From the Executive Director

James Howard Kunstler, prolific author of both fiction and non-fiction, is one voice of many who find alternative fuels and advanced vehicle technologies to be distracting. The argument goes that those of us who are spending time advancing the use of the fuels and vehicles are perpetuating an illusion that it is indefinitely possible to keep our current motoring practices right where they are. In reality, they say, the world is going to look very different in the near term and how we manage our day-to-day lives will change dramatically, including the end of what Mr. Kunstler calls “happy motoring.”

Unlike many in the petroleum industry, I think that it is short-sighted to think we have many more decades ahead of us where fossil fuels will continue to be the dominant source of energy for fueling our vehicles. I also think our insistence that technology can substitute for energy is misguided. The future is going to look very different than it does today. Absent strong federal policies that address mitigation measures to lessen the impacts of oil shortages and climate incidents, non-governmental organizations get to tackle the problems before us. Alternative Fuel Vehicle Institute (AFVi) doesn’t have a crystal ball. What that different future looks like is up for grabs. We do, however, know that our massive consumption of fossil fuels is already posing economic, social and political hardship, and there are fuels and vehicles that exist today that do lessen our oil consumption and have significantly fewer emissions impacts than petroleum. Forecasting aside, common sense tells me that educating people about what is here today and encouraging them to replace less efficient, petroleum burning vehicle models contributes to a better society all around.

Recent statistics from the Transportation Research Board (TRB) demonstrate that people will opt for convenience over changing behavior. TRB found that in spite of more than two decades of public education, carpooling and public transit use have plummeted. Even with gasoline costs at current levels, more than 76% of 133 million daily commuters travel alone to work in their personal vehicles. In 1980 that number was 64.4%. Maybe $8 a gallon gasoline, a hefty hike in the federal taxes on gasoline or 1973-style supply disruptions will create the will to change our patterns. Absent a powerful motivation to change, our car dependent culture isn’t likely to morph by itself into a more sustainable one.

Is there a utopian twist? Walking, biking, public transportation, trains? The average commuter drives 50 miles round-trip. Most cities in the United States are automobile cities, meaning they have sprawled outward from a city center making it much easier to drive than take mass transit or walk. Change won’t come easily from the public or from fleets. Fleets, whether they are distributing goods from a new ship that has just delivered merchandise from China, or the U.S. Postal Service distributing mail throughout the country, need reliable transportation. Isn’t cleaner, more fuel efficient, transportation today better than waiting for a silver bullet technology or energy source that may never come? Worse yet, is it really an option to continue polluting and gobbling up oil until some climactic event grounds us to a halt?

At the risk of oversimplifying, from private individuals to corporate America, “the right thing to do” is not yet motivating most people to change. In the meantime, there is an army of researchers, fuel providers, auto manufacturers, non-government organizations, policymakers and others conspiring to create products, educate consumers and provide a portfolio of options to meet people’s needs in a way that is best for the country and the world. Is this utopia? No, but utopias start with a vision, a commitment, and a process to reach the goal. Alternative fuels are an important part of the process.