TOWARDS SUSTAINABLE TRANSPORTATION
OECD International Conference, Vancouver Canada

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Session 1b - The End of the Road

Abstract of address by James J. MacKenzie

Making the Path to Sustainable Transportation

Continued near-exclusive reliance on oil-powered motor vehicles as the backbone of ground transportation is not sustainable and will lead to: increased risks from reliance on insecure and finite oil resources; an aggravation of global warming; an exacerbation of urban air pollution; and condemnation of the world's metropolitan areas to deepening congestion. The carbon-based "alternative" fuels -- ethanol, methanol, and compressed natural gas (CNG) -- are unable to solve the underlying problems of non-sustainability inherent in the present burning of petroleum. The vehicles of the 21st century are almost certain to have electric drive-trains, with the electricity supplied by batteries, hydrogen fuel cells, flywheels, and ultra capacitors. In the long term, electricity and hydrogen for transportation will be derived from renewable, domestic, pollution-free sources.

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