Our passion for driving what we want, where and when we want, has driven us to the cliff’s edge: Now we must sharply reduce our use of oil-based auto fuels, or face disastrous climate changes.
΢²ªÊÓƵ transportation expert Daniel Sperling has a vision of how we can make that transformation and what it will require — revolutionary new cars, fuels and personal behavior — and he is being heard around the world by leaders in government, industry, science, human welfare and conservation.
Among his recent public presentations: an interview on the National Public Radio program Fresh Air.
As of Dateline’s press time, Sperling was scheduled to apppear Wednesday on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart.
Sperling is a professor of civil engineering and of environmental science and policy, and founding director of the ΢²ªÊÓƵ Institute of Transportation Studies. He is co-author of California’s innovative Low Carbon Fuel Standard and a member of the globally influential California Air Resources Board.
His predictions are outlined in a new book, Two Billion Cars: Driving Toward Sustainability (Oxford University Press), written with co-author Deborah Gordon and with a foreword by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.
The ΢²ªÊÓƵ News Service recently pulled Sperling out of the policy fast lane for a short conversation about clean cars, green fuels and changing the way people drive.
His comments, shown in video clips, are found on the ΢²ªÊÓƵ home page at www.ucdavis.edu. The content includes:
The problem in the U.S. — Transportation accounts for one-third of the oil consumed and two-thirds of the carbon dioxide released in the United States. That’s a recipe for trouble.
The problem globally — What happens when the rest of the world gets the same freedom of mobility that Americans have?
The transformation — Expect big changes in the cars we drive, the fuels they run on, and our 80-year-old driving habits.
More information: www. ucdavis.edu.
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Clifton B. Parker, Dateline, (530) 752-1932, cparker@ucdavis.edu