Difference between revisions of "LondonAccord:Car Miles"

Latest revision as of 13:22, 6 December 2011

This page was initiated by Ana Dora

At the beginning of the 1900s mass travel had become possible across many parts of the World through railways; by the 1990s, personal travel was possible for nearly all in the developed world through the car. Cars have become an essential part of our lives. We can’t imagine today reducing our reliance on cars and much of society has been planned assuming we have a car; in other cases geographic locations demand the use of a car (Los Angeles, and rural Idaho). However even 40 years ago when there just were half the cars of today, car engine pollution control had started (in California) and congestion issues were a problem. Now, not only do we have a dramatically increasing number of cars, but they travel much further. It has become essential for us to reduce exhaust emissions if we are to tackle the high levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere we have today (roughly 387ppm and rising). How can we reverse this trend?

In Peter Thorold’s book “The Motoring Age” we find how cars changed Britain between 1896 – the birth year of the motoring age in Britain and 1939 – the beginning of the Second World War. It was the beginning of a new area and the end of old one. The pub across the road from my house is just 20 miles East from London and had been a coaching inn since the 15th Century . It was a prosperous hotel where people on their way to Dover would have their first stop, to rest the horses and sleep for the night. In the 1920s it became one of a fast growing number of ‘roadhouses’ with people driving out of London for ‘a big night out’ dancing drinking and driving! Now boxed in between the M20, M26 and M25 people now travel faster and farther on land and have withdrawn the traffic and people away from the pub leaving it tranquil by the river, but with a very large car park! Public transport in rural areas has in many cases diminished or has been deserted making it un-economic due to the increasing number of cars, creating a snowball-effect that leaves you stranded outside a city unless you have a car. The invention and ubiquity of the motor-car is generally heralded as the pinnacle of progress in personal transport.

On average a European family travels about 10,000 miles per year with an average fuel economy of 20 mpg today because of the impact of large amounts of urban driving. As calculated by Car Pages, the average car CO2 emissions rate is 180 g/km (grams of carbon dioxide per kilometre driven), the lowest 88 g/ km and highest 495 g/km, giving annual emissions of 0.5, 1.1, and 3.1 tonnes of C02 for lowest, average and highest cars respectively. Car exhaust emissions include hydrocarbons such as benzene, nitrous oxide, carbon monoxide and that old favourite, carbon dioxide. As noted above, in the 1970s legislation had started to recognize the need to reduce toxic car emissions in California and these have progressed significantly since then with catalytic converters and lead-free petrol. Since then, both the number of cars and car mileage has dramatically increased. Citizens of cities such as Mexico D.F., Beijing and Santiago have experienced proliferating cases of respiratory diseases such as asthma and bronchitis, which are, in part, due to unregulated industry and in part down to car emissions. In short, it has become essential for all governments to act and reduce exhaust emissions if we are to tackle carbon issues. The transportation contribution to global CO2 emissions is 22% and according to the Sustainable Mobility Project (SMP, light duty vehicles emitted 0.8 billion tons of CO2 in 2000, one eight of the world’s emissions. Maintaining projected growth rates for numbers of cars, CO2 emissions and car miles, the picture for 2050 predicted by SMP looks like this: 1.6 billion cars (600 million today) will drive 123% more miles and will double the CO2 emissions to 1.6 billion tons of carbon per year.

[edit] There are many ways in which car emissions could be maintained or reduced:

• Decrease or halt car production – this is the least realistic option. The global auto industry employs a huge workforce and the concept of the car is far too engrained in daily culture to make any dramatic shifts away from car use.

• Improve fuel efficiency – this is the least reliable method in terms of emission reduction. Over the last few years it has improved by just 0.4 percent per year. However emissions have decreased and changes here could have a dramatic effect; as show above the lowest polluting car emits less than one fifth of the highest and less than half the average… so we simply need to move to low emission cars to halve the CO2 output.

• Use non-hydrocarbon fuels – this is not necessarily a win-win scenario vis a vis carbon reduction. Cars could be adapted to run on biofuels or electricity. However, David Pimental of Cornell University found that producing biofuels actually requires more energy than they can generate. Energy is needed to grow soya, cane sugar or rapeseed and convert them into liquid form. His 2005 study found that producing ethanol from corn required 29 percent more energy than the end product itself is capable of generating. Although there is other research that points to different results, namely that bio-ethanol outputs 38% more energy than it requires, the worry is that arable lands used for growing crops for human consumption or rainforest will be converted for biofuel production. In addition, costs would be incurred changing all current car models. When it comes to electricity, it could simply be sourced from gas or coal power plants. The way forward would be to source electricity from low-carbon options like hydro-electric, nuclear or solar-powered electricity.

• Halve the number of miles – this is the option advocated by Pacala and Socolow (2004) in their Princeton Wedges. This is by far the simplest and the best option, as it doesn't involve any R&D or new technology. All that is required is cooperation and a few lifestyle changes! The Department of Transport in Britain found that cars were used for 18% of trips under 1 mile and for 61% of trips of between 1 and 2 miles in the last survey. Distances under 2 miles are walkable, especially in urban areas. It takes my colleague 40mins to walk from Kings Cross to work at St Helens Place (2.2miles). It may seem like a long time, but the tube takes 30mins door to door (and more during rush-hour) and she was once stuck on the bus for an hour (and has never since taken the bus). Another good solution is carbon-efficient public transport that can connect people and reduce the need for them to drive longer distances as well.

[edit] There are three main ways of halving the current number of car miles that are travelled:

1. Car share

2. Using public transport

3. Walking or cycling

It may seem problematic to act on these is on an individual level, as we can't affect dangerous traffic or geographical barriers. However, the internet has facilitated the building of car-reducing networks such as Car Sharing and Walkit. Many people don't cycle because roads (e.g. in London) can be very aggressive and there is want for more cycle lanes. If the Mayor of London commissioned more cycle lanes and traffic calming initiatives, more people would cycle. It is equally up to government authorities to ensure adequate public transport to provide an alternative form of transport which would challenge the use of the car. It is possible for humans to live without cars. Places such as Giethoorn in the Netherlands and Vauban [1] in Germany are virtually car-free, and their success proves that you don't have to live in a commune in a forest with flowers in your hair to get rid of the motor-car.

A significant proportion of these miles are spent commuting to work, given that 71% of commuters still travel by car in the UK. As many workers prefer the office environment as opposed to working from home, we would need to rethink urban and suburban planning to find transport solutions to suit these home to work movements. One solution would be to return to the comprehensive omnibus public transport networks of the early 20th Century. The Prince’s Foundation for the Built Environment proposes creating walkable communities. Having shops and schools close would make cars redundant for short trips. This is a great idea, although it will take some heavy redesigning and planning as well as cultural and lifestyle shifts. In terms of immediate term carbon reductions and the halving of car miles, this solution may seem a long way off target, but already supermarket chains are building ‘local’ stores that are more walkable and a substitute for the ‘out of town’ shopping centres bringing a return to the concept of the corner shop.

In the same way that cars caused a sea-change in daily routines in the 1950s across the world, it is equally logical to think that cars could, through policy and advocacy, be trumped by bicycles or our very own two feet.