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Comment by nsnick | Hacker News Reader

Did you ask how much NOx your last vehicle emitted when you bought it? Did you see any advertising about NOx emissions? Do you know if/why NOx is considered a pollutant? Did you know that NOx is a substantial constituent of whipped cream? Did you know the other name for NOx is laughing gas?

Saying that someone broke the law doesn't mean they did anything ethically wrong. I think it would be an uphill battle to demonstrate if/how VW harmed their customers.

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You're confused. N2O (nitrous oxide) is laughing gas, charges some whipped creams, and a severe greenhouse gas. NO2 (nitrogen dioxide) is the automotive combustion product being regulated because it's toxic when inhaled. They're different.

"NOx" is the label for a group of chemicals that includes NO2 (the combustion prouduct) but not N2O (laughing gas).

I don't have to know the specifics of all the laws to expect that they're followed. When I buy a car, I expect that car to be legal to sell.

The harm done to customers will be really obvious in those jurisdictions where customers have to get this fixed to maintain their registration, since power and fuel efficiency will be affected.

I don't particularly focus on these questions, but emissions are indeed a factor for me and many other buyers. The reason you don't have to earnestly ask is that there are standards, which we expect companies to adhere to and not cheat.

Because NOx decomposes (with sunlight) into O3, and O3 is a major urban pollutant, the harm is very real.

If news reports are to be believed, there were 30-40x violations of expected emissions.

NOx is not laughing gas, nor a food additive:

"NOx should not be confused with nitrous oxide (N2O), which is a greenhouse gas and has many uses as an oxidizer, an anesthetic, and a food additive." -- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NOx

>Saying that someone broke the law doesn't mean they did anything ethically wrong.

It doesn't?

Is it ethically wrong for a woman to drive in Saudi Arabia?

Again, the c.o.n.t.e.x.t is emissions.

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