Two Billion Cars

Driving Toward Sustainability

SPERLING, GORDON, Schwarzenegger (Autoren)

Buch | Softcover

336 Seiten

2010
Oxford University Press Inc (Verlag)
978-0-19-973723-9 (ISBN)

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At present, there are roughly a billion cars in the world. Yet within twenty years, the number will double to 2 billion, largely a consequence of China's and India's explosive growth. Given that greenhouse gases are already creating havoc with our climate and that violent conflict in unstable oil-rich nations is on the rise, does this mean that matters will only get worse, or are there hopeful signs that effective, realistic solutions can be found?
In Two Billion Cars, through a concise history of America's love affair with cars and an overview of the global auto industry, leading transportation experts Daniel Sperling and Deborah Gordon explain how we arrived at this state, and what we can do about it. Sperling and Gordon outline the problem in full and assign blame squarely where it belongs--on the auto-industry, short-sighted government policies, and consumers. They consider the issue from all angles and take up such topics as getting beyond the gas-guzzler monoculture, breaking Detroit's hold on energy and climate policy, the search for low-carbon fuels, California's pioneering role, and more. But they are not Cassandras. Promising advances in both transportation technology and fuel efficiency together with shifts in traveler behavior, they suggest, offer us a way out of our predicament.
Ultimately, the authors contend that the two places that have the most troublesome emissions problems--California and China--are the most likely to become world leaders on these issues. Arnold Schwarzenegger's enlightened embrace of eco-friendly fuel policies, which he discusses in the foreword to Two Billion Cars, and China's forthright recognition that it needs far-reaching environmental and energy policies, suggest that if they can tackle the issue effectively and honestly, then there really is reason for hope.

Daniel Sperling is Professor of Engineering and Environmental Science & Policy at the University of California, Davis, and Founding Director of UC-Davis's Institute of Transportation Studies. He also serves on the California Air Resources Board. Deborah Gordon is a veteran transportation policy consultant who has worked with the National Commission on Energy Policy, the California Energy Commission, International Council for Clean Transportation, and the Chinese government to develop fiscal policies for their burgeoning auto fleet. She earlier developed and directed transportation policy programs for the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies and the Union of Concerned Scientists.

Preface to the Paperback EditionForeword Acknowledgments 1. Surviving Two Billion Cars Transportation Trends: Headed in the Wrong Direction Roadmap to Survival Hard Work Ahead 2. Beyond the Gas-Guzzler Monoculture Internal Combustion: From the Model T to Cars on Steroids The Quest for a Better Engine: Electric Drive Technology Beyond Cars: New Options for Personal Mobility The Coming Transformations 3. Toward a Greener DetroitThe Making of the Detroit Mindset The Jolt of Japanese Competition Moving Detroit Toward Green 4. In Search of Low-Carbon Fuels Petroleum Fuels in Transition Alternative Fuels Past, Present, and Future Steps Toward a Post-Petroleum World 5. Aligning Big Oil with the Public Interest The Changing Oil Supply Unconventional Oil: Savior or Disaster? The Changing Oil Industry Big Oil's Environmental Epiphany Big Carrots and Big Sticks 6. The Motivated Consumer The Car-Centric American From Mean to Green: Shifting Consumer Identities Aligning Incentives with Socially and Environmentally Responsible Behavior 7. California's Pioneering Role From Smog and Sprawl to Environmental Leadership Leadership in Climate and Air Quality Policy Leadership in Clean Energy Technology The Trendsetting California Consumer California's Ripple Effect 8. Stimulating Chinese Innovation China's Extreme Makeover Toward an Enlightened Car Policy Innovations That Might Spread From China How the Rest of the World Can Help China Help Us All 9. Driving Toward Sustainability Imagining Futurama III Our Strategy for Getting There Transforming Vehicles Transforming Fuels Transforming Consumer and Local Government Behavior Realizing the VisionAfterword

Erscheint lt. Verlag	22.7.2010
Zusatzinfo	15 b/w illustrations
Verlagsort	New York
Sprache	englisch
Maße	152 x 231 mm
Gewicht	476 g
Themenwelt	Naturwissenschaften ► Biologie ► Ökologie / Naturschutz
Themenwelt	Technik ► Fahrzeugbau / Schiffbau
ISBN-10	0-19-973723-1 / 0199737231
ISBN-13	978-0-19-973723-9 / 9780199737239
Zustand	Neuware