The net effect is what? A massive increase in car use: 'the number of licensed vehicles increased by 63 per cent between 1980 and 2003, from 19.2 to 31.2 million'
Doug:
"Why is so hard to grasp the fact that we're courting disaster by burning hydrocarbons at such a furious rate? I say this as someone not given to apocalyptic thinking. It's barely a matter of scientific controversy anymore, though I'm sure James Heartfield would differ."
Certainly would. The internal combustion engine is a condition of life, not death. Research by Heriot Watt University's logistics department shows that Britain would collapse 'if no lorries operated on Britain's roads for a week'. This is what happens on day five:
"Half of the car fleet without fuel Large proportion of the labour force laid-off or unable to travel to work Retail stocks of most grocery products exhausted Almost all manufacturing closed down Severe disruption of the health service Serious problems from the accumulation of waste Range of non-food products in shops substantially depleted"
According to the research 'lorries deliver 4.5 million tonnes of freight each day, approximately 80 kgs per person' which is 'more that the average body weight'. Those 4.5 million tonnes are 82 per cent of all freight transport in the UK. As well as feeding us, motor vehicles save our lives: 3.8 million emergency responses are made by ambulance each year and half a million fires are attended by the fire services.
You might argue that rail or canals could take up the slack, but that is unrealistic. Each year Britons travel on average 5600 miles by car, and just 200 miles by train. Rail capacity would have to increase five times just to reduce car transport by one fifth. In 2003, canals moved 1 600 000 tonnes, while three times as much went by lorry every day. To even make a dent in road freight, canals would have to increase their capacity by several hundred-fold.