The Car Question

When we talk about energy, we are often debating what the best form of energy is.  That question is often incomplete, however.  In most areas of life, we can't respond to every situation in exactly the same way. There is no best form of energy, period.  What we have to ask is, what is the best form of energy for this application?

One of the best examples of this is the heating and cooling of buildings.  Many modern buildings and residences use energy from the grid--often generated by the burning of coal--for heating and air conditioning. But this needlessly wastes our finite supply of coal and adds to the excess of carbon dioxide emissions. Why? Because geothermal energy works just as well in this case.  To access geothermal energy, pipes are sent underground to draw up air that, depending on the season, is warmer or cooler than the air on the surface.

Geothermal energy can both heat and cool homes.  Photo credit to 22degres.ca

Obviously, geothermal energy is impractical for transportation and needs to be extremely hot to produce electricity, so that is out in most places.  But it works quite well for heating and cooling, so retrofitting homes with geothermal heat pumps could decrease carbon emissions.  It also reduces costs for the consumer. Fossil fuel prices will go up as the supply decreases, but geothermal energy is reliable and does not have to be mined, transported, or refined.

Let's take a trip back to sixth grade science and remember what energy is:  it is simply defined as the ability to do work.  In terms of transportation, we want energy that can get us from point A to point B.  This could come in the form of our moving legs or in wind currents propelling a boat.  When it comes to cars, we want a type of energy that can be used to power an engine.

Cars are the backbone of the transportation system in the developed world; all other options--walking, biking, subways, buses--are considered "alternative" methods of transportation.  While environmentalists (including me) advocate choosing these alternatives as often as possible, I think it has to be accepted that when it comes to cars, we are in too deep.  Our infrastructure is built around them.  They give us freedom from long distances and public transportation schedules (so long as one can afford to have a car, of course). And we can't forget that for many people--probably for you reading this now--cars are much more than just a tool.  I'm not going to debate whether cars would exist in a perfect world because I don't think they're going anywhere either way.

The United States' national highway system is extremely large and complex; we can't just drop it and start over.  Photo credit to fhwa.dot.gov

I think it's safe to say that there are going to be cars for the foreseeable future.  But if that's going to be true, we'll have to find a different way to power them.  We may like fossil fuels now because we're comfortable with them.  They're familiar. We understand them. The bad news is that we don't have much left.  But there's good news, too--more good than bad, I daresay.  Firstly, there are all kinds of other energy sources up for grabs. Second, many of these sources aren't rudimentary theories that could potentially be possible--they're actual, reliable technology ready to be put to use.  And the best part, at least to me, is that these sources are cleaner and renewable, so they won't run out and leave future generations scrambling for new ideas.

Some options are cleaner than others.  Some are more reliable, some are more cost-effective, and some are more realistic than the rest.  In the coming weeks, I'll look at different energy sources for personal vehicles and weigh their benefits and impacts. Now, we won't find a source that can be consumed at our current rate; the energy solution is half the source and half the way we use it.  But it should be reassuring that technology isn't what's standing in our way.  We are standing in our own way, and more people are realizing that every day. The car question is answerable.  The options are there.  Now it all comes down to determining the right one.