A1F01: Committee on Transportation Energy

As the third millennium begins, society faces the task of creating a transportation system that expands the energy resources available for mobility while reducing negative effects on the environment. This task is international in scope. Three critical issues—oil dependence, air pollution, and greenhouse gas emissions—confront the global transportation and energy system. Meeting these challenges will require energy-efficient technologies that are powered by improved energy sources. The technologies that determine transportation energy use now were invented roughly a century ago and were unforeseen a thousand years ago. Yet, the underlying needs— society’s desire for ever more convenient and rapid access to goods and services—have persisted throughout history. Such desires will continue to shape transportation in the centuries ahead. The years approaching the new millennium have been marked by expansive innovation, offering vehicle and energy technologies that promise to meet both the underlying needs and the challenges posed. Implementing these new options must be accomplished ultimately through market choices. However, the market alone will not adequately address oil dependence, air pollution