Transportation

The two major uses of fossil fuel are power plants and transportation. Power plants are slowly converting to natural gas and this has lowered emissions to where CO2 levels are down to where they were 20 years ago. The U.S. Department of Energy says natural gas burns much cleaner than coal or oil — producing about 70 percent less carbon emissions — and estimates that replacing 3.5 million oil-burning heavy duty vehicles (trucks) with CNG-powered ones would reduce oil consumption by 1.2 million barrels per day Throughout the US garbage trucks, buses and companies are joining the band wagon. UPS (NYSE:UPS) announced plans to build an additional 12 compressed natural gas (CNG) fueling stations and add 380 new CNG tractors to its growing alternative fuel and advanced technology fleet. The CNG fueling stations and vehicle purchases totaling $100 million are part of UPS’s ongoing commitment to diversify its fuel sources and reduce its environmental impact. Changing transportation to natural gas is a way to quickly have a profound effect on CO2 emissions but the urgency is not there. Why not?