Life without transport by oil is closer than we think
Barbara Yaffe, Vancouver Sun
Published: Thursday, April 03, 2008

The planet, posits a new book by two Canadian academics, is on the cusp of a revolution in transportation that will steer people away from petroleum-fuelled vehicles and into ones that are either battery-powered or connected to electrical grids.

Transport Revolutions: Moving People and Freight without Oil, by Richard Gilbert and Anthony Perl, is one of the most thought-provoking books to cross my desk in a long while.

Their book is an eyebrow-raiser, portraying a future that's around the corner as oil production is projected to hit a peak and start declining around 2012.

...So urgent is the situation, the book calls for the signing of an international treaty -- the Oil Depletion Protocol -- similar to the Kyoto accord addressing climate change

..."There's going to be some steep learning curve for political leaders who are largely unprepared to deal with the impending transport revolutions. Techno-fantasies and wishful thinking will have to give way to reality-based planning."

If the reality of depleting oil reserves is not sufficient to convince a dubious public, then the climate change challenge will force the transportation revolution.

...Gilbert and Perl say the Americans, as the richest and biggest oil consumers, should create a special coordinating mega-department along the lines of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. The Transport Redevelopment Administration would be assigned to oversee massive transportation adjustments.

[full article at the link above]