Transportation technology can be understood in terms of an old school vs. new school distinction.  Moving people and goods around has been a central goal for humans since the invention of the wheel.  In the modern and postmodern eras, this basic goal has evolved into achieving efficient transportation, in which the motion and carrying capacities of our vehicles are greater than the energy they consume.

When Americans take to the wheels of their over-built passenger cars, only 1% of the energy produced by gasoline combustion is used for motion.

The rest of the energy is lost in the engine, transmission, wheels, and wind friction.  These losses are unnecessarily high because of the size and weight of our vehicles.

We can make engines more efficient by trading internal combustion for electric technology.  Electric motors are four times more efficient than gasoline-burning motors.  If we use lightweight yet strong composite materials in our vehicles, we save even more energy.  The acceleration of electric drive trains is superior to internal combustion models, which means that we don’t have to sacrifice performance or even driving enjoyment when we adopt cleaner transportation technology.

Opportunities exist across the transportation spectrum to improve energy efficiency with electric or hybrid electric cars, trucks, light rail, and aircraft.

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