"Provocative and pleasurable, far-seeing and refreshing, fact-based and yet a page-turner, global in scope but rooted in real places. The authors make a convincing case that smart consumers driving smart electric-drive cars can find the critical path to a safer planet."--Robert Socolow, Princeton University

"In this insightful and persuasive book, Sperling and Gordon highlight one of the biggest environmental challenges of this century: two billion cars. They rightly contend that we cannot avert the worst of global warming without making our cars cleaner and petroleum-free. Luckily the authors also offer a roadmap for navigating this problem that is both visionary and achievable." --Frances Beinecke, President, Natural Resources Defense Council

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.
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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
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"Authoritatively prescriptive."--Tom Vanderbilt, Wilson Quarterly "An urgent wake-up call ...The authors have laid out a blueprint the entire world can use."--Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger (from the Foreword) "In this insightful and persuasive book, Sperling and Gordon highlight one of the biggest environmental challenges of this century: two billion cars. They rightly contend that we cannot avert the worst of global warming without making our cars cleaner and petroleum-free. Luckily the authors also offer a roadmap for navigating this problem that is both visionary and achievable."--Frances Beinecke, President, Natural Resources Defense Council "The future of mobility should concern every citizen and government official. We have to tackle this together, but weve not been good at it, except in crisis. Now is the time to move forward. Two Billion Cars provides inspiration and a compelling pathway."--John D. Hofmeister, Former President, Shell Oil company, and Founder and CEO, Citizens for Affordable Energy "The authors make a compelling and urgent fact-based case that we must quickly expand the universe of affordable, low-impact transportation options if we are to survive the doubling of the worlds cars. They show how a combination of leadership, smart policy, the unleashing of a can-do technological revolution, and carefully understanding consumer motivations will save the day. It's a must-read for anyone eager to be part of the solution."--Kevin Knobloch, President, Union of Concerned Scientists "Provocative and pleasurable, far-seeing and refreshing, fact-based and yet a page-turner, global in scope but rooted in real places. The authors make a convincing case that smart consumers driving smart electric-drive cars can find the critical path to a safer planet."--Robert Socolow, Princeton University "This book provides with considerable objectivity and foresight an analysis of the unsustainable pattern of transportation that human society has become accustomedindeed addictedto. In very simple terms the authors deal with the profound issues arising from the growing human desire for locomotion and mobility."--R.K. Pachauri, Chairman, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change "This is a very important, realistic and highly readable book on the currently unsustainable world auto monoculture and its needed changes by two leading transportation researchers."--CHOICE
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Selling point: Features a preface penned by eco-friendly Governor of California, Arnold Schwarzenegger Selling point: Presents a timely and engaging look at the pollution caused by worldwide car usage and what can be done to combat it Selling point: An innovative approach to managing the climate change and energy security risks of rapidly expanding car ownership around the globe Selling point: Includes a new afterword by the authors
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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 senior 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.
Les mer
Selling point: Features a preface penned by eco-friendly Governor of California, Arnold Schwarzenegger Selling point: Presents a timely and engaging look at the pollution caused by worldwide car usage and what can be done to combat it Selling point: An innovative approach to managing the climate change and energy security risks of rapidly expanding car ownership around the globe Selling point: Includes a new afterword by the authors
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Produktdetaljer

ISBN
9780199737239
Publisert
2010
Utgiver
Vendor
Oxford University Press Inc
Vekt
476 gr
Høyde
231 mm
Bredde
152 mm
Dybde
23 mm
Aldersnivå
UU, UP, P, 05, 06
Språk
Product language
Engelsk
Format
Product format
Heftet
Antall sider
336

Biographical note

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.