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Revd Ian James

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... figures suggest train is less polluting than a car. ... Western mainline has replaced 4500hp HSTs with 7500hp 10-car units. ... Toyota Prius. Hybrid petrol ... – PowerPoint PPT presentation

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Title: Revd Ian James


1
Going lightly
  • Environmentally friendly travel

Revd Prof Ian N. James Diocesan environment
advisor School of Mathematics, Meteorology
Physics, University of Reading.
2
Fossil fuelled transport
  • Fossil fuel burning

water

butane
oxygen
carbon dioxide
3
Typical household
  • Annual emissions tonnes of carbon per year.
  • Typical UK household emits 9 tonnes C per year

4
Discussion point
  • You have to take your family of 4 from Reading to
    Edinburgh. Which mode emits least carbon dioxide?
  • Driving in a car
  • Flying
  • Diesel train on the East Coast main line
  • Electric train on the West Coast main line

5
Motor transport
  • - Personal transport

6
Car use
  • Typical fuel consumption?
  • Miles per year?
  • Fuel type (petrol, diesel, LPG)?
  • Reduce by 13 for diesel or LPG.

7
Rail transport
  • - Public transport

8
Carbon generated by a train journey
  • Government figures suggest train is less
    polluting than a car.
  • However, the calculation is very sensitive to the
    assumptions occupancy, type of train, speed
    (IMechE figures)

9
Development of rail technology
  • Internationally, rail vehicles are becoming more
    efficient.
  • However, in UK since privatisation, emphasis has
    been on speed at expense of efficiency.
  • Eg, Great Western mainline has replaced 4500hp
    HSTs with 7500hp 10-car units.
  • Disabled access, crash worthiness, etc., have
    reduced no of seats.

10
Rail travel
  • Even government is not very sure of CO2 emissions
    by trains.
  • Energy consumption goes up rapidly as speed
    increases 220mph train uses twice as much fuel
    as 140mph train.
  • Efficiency depends strongly on seat occupancy
  • Diesel much more efficient than electric

11
Electric trains
  • Deceptively clean!
  • Fossil fuel is burnt at power station. Some
    energy converted to electricity.
  • Pollution at power station.
  • Further energy lost in power lines, transformers,
    etc., before reaching the train.
  • Some electric trains (Swiss mountain railways!)
    really are green.

12
Air transport
  • - The fastest growing source of CO2 pollution

13
Growth in air transport
  • Currently fastest growing source of CO2
  • Passenger-kilometres 1,250 million in 1990 to
    2,600 million in 2000 (budget carriers)
  • At present rate of growth, demand for flights
    will more than triple between now and 2030.

14
Flying Some popular holiday destinations
  • Here is the extra carbon emitted taking your
    family of 4 on holiday

15
Future developments?
  • Can we fix the carbon pollution from transport?

16
Developments of the car
  • Alternative fuels?
  • Hybrid fuels
  • Electric cars
  • Hydrogen power

17
Alternative fuels
  • LPG, diesel lead to 13 or so reduction in carbon
    emissions
  • Tend to be restricted to larger vehicles
  • Better simply to drive a smaller, fuel efficient
    petrol car
  • Renewable fuels eg., alcohol, vegetable oils
    helps carbon problem, creates others

18
Hybrid power systems
  • Eg., Toyota Prius
  • Hybrid petrol/electric power
  • Base fuel is petrol used to drive wheels or to
    charge batteries, whichever is more efficient
  • Consumption of around 65mpg in urban driving
  • Less advantage on motorways,

19
Electric power
  • Looks clean, but is in fact very inefficient
  • Secondary power source mostly generated by
    burning fossil fuels.
  • Energy losses in power stations, in power
    transmission and in batteries.
  • Technical problems limited range slow (milk
    floats!)

20
Hydrogen power
  • Burn hydrogen in air product is simply water
    vapour
  • Perfectly clean?
  • No natural sources of hydrogen on earth
  • Hydrogen made from electrolysis of water to
    produce oxygen, hydrogen
  • Really it is simply a way of storing electricity

21
Sources of hydrogen?
power losses
power station
hydrogen plant
  • No natural sources of hydrogen on Earth
  • Industrial production electrolysis is only
    practical solution
  • Wind farms, etc., cannot produce enough hydrogen
  • Hydrogen is bulky three times volume of
    petroleum for same energy

22
Prospects for hydrogen power
  • May be a realistic way of powering future road
    vehicles
  • Secondary, not primary fuel need electricity to
    generate hydrogen
  • Replacing all current vehicles would hydrogen
    would require 50 expansion of current
    electricity generating capacity.

23
.and finally
  • Some conclusions

24
Re-visit discussion point
  • You have to take your family of 4 from Reading to
    Edinburgh. Which mode emits least carbon dioxide?
  • Driving in a car
  • Flying
  • Diesel train on the East Coast main line
  • Electric train on the West Coast main line

25
What can you do?
  • Work out the fuel consumption of your car for
    your typical pattern of driving
  • Carry out a journey audit. Record distance,
    occupancy, and priority of journey essential,
    convenient or luxury.
  • Look for savings, car sharing, etc..
  • Look at holidays. Look for prospects for saving
    miles in the air.

26
Conclusion
  • We can do a lot to reduce our carbon generation
    from travel by 10-30.
  • Little foreseeable prospect of technical fixes
    beyond this.
  • But further reductions need real lifestyle
    changes.
  • What is Christian basis of the commuter
    lifestyle
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