Newswise — Francis J. DiSalvo, director of Cornell University’s Atkinson Center for a Sustainable Future and professor of physical science, comments on President Obama’s call to reduce foreign oil imports by one-third in the next decade.
DiSalvo says:
“A 10-year goal to reduce foreign oil imports is doable, but will take a focused national effort to make it happen. We need to couple a short-term strategy with much longer range planning. In 10 years, we can really only hope to increase efficiency in sectors that use oil, and simultaneously research alternatives that will take 30 to 50 years for a real replacement. “Two-thirds of the oil we use is imported – and 70 percent of the oil we use goes to transportation. In 10 years we likely will not have a good replacement fuel for transportation. In that time, it is possible to build diesel engines for 50 miles per gallon or diesel hybrids of 80 miles per gallon, but this can only happen with a massive priority push. Batteries and fuel cells will take a longer time to replace enough of the sector and they are not sufficient for heavy duty vehicles and equipment. “Setting aside climate impacts for the moment, the other problem is the net trade deficit – currently, we buy, burn and continue to pay interest after it is gone. There are economic and strategic issues we have to address sooner than later, but we need to couple a short-term strategy with much longer range planning.”
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