Sustainable Transportation Part 3: Major Problems

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The Three Major Transportation Problems

The current state of transportation in the US has three major problematic characteristics. For one, it relies on crude oil, a resource that is being rapidly depleted. Secondly, increased per capita driving is causing massive congestion problems in major cities and the suburbs. Finally, transportation is causing serious environmental degradation.

A. Resource Depletion

The world is running out of crude oil, also known as petroleum. Crude oil is one of the most important commodities in the world economy. Today, it is being consumed at a rapid and increasing rate. At the same time, it is in finite supply, and projected to run out within the next 30-65 years.[1] Currently, no feasible alternative fuel has been developed in its place. Therefore, the world has a resource depletion problem.

Crude oil is important. It is the primary ingredient in two modern-day essentials: motor fuel (such as gasoline) and non-fuel petroleum products. Motor fuel is essential for modern day personal and commercial transportation. Transportation also enables us to enjoy the benefits of free trade, the freedom to live where we want, and more. Furthermore, non-fuel petroleum products enjoy widespread use across the world. These include plastics, medicines, and food items.[2] Because crude oil is involved in powering transportation and the production of petroleum products, the price of crude oil is monitored very carefully and has a significant impact on the worldwide stock market.[3]

There is a finite amount of crude oil on the planet, and it is being rapidly depleted. The world consumed about 29.2 billion barrels of crude oil in 2003,[4] and that number is projected to increase by 2% per year over the next two decades.[5] Moreover, Earth has only about one trillion barrels of proven oil reserves remaining, and up to an estimated 3.4 trillion barrels “of oil and ‘oil-like’ resources.” At the planet’s projected consumption, one trillion barrels would last only 30 years, and the speculative total of 3.4 trillion barrels would last only 65 years.[6] Furthermore, as oil becomes scarcer, and/or must be derived from “oil-like” resources, its cost will increase.

Michael Wegener and David Greene say it best: “the threat to sustainability is not so much ‘running out’ of oil, but the increasing costs, environmental and economic, of its continued use.”[7] Completely ignoring environmental costs, there are two key factors that will drive up the price of oil over time. The first factor is the interaction of supply and demand. Consider the diamond and water paradox. Living in a first-world country, where clean water is plentiful, one would trade buckets of water for one diamond. However, if one were traveling the desert, dying of thirst, with no water at all, he or she would trade away any number of diamonds for a glass of water. This illustrates the fact that as a good becomes scarce, its value rises. As the supply of oil shrinks, its price will rise dramatically. Furthermore, as demand for a good rises, ceteris paribus, the price of a good rises. The demand for oil is rising rapidly, due to increasing population, increasing worldwide living standards, and popularity of SUVs.[8]

The second major factor that will drive up the price of oil is the fact that as oil becomes scarcer, it will be harder to extract and refine into a useful form. This is because, naturally, oil today is refined by extracting from the easiest and cheapest places first. As these sources run out, oil companies are forced to find the “next easiest” places to extract oil from, until the last drops of oil are extracted in some incredibly difficult manner. Secondly, some sources of oil are not exactly oil; they are “oil-like” resources, such as oil shale that need to be refined in a special and more expensive manner to make them useful for the world’s transportation needs.
If the world ignores this resource depletion problem, the consequences will be severe. The United States, in particular, is a society of car reliance. Many individuals live far from their workplaces, and if transportation became unaffordable they would be severely impacted. Food is transported across the country in trucks, and without affordable fuel, food prices would be driven upward, and the variety of food in a given area would shrink dramatically. Everyone in the world would have problems as well. Visiting family far away would become impossible, unless one could afford to pay an astronomical price for a plane ticket. Economies would be significantly weakened, because the increasing costs of transportation would make international trade difficult and many situations of comparative advantage would be lost. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, future generations, who have no say in the rapid pace the current generation is burning oil, would be worse off as a result of energy use today.

The problem of resource depletion is serious. The US and the world cannot burn oil at current rates indefinitely. Although some argue transportation can just continue “business as usual,” and that technological advances will emerge to save the day, this is not a certainty, and there is no telling when these advances will occur. Policies must be implemented to conserve resources while searching for an alternative source of transportation fuel.

B. Congestion

Urban areas in the United States are becoming very congested. The chief cost of congestion is wasted time. According to the US Census Bureau, the average American spent more than 100 hours per year commuting in 2003. This is longer than the average vacation time that many workers take per year.[9] In total, in 2002, congestion caused about 2.9 billion hours of travel delay. In 2003, this number changed to 3.7 billion hours, an increase of 79 million hours.[10]

Congestion also wastes fuel. It is estimated that congestion in 2003 wasted 87 billion liters of fuel, an increase of 262 million liters from 2002. The estimated cost of lost time and wasted fuel to America was $63 billion in 2003.[11]

This does not take into account all of the costs of congestion. In addition to lost time and wasted fuel, congestion tends to frustrate drivers and precipitate road rage, which can result in increased car accidents.[12] Furthermore, congestion creates additional pollution, both locally and globally. Locally, pollution can become more severe due to congestion because emissions are more concentrated, making air quality worse.[13] Globally, congestion’s excess fuel use creates additional CO₂ emissions which have been shown to exacerbate climate change.

Congestion is getting worse. According to the Texas Transportation Institute: “congestion endured by travelers and businesses grow to those of the next largest population group. So in ten years, medium-sized regions will have the traffic problems that large areas have now, if trends do not change.”[14]

If the United States does nothing to solve its congestion problem, there will be severe consequences. The rate of fuel use will be accelerated, exacerbating both environmental and resource depletion problems facing the world today. Also, it will be harder to raise economic productivity levels if workers are often stuck doing nothing in traffic every day. Furthermore, general morale might fall significantly, due to the fact that people would be spending more time sitting in cars and less time doing something they enjoy.

The problem of congestion must be dealt with carefully. Solutions to congestion in the US have not been very successful to date, so newer solutions must be innovative to succeed.

C. Environmental Degradation

Transportation is damaging the environment. Obtaining, transporting, and burning oil harms the environment in various ways. Furthermore, the construction of a transportation infrastructure also taxes the environment.

The current transportation fuel of choice, gasoline, is derived from crude oil. Crude oil is an exceptionally “dirty” fuel in two key respects: obtaining and transporting the oil causes environmental damage, as does burning the fuel. According to an Oil Production Case research paper at American University, “Oil production, and/or transportation, can disrupt the human population, and the animal and fish life of the region. Oil waste dumping, production pollution, and spills wreak havoc on the surrounding wildlife and habitat. It threatens the extinction of several plants, and has already harmed many land, air, and sea animal and plant species.” [15] Oil production is also strongly linked with an increase in military conflict, which can harm the environment.[16]^, [17]

Burning oil also creates environmental problems. According to a paper by Martin Wachs, the two most prevalent pollutants produced by automobiles today that have not been effectively addressed by regulation in the US are particulates and carbon dioxide emissions.[18] Particulate matter has been linked with an increased risk of cancers and various other health problems. Carbon Dioxide, or CO₂, is a greenhouse gas that, when emitted, increases the rate of climate change.[19] Estimates show that transportation accounts for about 20% of worldwide CO₂ emissions.[20]

Constructing our transportation infrastructure harms the environment as well. Water systems are altered for the construction of highways and transit routes. In particular, paving large amounts of land can create flooding and drainage problems. Furthermore, the construction of cars, causes pollution and costs energy and supplies.[21]

The costs of ignoring the environmental impacts of transportation are astronomical. According to the International Governmental Panel on Climate Change, human CO₂ emissions are very likely to be contributing to climate change. The IPCC predicts that climate change will result in droughts, flooding, collapse of many ecosystems and extinction, famines, and increased health problems.[22] The increase in particulate matter will only exacerbate health problems associated with climate change. Furthermore, extensive road networks being built in flood-prone areas could increase damages from natural disasters.

The effect of transportation on the environment will most likely become greater over time, as humans continue to become increasingly reliant upon cars and international trade continues to grow. An efficient and effective policy must be set into action as soon as possible to mitigate this problem.

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[1] Black and Nijkamp, 37.
[2] Petroleum Products Information Sheet, 09/2005 2005, 04/30 2007 <http://www.eia.doe.gov/neic/infosheets/petroleumproducts.htm>.

[3] Yahoo! Finance, , 04/30 2007 <http://finance.yahoo.com>.

[4] Energy Information Administration, International Energy Outlook 2006 Energy Information Administration, 2006), 04/30/2007.

[5] Black and Nijkamp, 37.

[6] Black and Nijkamp, 37.

[7] Black and Nijkamp, 37.

[8] Energy Information Administration.

[9] Americans Now Spend Over 100 Hours a Year Commuting, 04/01/2005 2005, About.com, 04/30 2007 <http://usgovinfo.about.com/od/censusandstatistics/a/commutetimes.htm>.

[10] Texas Transportation Institute, City Mayors: Traffic Congestion - USA Texas Transportation Institute, 2005), . Citymayors.com. 04/30/2007.

[11] Texas Transportation Institute.

[12] The Subcommittee on Surface Transportation, Road Rage: Causes and Dangers of Aggressive Driving, trans. House of Representatives, ed. The Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, 1997).

[13] Clean Commute Annapolis, 04/30 2007, 04/30 2007 <http://www.annapolis.gov/info.asp?page=2613>.

[14] Texas Transportation Institute.

[15] W. Corbett Dabbs, Oil Production and Environmental Damage, Research Mnemonic ed. (American University, Washington, DC:, 1996).

[16] W. Corbett Dabbs, Oil Production and Environmental Damage, Research Mnemonic ed. (American University, Washington, DC:, 1996).

[17] Thomas L. Friedman, “The Power of Green,” NY Times Magazine 04/15/2007 2007.

[18] Black and Nijkamp, 19-20.

[19] Black and Nijkamp, 19-20.

[20] Black and Nijkamp, 19-20.

[21] Green Cars, 05/04 1999, 04/30 2007 <http://www.environmentaldefense.org/article.cfm?ContentID=928>.

[22] Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Climate Change 2007: Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability Summary Report for Policymakers, 2007), 04/30/2007.