Two Billion Cars: Driving Toward Sustainability

I dig this book. I grew up in the heart of Los Angeles and remember days when I could not run outside because the smog level was so bad that 10 minutes of running would do the lung damage of a pack of cigarettes. I deal with environmental law issues on a near daily basis so reading treatises and studies such as these pose no problems to me, and if you can handle reading the WSJ, the Economist, or even the Atlantic, this should be easily to digest. Even if you aren't an enviro-nerd. Sperling and Gordon manage to make a relatively dense topic - car emissions and environmental topic - and keep it easy to read. I have read hundreds of studies and analysis of varieties of issues but few are as easy to sell and understand as the work of Sperling and Gordon. It hits the issue head on: the problems of a car-based transportation system and the pros and cons of the solutions. For either work, inspiration, or pleasure, if you have any interest in this topic, this is the place to start.

Two Billion Cars: Driving Toward Sustainability, is the title of this thought-provoking and timely book by Daniel Sperling and Deborah Gordon. Their premise is simple: "The world is speeding toward two billion vehicles, and there can be no denying that cars and trucks are integral to our lifestyle and our economy. Cars provide mobility and personal freedom while trucks carry the goods that keep our economy humming. But all these vehicles and our near-total dependence on gasoline to fuel them contribute to global warming, deplete our natural resources, and undermine our national security." And that's just the first paragraph in the preface, written by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger! Sperling and Gordon go into greater detail on these issues. Here's a sampling of the nuggets you will find [don't assume these snippets summarize the book; there is a LOT more here]: "One-fourth of all the oil consumed by humans in our entire history will be consumed from 2000 to 2010." "The principal solution is electric-drive technology. While 97 percent of the vehicles in the world burn petroleum fuels in combustion engines, the next generation of vehicles will almost certainly be propelled by electric motors." [We have] "...a transportation monoculture that's unsustainable. Indeed, it would be hard to imagine a passenger transportation more inefficient, wasteful of resources, and destructive of the global environment than what we now have." "The future is likely to be different. High oil prices, conflicts in the Middle East, increasing fears of climate change, and intense competition are converging to create a more fertile environment for transformational innovations." "Electric motors are inherently more efficient than combustion engines, effectively utilizing more than 90 percent of the energy provided, compared to 37 percent for today's conventional car engine. Electric-drive vehicles have two other important efficiency advantages: no energy is consumed while the car is at rest or coasting, and energy normally lost when braking is instead captured and used." However, "When electric vehicles are powered strictly by coal-generated electricity, they cause slightly more greenhouse gas emissions than a gasoline-powered combustion vehicle and thus aren't attractive from a climate change perspective - unless the gases are captured and permanently stored at the coal plant." "Although the Prius represents only a small fraction of the millions of cars and trucks Toyota has produced, it has generated huge amounts of free advertising and goodwill, motivated untold extra sales of Toyota's many other vehicles, and buffered Toyota from criticism as it expanded sales of large trucks and SUVs." "The theme of unexpected consequences and indirect innovation emerges again and again with alternative fuels. The lesson is that innovation and change can be swift and unintended consequences can be minimized - if goals are clear, leaders step forward, problems are vett

This book goes through the history of how the car industry got to where it is today, and what options we have for the future of cleaning up transportation. The book remains politically neutral, which is always a plus, and it avoids conspiracy theories (such as the ones in "Who Killed the Electric Car). The engineers responsible for writing this book are clearly very realistic, they don't suggest things that won't be technically possible, and they point out where the car companies aren't being realistic with their estimates. Overall, this is a very good read. It's written in a manner such that an engineer would find it interesting and informative, while at the same time, a 15 year old kid could read it and understand everything they are explaining. Highly recommended

I thought this would be another one of those books full of political jargon. I was totally wrong. It tells the truth about emission problems and presents the issues at such a level that any 5th grader can understand. Actually the 5th grader would be more affected by the issues than you. When you learn that major Historical Sites & Monuments around the world are falling apart because of pollutants emitted from car exhaust you see things differently. And then the great Pyramid of Giza is in Cairo where the levels are very high. After reading this you will understand how we got to where we are, where we are going if things don't change and what you can do to help.

...or so the book should be more aptly named. while this book does actually do an excellent job of displaying a very non-partisan view on a very real problem, it also likes to let anyone reading know that California is apperently great...despite their argument, however, I still don't want to move there. besides this little flaw, this is an excellent and highly informative book that answers a lot of questions that many people might never have thought to ask and it shines a very bright light on a problem that many people are in the dark about. This book tackles Oil companys, the automobile industry, the govt., and consumers but at the same time it is not "Who killed the electric car" merely in printed form because it does not trump up the benefits of electric cars and blast every thing else. Every form of possible future fuels and transportation modes are looked at and evaluated equally and with much reasoning and facts to support those reasonings. This is a book you might not normally pick up on your own but you're glad you did once your finished with it. It starts out reading a lot like a textbook but after the first chapter, despite the vast information it contains, it becomes more formal and much easier to read casually. I liked this book but I wont keep it in my personal library. I also wont throw it away however, instead I will find someone who would likely get as much out of it as I did and pass it on to them. I give it 5 starts without any hesitation.