1. Transportation Without Fossil Fuels: Can We Do It?
Michaela Sizemore

2. How Does the US Population Get Around?
The United States uses roughly 92% petroleum products as our primary transportation energy source
Electric power was less than 1% of total of transportation usage
45% of US citizens have no access to public transportation
11% of citizens use public transportation at least once per week
Petroleum is the main source of energy for transportation In 2017, petroleum products accounted for about 92% of the total U.S. transportation sector energy use. Biofuels, such as ethanol and biodiesel, contributed about 5%, and natural gas contributed nearly 3%, most of which was used in natural gas pipeline compressors. Electricity provided less than 1% of total transportation sector energy use and nearly all of that in mass transit systems.
Of over 2 million workers in Colorado, only 3.3% use public transportation. In comparison, London sees 46% of commuters using public transportation
London: daily-travel-habits-compare-to-the-us/406840/

3. The United States Likes its Cars… And its Dependency on Them Too
Cities in The United States were built to cater to the automobile.
Suburban expansion after wars
City and neighborhood layout is not conducive to public transportation
The convenience of a car is well know, especially for people who like to do things after 8 pm
The cost of a rail/bus fare
CU provides RTD passes for us
Some cities are looking into reducing passes like this for low income people
the U.S. boomed in the 20th-century’s automobile age, and the private car is still king; most American cities and their suburbs are utterly dependent on them.
Post war: Transit everywhere suffered serious declines in the postwar years, the cost of cars dropped and new expressways linked cities and fast-growing suburbs.
How many of you take public transportation? Of those who do, who relies on a secondary method of transportation (car, bike, rideshare, etc) to get to and from public transportation?
Have any of you tried to take a bus to Denver on a friday night? Does the schedule change at a certain point in the evening? When did you have to get back on the bus, was this inconvenient or do the timeframes work for you?
One topic of discussion around transit fares are that you sometimes have to pay more if you cross a county/city line, have to transfer busses, or change method of transportation (bus to train) in the middle of your journey. There shouldn’t be a penalty for these cases: these are inconveniences to the rider, why would they be penalized?

4. How Will Transportation Change In The Future?
Electric Cars
Are they actually better for us?
Intelligent Transportation Systems
Updating infrastructure for railways
Improving public transit
Public transportation ridership has been growing
Using public transport saves riders money
Reduces petroleum consumption and reduces GHG emissions
Electric Cars
Only better for us if they are powered by renewable energies
Intelligent Transportation Systems
Using toll roads to encourage carpooling, implementing live traffic data for multiple transportation types (car, bus, train)
Updating infrastructure for railways
Investing in high speed rail systems helps cut emissions by removing cars and trains from creating emissions
Improving public transit
Public transportation ridership grew 37.2 percent from 1995 to 2013, almost double the growth rate of the U.S. population (20.3 percent)
Using public transport saves riders and average of $9,381 a year over taking a personal car
Reduces petroleum consumption by 1.4 billion gallons/year. This also keeps about 26 million tons of GHG from the atmosphere

5. Now We Discuss/Debate/Sell Our Ideas
Two groups:
Group A: We will be able to go to a low to no fossil fuel based society, even with our transportation system currently dependent on fossil fuels
By changing the transportation sector, we will see the most impact on fossil fuel consumption and GHG emissions in America
Group B: We will not be able to go to low to no fossil fuels because of our transportation systems dependence on fossil fuels
remain status quo on transportation, but change other energy intensive areas (buildings, electric grid, etc)
3 judges from 3 different “backgrounds”
Financial advisor of a big transportation company looking to invest in the best option for fossil fuel emission reduction
Congress person looking for more information on how the US can become more environmentally sound and will present to congress what is best route
Normal US Citizen who likes driving their car, but would like to reduce their GHG emissions