7. Taking the Car out of Carbon

The transportation sector is the largest consumer of fossil fuels and the largest emitter of greenhouse gases (GHG) in the United States. Top-billed strategies to reduce fuel consumption, namely “fleet fuel-efficiency” and “decarbonization” are not likely to deliver the required reductions of fuel consumption and GHG emissions. For the transportation sector to meaningfully reduce its footprint, there has to be a shift away from personal automobiles to public-transportation—and the lifestyle that comes with it. Livable communities where walking and bicycling are viable, and where residences and businesses are smaller and situated more closely together, are the solution, rather than a continuation of the auto-centric paradigm, even with greater engine efficiency and/or electrification of fleet. Conceptually, the big reduction opportunity lies not in taking the carbon out of the car, but in taking the car out of carbon. In other words creating communities where the car is not the only means of transportation or even the preferred means; rather than communities where cars still rule, with a modification that powers them with electricity.