TOWARDS SUSTAINABLE TRANSPORTATION
OECD International Conference, Vancouver Canada

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Session 1d - Looking Down the Road

Abstract of address by Roberta Nichols

Sustainable Transportation in the Twenty-First Century

Transportation involves movement from place to place; movement requires energy. Throughout the world, transportation has been/is heavily dependent on oil for this energy. Petroleum-based fuels have provided good performance for many years, and will continue to do so for many more to come. Petroleum supplies are finite, however, so it is not too soon to begin the difficult transition to new sources of energy.

For many countries, such as the United States, domestic oil supplies have not met demand. The need to purchase foreign oil has been the single biggest factor in the imbalance of trade payments for the U.S. In 1972, the U.S. had to abandon the limit of twelve percent (12%) imported oil in order to meet needs. Today, more than 60% of the oil used in the U.S. is imported.

Development of vehicles to operate on non-petroleum fuels began in earnest in some countries in response to the energy shocks of the 1970's. For example, in Brazil, which was 95 % dependent on imported oil, the government decided to shift to the use of ethanol produced by their sugar industry. Brazil has a huge land-mass, with only two percent devoted to growth of sugar cane, so an increase in sugar production was not a threat to their human food supply.

Improvement in air quality has become the near-term driver for alternative fuels. Composition of the fuel used is now recognized as a major factor in the control of emissions, a factor in introduction of reformulated gasoline in the U.S. Further improvements in air quality can be realized, however, by using vehicles that operate on natural gas, propane or LPG (liquefied petroleum gas), methanol, or ethanol. Moreover, the battery-powered vehicle, and beyond that, the hydrogen-oxygen fuel cell-powered vehicle, have no tailpipe emissions at all. It is not likely that the solution to transportation pollution will come about by expecting or asking people to give up their automobile, so we must continue to make it as clean as possible. At present, there does not appear to be any one best choice for replacement of petroleum based transportation fuels. Diversity of fuel use is likely, depending on resource availability and economics, which can vary around the world. Most alternative fuels can be more energy efficient than gasoline, which is important when considering carbon dioxide emissions, as well as the rate of energy consumption.

The introduction of alternative fuels seems to require revolutionary actions to achieve significant change but these must be carefully planned to avoid chaos and economic hardships. Since the need for new sources of energy is long-term, with no immediate need to give up petroleum-based fuels in most cases, making the transition to alternative transportation fuels and technologies will be a slow and difficult process.

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