Synopses & Reviews
Modern societies rely upon prodigious amounts of oil for transport activity. The impacts over the near term of increasing oil scarcity and higher prices on transport will be among the major challenges facing humanity and will require a revolution in thinking about how we move people and goods.
Transport Revolutions analyzes five prior episodes of rapid and radical change in the way people and goods travel. It examines the worldwide state of transport today, especially its energy use and impacts, positive and negative. The authors then show how ample movement of people and freight could be sustained beyond 2025 with much-reduced dependence on oil, focusing on the United States and China. Preparations for the end of cheap oil include: Substantial use of electricity for land transport, particularly through direct powering of vehiclesUse of wind to power water transportRadical changes in aviationRestructuring how transport is financed and managed
Written for transport professionals, those with a business interest in transport, and planners and policymakers, this book will appeal to anyone with an interest in how transport will evolve in the years ahead.
Richard Gilbert is a consultant on transport and energy and the author of numerous books, including several for the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.
Anthony Perl is a professor of political science and urban studies at Simon Fraser University. He has co-edited and co-authored four books, including New Departures: Rethinking Rail Passenger Policy for the Twenty-First Century and The Integrity Gap: Canada's Environmental Policy and Institutions.
Synopsis
First released in 2007, the bestselling Transport Revolutions argued that land transport in the first half of the 21st century will feature at least two revolutions. One will involve the use of electric drives rather than internal combustion engines. Another will involve powering many of these drives directly from the electric grid - as trains and trolley buses are powered today - rather than from on-board fuel. Now available for the first time in paperback and updated with the most recent data, it sets out the challenges to our growing dependence on transport fuelled by low-priced oil. These challenges include an early peak in world oil production and profound climate change resulting in part from oil use. It proposes responses to ensure effective, secure movement of people and goods in ways that make the best use of renewable sources of energy while minimizing environmental impacts. Synthesizing engineering, economics, environment, organization, policy and technology in a detailed yet highly readable style, Transport Revolutions is essential reading for anyone working, studying or interested in transport and the environment.