The Road Ahead

The Road Ahead

Miniaci Performing Arts Center

Numerous authors have raised alarms regarding both the increase in demand for fossil fuels by a growing global economy and the emergence of underdeveloped nations, such as China and India, and the adverse impacts this use has on our environment. World consumption of oil stands at approximately 84 million barrels per day. The United States, with only 5% of the world’s population, consumes almost one fourth of total world production. With the world’s most accessible energy fields seeing declining production levels, the current price of over $50 per barrel may seem low in years to come, as less accessible sources of supply are brought in to play.

The United Sates currently imports well over 50% of its oil. Most experts agree that if the status quo is maintained we will import over 70% of our oil by the year 2020. Clearly the current price of gasoline just above $2.00 per gallon will seem extremely low in the future.

What options do we have that may lessen our dependence on foreign produced fossil fuels? One might be the renewed emphasis on more fuel efficient automobiles and automobiles that use alternative sources of energy. Hybrid automobiles produced by Toyota and Honda have been well received by the general public and both automakers plan on expanding production of current models and are reviewing the possibility of producing additional models that average in excess of 50 miles per gallon. Daimler- Chrysler and other manufactures have recently announced a renewed focus on hydrogen powered systems; however, this, and other technologies are years away from practical implementation.

The focus of this paper is on evaluating the practicality and potential of various types of alternative power systems for automobiles including fossil fuels, hybrid technologies, hydrogen and bio-fuels, as potential alternatives to solving our energy crisis.