Sustainable Footprint

Energy for the future

Who Needs Oil, Anyway?

A new book by Lovins and his think-tank colleagues, "Winning the Oil Endgame“ offers a technology-driven blueprint to wean the country off petroleum within a few decades: first, double the fuel efficiency of cars, trucks and airplanes; then replace gasoline with alternative fuels such as ethanol and hydrogen. The transition to a post-petroleum future will generate jobs, create new industries, reduce greenhouse gases and improve national security, he says.
His plan in brief:
Oil consumption can be reduced by half by doubling fuel efficiency, mainly through ultra light vehicles with advanced materials such as carbon fiber that improve both safety and performance. "Modern material can be used to make cars both light and safe," he says.
Meanwhile, the nation must transition to alternative fuels. Lovins advocates making ethanol from plant waste, such as corn stalks and poplar trees.
Another alternative is hydrogen, often touted as the fuel of the future. Hydrogen fuel cells generate electricity through a chemical reaction between hydrogen and oxygen without harmful emissions. Lovins wants to boost the efficiency of natural gas and use the saved energy to produce the hydrogen.
If his ideas were widely adopted, Lovins calculates that the US could stop importing oil by 2040 and run without oil by 2050.
"We're in that period where one idea is dying and another is struggling to be born"

Source: Associated Press
Through www.ENN.com
Abridged for sustainablefootprint.org

The complete text can be found in 'Thematic lessons' with some questions and suggestions to use this in your class

More about the Institute and work of Lovins on the website;
www.rmi.org

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