Published by Green by Design under Renewable Energy, Sustainability, Transportation

What’s the Solution?

It looks like both the current models of hybrid and electric are stopgap solutions. While both options are “greener” than driving a gas-powered car, they still don’t make any permanent resolutions. Instead, they just shift the problems elsewhere.

It’s a typical, and temporary: Out of sight, out of mind.

Thing is, those problems are still very real.

When it comes down to it, what really needs solving is the way we think about transportation.

Hybrid bus in Sarasota County, Florida

And that takes imagination, guts, and big changes.

Fortunately, part of the solution is already here and working:

-Public transit has been around since the invention of the steam engine. You’d be surprised how relatively cheap it is to maintain a railroad system compared to a highway. And hybrid diesel-electric trains are extremely efficient and reliable.

"Tsubasa" Shinkansen electric train in Japan

-Most major cities now boast some form of car-sharing system, such as Zip Cars or City Car Share. Need to go somewhere? A quick call or e-mail reservation will give you access to a car near you, and you pay for only the time you’re actually using it, day or night.

-For short trips, the solution has been around since we discovered how to move our legs while seated: the bicycle is one of the most efficient means of transportation ever invented, in terms of speed and distance covered vs. the energy invested.

Night-time bike ride in Calgary, Canada

These basic methods of transportation aren’t the perfect solution. But they’re here now. Making them work better requires only minimal investments compared to what the electric and hydrogen car will demand.

Of course there may still be situations that demand access to a personal vehicle. The solution here is less obvious, but beginning to take shape.

One example of creative, planet-friendly, community-oriented thinking is the ‘Zero-Carbon Car,’ an initiative by Bill Kemp.

Eventually, I’d love to see the phrase ‘alternative transportation’ become as popular as ‘alternative energy.’

Just as important, just as effective in combating global warming. It’s a fight we can’t afford to lose.