Transport Revolutions

📘 About This Book

First released in 2007, the bestselling Transport Revolutions argued that land transport in the first half of the 21st century will feature at least two revolutions. One will involve the use of electric drives rather than internal combustion engines. Another will involve powering many of these drives directly from the electric grid - as trains and trolley buses are powered today - rather than from on-board fuel. Now available for the first time in paperback and updated with the most recent data, it sets out the challenges to our growing dependence on transport fuelled by low-priced oil. These challenges include an early peak in world oil production and profound climate change resulting in part from oil use. It proposes responses to ensure effective, secure movement of people and goods in ways that make the best use of renewable sources of energy while minimizing environmental impacts. Synthesizing engineering, economics, environment, organization, policy and technology in a detailed yet highly readable style, Transport Revolutions is essential reading for anyone working, studying or interested in transport and the environment.

📖 Summary

Transport Revolutions by Richard Gilbert is a visionary and deeply analytical examination of how humanity moves people and goods, and how these systems must drastically transform to survive the twenty-first century. Originally published in 2007 and later updated for its paperback release in 2018 with the most current data, the book challenges the foundational assumptions of modern mobility. For decades, global land transport has been overwhelmingly dependent on internal combustion engines running on cheap, accessible oil. Gilbert demonstrates that this reliance is rapidly approaching a hard boundary, driven by two converging realities: an early peak in world oil production and the profound, accelerating threat of climate change, which is fueled in part by our obsession with petroleum. To confront these monumental challenges, the book argues that land transport will inevitably undergo at least two simultaneous and radical revolutions over the course of the twenty-first century. The first revolution centers on the widespread adoption of electric drives, which offer a far more efficient and sustainable alternative to the traditional internal combustion engine. The second, even more transformative revolution involves shifting away from on-board fuel storage entirely. Instead, Gilbert proposes powering these electric drives directly from the electric grid, utilizing technologies and methods akin to how modern trains and trolley buses have operated for generations. By tapping directly into the grid, transportation systems can bypass the heavy, resource-intensive batteries that often limit electric vehicle design, creating a more integrated and continuous energy loop. Throughout its nearly three hundred pages, the book systematically dismantles the illusion of business-as-usual transportation. It outlines the precise vulnerabilities of our current infrastructure and proposes forward-looking, highly practical responses to secure the future of global movement. Gilbert does not merely point out the flaws in our petroleum-based society; he maps out a tangible pathway toward a cleaner, more resilient, and ultimately necessary transformation of our roadways and rails. Transport Revolutions serves as both an urgent warning and an inspiring roadmap, urging policymakers, urban planners, and citizens to rethink the very nature of travel before environmental and economic pressures make the choice for us.

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