Sustainability Issues Course
Blog Presentation
Transportation – Alternative Fuel Sources
Transportation is a huge aspect of becoming a more sustainable world. As of today, transportation produces roughly 33% of our earths greenhouse gases, secondly only to electricity generation. Transportation comes in many modes, by air, road, rail, water, cable, pipeline, and space, essentially any method of moving goods and/or people from one place to another.
(Million Barrels per Day Oil Equivalent)
U.S. Department of Energy/Energy Information Administration
U.S. Department of Energy/Energy Information Administration
That leaves a huge area to concentrate on; because what works for one mode of transportation, won’t necessarily work for the other. Much like the various forms of alternative energy, vehicles have several forms of fuel that have been experimented with over the past few decades. Engineers have experimented with solar power, electricity, even bio-fuels based off of vegetable oil. However, you couldn’t use solar power with submersible vehicles due to the lack of available sun, nor could you use solar power with an airplane due to the massive amount of energy needed to fly a plane. But you could possibly use bio-fuels in those instances. Alternative fuels have the opportunity to play a very large part in becoming more sustainable. As our cities grow, the more vehicles we have on the road, the more people we have moving from one place to another. And as populations continue to grow, the demand to fuel this increased transportation need will increase. Therefore, the need for alternative fuels is at an all time high, as we struggle to heal our earth.
We have come a long way throughout history when it comes to inventing new modes of transportation.
First Hot Air Balloon Ride – Nov. 12th, 1783
First Private Plane Fight – Dec. 17th, 1903
First Car (Driven on it’s own) – 1769
First Shuttle Flight - April 12, 1961
First Passenger Train Ride - March 25th, 1808
First Engine Boat – 1788
First Cable Car Ride – 1840
We first saw early personal modes of transportation through horses, centuries ago. Then we progressed to steam engines, then to electric cars, and then we took colossal steps backward to depend on fossil fuels to provide fuel for our cars for personal transportation. The first electric car was actually invented in 1828.
First Electric Car – 1828
Prius Accessories and Hybrid Cars
Prius Accessories and Hybrid Cars
But during those times, electricity was much harder to produce that it is today, and prices of gasoline had dropped to much more affordable rates than it was to continue to drive electric vehicles. Many have said that the electric car was eradicated by the oil companies in an effort to boost the desire for gas powered cars, but in truth, several reasons contributes to the decline of the early generation electric cars.
“For the following reasons the electric car declined in popularity. It was several decades before there was a renewed interest.
- By the 1920s, America had a better system of roads that now connected cities, bringing with it the need for longer-range vehicles.
- The discovery of Texas crude oil reduced the price of gasoline so that it was affordable to the average consumer.
- The invention of the electric starter by Charles Kettering in 1912 eliminated the need for the hand crank.
- The initiation of mass production of internal combustion engine vehicles by Henry Ford made these vehicles widely available and affordable in the $500 to $1,000 price range. By contrast, the price of the less efficiently produced electric vehicles continued to rise. In 1912, an electric roadster sold for $1,750, while a gasoline car sold for $650.
Decline and Rise of Electric Cars from 1930 to 1990
By Mary Bellis, About.com Guide
By Mary Bellis, About.com Guide
Even UTA has built a free electric car recharging station on campus. Information on this new recharging station can be found at :
The map below demonstrates the availability of electric stations throughout the US. As you can see, the numbers vary a great deal. Unfortunately, there is an obvious lack in the consistency of use of electric cars and recharging stations for those that are available for public use. Therefore, we have to start looking at other alternative fuels that are being used throughout our nation.
Department of Energy
Electricity isn’t the only alternative fuel being used today. Other alternative fuels such as biodiesel (for commercial vehicle use), ethanol, hydrogen, natural gas, and propane. Let’s take a look at each one.
Biodiesel – “Biodiesel is a renewable alternative fuel produced from a wide range of vegetable oils and animal fats. Pure biodiesel or biodiesel blended with petroleum diesel can be used to fuel diesel vehicles, providing energy security and emissions and safety benefits.’1
The map below show the biodiesel stations available throughout the US. While biodiesel availability and use is becoming more common, we are still extremely limited on that availability for it to be a realistic alternative for fuel.
Department of Energy
Ethanol – “Ethanol is a renewable fuel made from various plant materials, which collectively are called "biomass." Ethanol contains the same chemical compound (C2H5OH) found in alcoholic beverages.” 1
Image provided by AFDC
Ethanol is a leading alternative fuel source compared to hydrogen and natural gas, and therefore, a more practical use for alternative fuels in this country. The map below shows the ethanol stations available throughout the US:
Department of Energy
Hydrogen – “Hydrogen (H2) is a potentially emissions-free alternative fuel that can be produced from domestic resources. Although not widely used today as a transportation fuel, government and industry research and development are working toward the goal of clean, economical, and safe hydrogen production and hydrogen vehicles.” 1
However, being that Hydrogen is such a new alternative fuel, the availability of hydrogen to be used for fuel, is almost nothing. The map below shows the hydrogen stations available throughout the states:
Department of Energy
Natural Gas – “Natural gas is a domestically produced, clean-burning alternative fuel. Compressed natural gas (CNG) and liquefied natural gas (LNG) have been used for decades to fuel light-duty and heavy-duty natural gas vehicles.” 1
The map below shows the Natural Gas Stations available throughout the US. While the numbers are much better than hydrogen, it’s still not available enough to be used as a practical alternative fuel source.
Department of Energy
Propane – “Propane, also known as liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), is a high-energy alternative fuel. Called Autogas in Europe and sometimes in the United States, propane has been used for decades to fuel light-duty and heavy-duty propane vehicles.” 1
Lastly, the map below shows the propane stations available throughout the US. As you can see, while the availability is greater than other alternative fuels, only Texas offers a substantial amount of propane stations. While this may be good for us here in the Lone Star State, the practicality of it throughout the rest of the United States is far less. But perhaps the massive use of propane to fuel our vehicles here in Texas, will lead to a higher usage percentage throughout the rest of the nation in years to come. We have often spoken of leading by example, and I think this is the perfect opportunity for that!
Department of Energy
As we move further into a more sustainable world, the use of alternative fuels is, and very well should be, taking a front seat to the greener world issue. It’s fact that the use of fossil fuels create huge amounts of CO2 that are being introduced into our atmosphere, is not only slowly killing our world, but killing each of us too. As technology continues to investigate the use of alternative fuels for transportation, it is up to us to support those alternative methods. It does no good to develop these alternative ways, and not utilize them. For further information about alternative fuels and what you can do to support these methods to a greener earth, please visit the websites below and learn how you can become more sustainable and support alternative fuels.
Resources for this Blog Entry
Car Emissions Information - http://townipproject.wikispaces.com/Car+Emissions+%26+Pollution
US Department of Transportation - http://www.rita.dot.gov/publications/transportation_vision_2030/html/figure_02.html
History of Transportation - http://www.future-alternative-energy.net/history-of-transportation.html
First Car History - http://www.ausbcomp.com/~bbott/cars/carhist.htm
Prius Accessories and Hybrid Cars - http://blog.juicedhybrid.com/2009/06/10/inventor-of-first-electric-car/
Wikipedia – Electric Cars - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electric_car
1. Department of Energy - http://www.afdc.energy.gov/afdc/
Greening San Fransisco - http://greeningsanfrancisco.wikispaces.com/Alternative+fuels
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