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with a decreasing supply of high cost oil. Inevitably, part of this demand will need to be met from less accessible oil sources such as tar sands, oil shale or coal, that create an even higher environmental impact than traditional oil supplies. In the West, over 50% of oil is used in transportation and this year has seen a dramatic rise in gas prices, a trend that is likely to continue. The environmental effects of the gasoline/diesel internal combustion engine (ICE) are well known with their major contribution to greenhouse gas generation, climate change, and damage to public health through increased incidence of respiratory problems in people, especially children, living in urban areas. Yet it is only when motorists feel the pain at the gas pump that there is a call for action. This has been seen most visibly in the US, where, last year, sales of SUVs were down 50%, while sales of hybrid electric vehicles were up by a similar amount. The search for cleaner, more sustainable transportation solutions has been going on since the 1960s and ‘70s yet it is only in the last few years that the major auto companies have begun to show serious interest. Back in 1990, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) forced the US automakers hand by taking the bold step of establishing a Zero-Emission Vehicle (ZEV) program. This mandated that 2% of all vehicles produced for sale in California had to be ZEVs and this number had to increase to 5% in 2001 and 10% by 2003. The automakers immediately stepped up with some half-hearted electric vehicle and alternative fuel programs, while at the same time joining forces with the oil companies to wage a multi-million dollar lobbying and advocacy campaign to fight the CARB mandates. With their massive resources they were able to defeat CARB and also “prove” that the few battery-powered electric vehicles that they introduced were impractical. As an aside, the few Californians who managed to get their hands on one of these electric vehicles are so happy with their low cost motoring that they are now fighting a huge legal battle to stop them being repossessed and sent to the crusher. This story is very well documented in the recent film “Who Killed the Electric Car”. As the situation in Iraq clearly shows, it is necessary to fight to maintain North America’s appetite for oil. The jump in prices at the gas pump in the wake of Hurricane Katrina also showed the vulnerability of oil prices to external events whether natural disasters or terrorist attacks. Finally, with oil reaching over $100 per barrel, even the mainstream auto industry has accepted the fact that clean transportation may be our only solution. Vehicle electrification – hybrids, fuel cells or battery? There are basically four major directions that clean transportation can take. One is low-emission vehicles (or LEVs) based on smaller, more fuel-efficient internal combustion engines. Smaller cars have long been favoured in Europe which also has a strong affinity towards diesel vecontinued overleaf... www.esemag.com
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