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Global Climate Change Digest
A Guide to Information on Greenhouse Gases and Ozone Depletion
Published July 1988 through June 1999

FROM VOLUME 7, NUMBER 9, SEPTEMBER 1994

REPORTS... ENERGY: TRANSPORTATION ENERGY

Item #d94sep79

Biofuels: At the Crossroads, U.S. Dept. Energy, 24 pp., July 1994. (See Energy from Biomass, immed. above.)

Item #d94sep80

The Keys to the Car: Electric and Hydrogen Vehicles for the 21st Century, J.J. MacKenzie, 127 pp., May 1994, $14.95 pbk. Order from WRI (World Resour. Inst.) Publications, POB 4852, Hampden Sta., Baltimore MD 21211 (800-822-0504 or 410-516-6963); Drake Marketing Services, St. Fagan's Rd., Fairwater, Cardiff, Wales CF5 3AE, UK (tel: 02-22-56033).

Cars and trucks account for about 25% of U.S. CO2 emissions, and electric vehicles would greatly cut these emissions. None of the alternative fuels being considered would deliver as many benefits. Recharging vehicle batteries from conventional electric sources would cause far fewer emissions than from conventional gasoline-powered vehicles.

Item #d94sep81

Back on Track: The Global Rail Revival (Worldwatch Paper 118), M.D. Lowe, 54 pp., Apr. 1994, $5 (Worldwatch).

Although road building and car production still dominate transportation budgets worldwide, planning models, and practical experience are showing that a move to trains can foster economic growth, save lives and energy, and stem pollution. Recent studies indicate that rail can make new airports unnecessary, particularly for short trips. Improvements to the Boston-New York rail corridor, for example, could displace 50 flights per day and eliminate Boston's proposed second airport at a fraction of the cost.

Item #d94sep82

Driving Out Pollution: The Benefits of Electric Vehicles, R. Hwang, M. Miller et al., 20 pp., 1994, $3 (UCS).

When compared to conventional vehicles, electric vehicles would significantly reduce emissions of cary 60%.bon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, and VOCs, and reduce CO2 emissions b

Item #d94sep83

Strategies for Using Renewable to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Electric Vehicles in the Northeast: An Analysis of the Northeast Utility Grid, Electric Vehicles, and Renewable Energy, May 1994, $30/$15 nonprofitResources s & govt. Order from NESCAUM (Northeast States for Coordinated Air Use Mgmt.), 129 Portland St., Boston MA 02114.

If 3.3 million electric vehicles were in service by 2015, 11,800 Gigawatt-hours of electricity would be required and could be supplied through renewable resources.

Item #d94sep84

The Route to Cleaner Cars: Curves Ahead, 1994, $10. Available from EESI (Environ. & Energy Study Inst.), 122 C St. NW, S. 700, Washington DC 20001 (202-628-1400).

Update on the U.S. government-industry "clean car" initiative, based on a Congressional hearing held in March.

Item #d94sep85

Emissions Reduction Credits from Old Cars: The Economics of the Delaware Vehicle Retirement Program (Discussion Paper 94-27), A. Alberini, D. Edelstein et al., 1994, $3 (RFF).

The removal of cars manufactured before 1980 could eliminate a large percentage of some emissions. Accelerated vehicle-retirement (AVR) programs purchase, then scrap, older cars to ameliorate this source of air pollution. This report analyzes the effectiveness of such programs based on experience in one state.

Item #d94sep86

Two additional discussion papers from RFF.

Estimating an Emissions Supply Function from Accelerated Vehicle Retirement Programs (No. 94-09), A. Alberini, W. Harrington, V. McConnell, 1994, $3.

Shifting Gears: New Directions for Cars and Clean Air (No. 94-26), W. Harrington, M.A. Walls, V. McConnell, 1994, $3.

Item #d94sep87

Choosing an Alternative Transportation Fuel. Air Pollution and Greenhouse Gas Impacts, 150 pp., 1993, $38/FF220/DM65 (OECD).

Synthesizes the available literature on alternative fuels, with attention to their air pollution impacts. Presents a new analysis of how the entire production and use-cycle of current and alternative fuels contributes to greenhouse gas emissions, and makes recommendations regarding transition strategies for using alternative fuels.

Item #d94sep88

Four reports from ACEEE:

An Updated Assessment of the Near-Term Potential For Improving Automotive Fuel Economy, J. DeCicco, M. Ross, 70 pp., Oct. 1993, $10. Focuses on the cost effectiveness and energy savings potential of currently available and advanced fuel efficiency measures. U.S. fuel economy could be increased by 65% over 10 years at modest cost.

Transportation on a Greenhouse Planet: A Least-Cost Transition Scenario for the United States, J. DeCicco, S. Bernow et al., 40 pp., 1993, $10. Shows how an environmentally sound transportation policy can cost effectively cut air pollution, including reducing CO2 emissions by one half.

A Critique of the National Research Council Study of the Potential for Improving Automobile Fuel Economy, J. DeCicco, 13 pp., 1992, $5. Disagrees with the conclusion of a 1992 NRC study that only modest improvements in new car fuel economy would be possible in the next 15 years.

The Greenish Machine: On the Road to Reduced CO2 Emissions Via Alternative Fuels and Higher Fuel Economy, J. DeCicco, 30 pp., 1992, $8. There is much overlap between efficiency improvement technologies and alternative fuels utilization; thus, improving fuel economy can facilitate a long-term switch to alternative fuels.

Item #d94sep89

Getting the Prices Right--A European Scheme for Making Transport Pay Its True Costs, 1993, approx. $40. Order from European Federation for Transport & Environ., Rue de la Victoire 26, 1060 Brussels, Belg. (tel: +32-2-537-6639; fax: +32-2-537-7394).

Item #d94sep90

The Price of Mobility. Uncovering the Hidden Costs of Transportation, J. Miller, J. Moffet, 1993, $8.95. Contact Natural Resour. Defense Council, 40 W. 20th St., New York NY 10011 (tel: 212-727-2700; fax: 212-727-1773).

Estimates the total social costs of using trains, buses and automobiles to be a quarter of the gross national product. The cost per passenger mile traveled for CO2 is $0.06 to $0.12.

Item #d94sep91

Cleaner Transportation for the Future: An Exploration of the Comparative Advantages of Electricity and Natural Gas as Transportation Fuels, Mills McCarthy Assoc., 1993 (Western Fuels Assoc.).

Casts doubt on gas as the fuel of choice in transportation if CO2 and global warming are the concern; recommends electricity as the preferable fuel.

Item #d94sep92

Assessment of Transportation Growth in Asia and Its Effects on Energy Use, the Environment, and Traffic Congestion: Case Study of. . , 1992, four volumes. Order from Publications, Intl. Inst. Energy Conserv., 750 First St., S. 940, Washington DC 20002. Publications are free to individuals and organizations in developing countries; prices for others are $13 in the U.S. and $18 elsewhere

Consists of a series of four reports on these cities: Bangkok, Thailand, by P. Sayeg et al. (87 pp.); Islamabad, Pakistan, by J. Masud (114 pp.); Surabaya, Indonesia, by W. Gunawan (172 pp.); and Varanasi, India, by T. Elangovan (117 pp.).