambassador that represents oceans. I’m charged as a custodian to help protect and preserve them. But it does feel like a lost cause at times. Coral reefs are being cooked alive from rising water temperatures. Coral reefs are being poisoned alive from ocean acidity. My heart hurts knowing that. It is hard to be hopeful.
At this point, people in denial of fact and evidence will be quick to label me a "condescending, virtue signalling, champagne socialist". But derogatory remarks don’t detract from the truth and reality. If human activities do cause ecological collapse, then there's no debate about driving ICE cars, because for humans, the next stage is extinction. The earth will become inhospitable. Period.
My life is conflicted and complicated. As a car enthusiast, I love the ICE. It's a marvellous invention. I like that the ICE feels alive when you drive a car. It talks to my sensory feelings as a human, it's a language that I intuitively understand. However knowing the repercussions that it causes, it's indefensible to justify. I have always accepted the facts and evidence. Cars need to be sustainable, fossil fuels must be phased out. Electric and hydrogen cars are proven solutions to the problems caused by the ICE.
This is the way. Humans are dependant on sustainable ecology and biodiversity to survive. The adverse impact of the ICE renders it incompatible for life on earth. With increasing regulation to cut CO2 emissions of ICE technology, carmakers are being forced to change. And with incentives to purchase electric cars, customers are making different choices. Mercedes-Benz pioneered the ICE car. But the carmaker has had to reinvent the car they created to adapt and survive.
This transitional process has commenced with the fully electric EQ brand. The first model to feature in the range is the EQC. It slots into the popular SUV category and represents a milestone for Mercedes-Benz. It has two electric motors that make 408bhp. That’s good for 0-62mph in 5.1 seconds, and a top speed limited to 112mph. Decent stats. And with a 255 mile range, it can realistically replace an ICE car on a daily basis. It looks stylish and cool inside and out too.
Sure, it’s not the most comprehensive or captivating car Mercedes-Benz has ever made. But it’s a stepping stone into the electric era. This gives reason for hope and optimism. The use of fossil fuels has caused collateral damage to life on earth. But we can mitigate the scale of that damage the sooner action is taken, and the quicker change is made. For the sake of life on earth, that can’t come soon enough. Humans just need the will to act.
Photos: Mercedes-Benz, Callum, dive buddies.
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