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Barreling Across the Planet

In 2003, some 41 million new passenger vehicles rolled off the world’s assembly lines, five times as many as in 1950. The global passenger car fleet now exceeds 539 million vehicles, and is growing by as many as 9 million vehicles annually. Every day in 2003, some 11,000 more cars merged onto China’s roads alone—4 million new private cars during the year.

Many manufacturers now market “light trucks,” once used primarily for hauling loads, as passenger vehicles. In 2002, demand for sport utility vehicles (SUVs) and other light trucks outran production by more than 1 million vehicles—almost 9 percent. Due to their large size and low gas mileage, these vehicles are significant polluters. In the United States, where light trucks now account for nearly half of all vehicle purchases, 2001 models emitted 2.4 times more smog-forming pollutants and 1.4 times more climate-altering carbon than passenger cars.

One eco-friendly alternative is the hybrid-electric car, in which electric power supplements the internal combustion engine. So far, hybrids and other alternative fuel vehicles account for only a tiny share of the total automobile fleet. But as consumer demand picks up, the market for “greener” driving options should continue to expand.

Production of SUVs and other light trucks increased 6 percent in 2002, totaling a record 16 million vehicles. If current trends continue, half the world’s passenger vehicles will be SUVs or other light trucks by 2030.

The U.S. is home to a quarter of the world’s cars. Most households own two or more vehicles, and there are now more private cars than people licensed to drive them.

The average car in the U.S. travels 10 percent more per year than a car in the U.K., about 50 percent more than one in Germany, and almost 200 percent more than one in Japan. The total distance traveled by Americans exceeds that of all other industrial nations combined.

Cars and light trucks account for 40 percent of U.S. oil use and contribute about as much to climate change as the entire Japanese economy—the world’s fourth-largest carbon emitter.

The average American adult now spends 72 minutes a day behind the wheel, often alone.

Ford Motor Company’s Model T got better gas mileage nearly a century ago than the average vehicle Ford puts on the roads today.

Chinese auto sales increased by more than 80 percent in the first half of 2003. By 2015, if growth continues apace, industry analysts expect 150 million cars to jam China’s streets—18 million more than were driven on U.S. streets and highways in 1999.

People who drive gas-guzzling sport-utility vehicles rather than fuel-efficient cars not only consume about three times more gasoline per kilometer driven, but also indirectly use more water since it takes 18 liters of water to produce just one liter of gasoline.

For every kilometer driven by private vehicle, people consume two to three times as much fuel as they would by public transit.

By January 2003, some 150,000 drivers around the world had bought a hybrid car. Many of these new owners are in the United States, where total sales of hybrid-electric cars more than doubled in 2002.

In Denmark, where rail and bike infrastructure are well developed, and where the tax on auto registrations exceeds a car’s retail price, more than 30 percent of families don’t even own cars.

Zermatt, Switzerland, uses its long-time car-free status as a selling point for tourists.

Japanese post-WWII investments in passenger trains and public transit systems have paid off. Nearly 92 percent of downtown Tokyo travelers commute by rail, and only 55 percent of domestic travel is done by car. (West Europeans use public transit for 10 percent of all urban trips, and Canadians for 7 percent—compared with Americans at only 2 percent.)

In the past 20 years, Germany has tripled the length of its nationwide bikeways, and the Netherlands has doubled its network. In 1992, people in more than 30 Dutch municipalities voted to eliminate cars from their inner cities. All over the Netherlands, parking for bicycles far exceeds spaces for cars at railway stations as a result of customer demand.

The municipal government in Bogotá, Colombia, began shifting roadways from cars to bicycles in the late 1980s, and plans to ban private car use during peak hours by 2015. Today, Bogotá has a good public transit system, pollution levels have declined, and commuting times during rush hours have been cut in half.

Car sharing, a concept where members reserve and drive shared cars, has spread to more than 550 communities in eight European countries and to more than 40 U.S. cities, from Seattle to Washington, D.C.

Walk, bike, or take public transportation whenever possible. Encourage your local community to be more bicycle-friendly by investing in bike lanes, stoplights that favor cyclists, and other infrastructure developments that would make cycling safe.

If you have a car, combine trips to reduce total mileage, and keep it well maintained to reduce oil leaks and runoff.

Consider joining a car-sharing club if there’s one in your city, especially if you don’t use your car frequently.

If you’re planning on buying a car, ask your dealer about the most fuel efficient models available. Consider buying a hybrid vehicle, if you have the option.

For one month, eliminate as many short car trips as you can. Keep a rough tally on the miles you don’t drive. At the end of the month, calculate the emissions you saved, using a calculator like the Tailpipe Tally described below.

Environmental Defense’s Tailpipe Tally (www.environmentaldefense.org/tool_pop.cfm?tool=tailpipe) allows you to calculate the fuel consumption, fuel cost, and vehicle emissions for any vehicle from model years 1978 to present.

EV World (www.evworld.com) is a clearinghouse for information on a wide range of green transportation options.

American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy’s (ACEEE) Green Book (www.greenercars.com) publishes information on the most environmentally friendly vehicles on the market today.

ACEEE’s Clean Car Campaign (www.cleancarcampaign.org) aims to promote the development, sale, and purchase of vehicles that meet a high standard of environmental performance.

Surface Transportation Policy Project (www.transact.org) is a U.S. coalition working to ensure safer communities and smarter transportation choices that enhance the economy, improve public health, promote social equity, and protect the environment.