Running Head: THE RETURN OF GREEN TRANSPORT

The Return of Green Transport

Yueran Qian

University of California, Berkeley

College Writing R1A

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The Return of Green Transport

Green transport refers to the idea of sustainable, non-fossil fuel transportations, such as

electric cars and airships. Interestingly, they were both popular when first invented, and then met

difficulties competing with their fossil-fuel counterparts. Eventually, they come back to peoples

considerations again because they are actually more economical due to the deteriorating

environment.

Electric cars have a long history and have fallen in and out of popularity. The first

electric car was invented in the 1830s by a Dutch inventor named Sibrandus Stratingh (Romero,

2009). Electric cars soon became popular for a couple of reasons. First, electric vehicles were

environmental friendly because they did not release any noxious exhaust. Second, they were

affordable after the original purchase because people did not need to spend any money on buying

gasoline. What is more, electric cars did not produce much noise that even the driver could

barely hear the sound from the engine. Thus, in major cities such as New York City, more and

more electric cars began to occupy the streets instead of horses or gasoline cars. In early 20th

century, the sale of electric cars surpassed that of the traditional gas-powered cars. Electric cars

were also perfect for short distance trips so women living in urban areas favored them as well

(Matulka, 2014). It seemed like the electric car industry would continue developing

prosperously.

However, as the technology of internal combustion engines developed, electric cars

gradually exited the market due to their relatively higher cost and lower speed. By 1912, an

electric car cost $1,750, while a gasoline car, such as Henry Fords Model T, cost only $650 due

to the advancing technology (Matulka, 2014). As the result, the majority of electric vehicles

disappeared in the 1930s. Even in the 1970s, after much research, electric cars were still slow.
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The maximum speed was only around 45 miles per hour and that means a family living in

Boston would spend nearly 10 hours on the road to visit Washington D.C.. What is more, the

driver would have had to recharge the car about every 40 miles, which means one stop for every

hour of driving (Matulka, 2014). For the reasons above, gas-powered cars have long dominated

the car market.

Fortunately, in recent years, people have started to realize that electric vehicles are

actually more economical than their counterparts, fossil fuel powered cars. Gas shortages

continue to promote the development of electric car industry. The increasing price of gas

encourages people to seek cheaper replacements for their gas-guzzlers. Yet, electric cars are still

facing challenges for further development, including expanding their maximum driving range

(Romero, 2009). Within the next few years, people may finally be able to drive electric cars from

New York City to Washing D. C. without recharging. In addition, if all cars were electric, CO2

emissions from the transportation sector would be 20% lower (Matulka, 2014).

Similar to electric cars, airships have also fallen in and out of favor. The airship was first

invented by Henri Giffard in 1852. His invention led to many companies interests in building

airships. Airships were very popular at first because they had many advantages over existing

transportation methods. Airship had faster speed than a ship, the main transportation method

before the invention of the airship, which took nearly three months to travel from New York City

to San Francisco. In contrast, airship passengers only needed 2 days for the same trip. In

addition, airships provided a luxurious experience with the passengers able to have a unique

view of the earth from the sky.

However, some technical issues put airships at a disadvantage in their eventual

competition against airplanes, which were invented later on in the 1900s. The search for the
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most economical method and the lack of advanced materials eventually led to the Hindenburg

disaster in 1937. The airship exploded in the sky and led to mass casualties (Laniado, 2000).

Even though there are still some myths about this accident, scientists are certain that hydrogen

leakage and thunderstorm eventually led to the disaster. For the first time, television live

streamed a disaster, which basically destroyed the market for airships. No one was brave enough

to risk his or her life boarding this dangerous balloon. First, in 1930s, most airships used

hydrogen to create and lift and hydrogen is flammable and thereby dangerous. Although

hydrogen could be replaced with helium, helium was not as abundant and there was a US

embargo. As a result, helium was 1,000 times more expensive than hydrogen. Airship companies

such as Zeppelin thusly used hydrogen to make their flights economically viable. Second, the

structure of airships was also very delicate. The slightest wind could pose a huge risk to the

passengers when the airship is so high in the sky (The Great Airships, n.d.). In the Hindenburg

disaster, the stormy weather was believed be the cause of the hydrogen leakage. In contrast,

airplanes were much safer and faster in that they only take several hours to travel from New

York City to San Francisco compared to the 2 days on the airships.

In the 21st century, however, people are paying serious attention to environmental issues.

Airplanes burn a great amount of fossil fuels, which is a major cause of greenhouse gas and

global warming. In contrast, airships only burn a quarter of the fuel (Carter, 2014). In addition,

nowadays people are learning that faster is not always better. People want to enjoy every

moment of their lives. Therefore, airships become more than just transportation tools. They are

more spacious and thus provide more luxurious experiences. Whats more, passengers can have a

unique view of the earth. Thus, airships may become popular in the near future.
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Throughout the history of the two green vehicles above, one can observe that humanity is

not the driving force of changing, but the development of technology and environmental values.

Big oil does not deserve full blame because consumers and manufacturers also need to be more

aware of the current deteriorating environment. If people pay more attention to environmental

issues, green transport will become more and more popular in the future.
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References

Carter, C. (2014, February 28). World's largest aircraft unveiled and hailed 'game changer'.

Retrieved October 09, 2017, from http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/earth

/greenertransport/10667081/Worlds-largest-aircraft-unveiled-and-hailed-game-

changer.html

Laniado, J. (2000, November 12). Slow Motion. Retrieved October 09, 2017, from

https://frieze.com/article/slow-motion?language=en

Matulka, R. (2014, September 15). The History of the Electric Car. Retrieved October 09, 2017,

from https://energy.gov/articles/history-electric-car

Romero, F. (2009, January 13). The Electric Car. Retrieved October 09, 2017, from

http://content.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1871282,00.html

The Great Airships. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.century-of flight.net/Aviation%20history

/coming%20of%20age/airships.htm