**5. Saving energy programs**

198 Fossil Fuel and the Environment

Fully electric

2060

Oil powered

Gas powered

2020

2030

2040

Fig. 3. A speculation into the number of automobiles powered by (a) oil (b) hybrid electric

Shipping vessels range from recreational boats to the largest oil tankers and cruise ships. The vast majority of these are run by liquid fossil fuel (diesel etc.), the exception being nuclear powered defense ships and submarines. Compressed gas and its accompanying gas cylinders, while largely feasible for marine power, would present engineering and safety

As liquid (aviation) fuel continues its path to depletion, and rises in cost, we look to sources besides fossil fuel for the powered flight of airplanes. A gas powered airplane, would have the engineering problem of having a large number of gas cylinders to store the equivalent of the large quantities of aviation fuel formerly stored in the wings. The inherent risks of having gas cylinders all over the body and wings would be a major engineering problem,

A coal powered plane would require the likes of a coal-powered plant right inside an airplane. This would be prohibitive in various ways, such as in weight of the plant, electric

Solar panels on a plane may produce only about the order of a hundredth of the energy needed for flight, and would be propellor-driven, and have electric motors, clearly too heavy for flight. Also, night time flight would require batteries, which is another prohibitive addition to weight. For demonstration purposes, a solar-powered planes has circumnavigated the globe. (solarimpulse.com). This plane had the wingspan of an Airbus

A nuclear powered airplane is almost an impossibility, considering the great weight and space needed for a nuclear reactor. For powered flight, the only real alternative to liquid

2050

2010

and a prohibitive risk for airplanes in the air.

motors, propeller-driven, and not jet-powered flight.

A340, the weight of a family car, and the power of a scooter.

Hybrid electric

2000

(c) gas (d) fully electric.

**4.3 Shipping vessels** 

issues for vessels and ships.

fossil fuel is biodiesel (Table 2).

**4.4 Airplanes** 

The awareness for energy conservation has driven various programs and initiatives for long.A primary focus of this chapter is to increase fossil fuel conservation. Saving energy would tend to suppress the rise in prices, and cause the fuel to last longer (Figure 4).

Fig. 4. Oil and Gas production at current trends, and after saving energy programs
