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Alternative Fuel Vehicles

Milestones in the History of Energy & Its Uses

WHAT TYPES OF ENERGY ARE USED IN TRANSPORTATION?

Pie chart showing what types of fuel are used in transportation. The petroleum products used include gasoline with 61 percent, diesel with 19 percent, and jet fuel with 13 percent. Other energy fuels account for 4 percent, and natural gas use is 3 percent of the total.

WHAT TYPES OF VEHICLES USE THE MOST ENERGY?

Image of the types of vehicles that use energy and how much they use. The different vehicles using energy include cars, light trucks, other trucks, aircraft, ships and barges, pipelines, and trains. Cars use 36 percent, light trucks use 25 percent, other trucks use 17 percent, aircraft use 10 percent, ships and barges use 5 percent, pipelines use 4 percent, and trains use 3 percent.

HOW MUCH ENERGY IS USED IN TRANSPORTATION?

27% of all energy in the United States in 1997 was used in transportation.

Pie chart of how much of the total energy used is used in transportation: 27 percent.

Cars, vans and buses are commonly used to carry people. Trucks, airplanes and railroads can be used to carry either people or freight. Barges and gas pipelines only carry freight. In 1997, the United States had 207 million motor vehicles (cars, motorcycles, buses and trucks). That's more than three motor vehicles for every four people.

Images of a person and a car, representing the number of people in the United States in 1997, 270 million, and the number of motor vehicles, 207 million.

Automobiles and personal use trucks drove over 2.5 trillion miles. That's almost one-twelfth the distance to the nearest star beyond the solar system. It's also like driving to the sun and back 13440 times.

Want to learn more about energy use in transportation? click here

Want to learn more about consumption of fuels in transportation? click here

Other sources are: U.S. Department of Energy, Transportation Energy Data Book, Edition 21 (2001) and
U.S. Department of Transportation, Highway Statistics 2000.

1.Your assignment is to research one of the following alternative fuels: gasohol, hydrogen fuel cells, PHOTOVOLTAICS, geothermal.

2.Prepare a report describing the fuel source, its potential use in vehicles, and advantages/disadvantages to this energy source. 1-2 pages and references