About Lee Schipper (Edit profile)

Lee Schipper is a senior research scientist for the Global Metropolitan Studies Initiative at the University of California, Berkeley (schipper@berkeley.edu).

Moving Forward With Fuel Economy Standards

Lee Schipper

In the early 1970s, the American Petroleum Institute had a slogan: “A nation that runs on oil can’t afford to run short.” Yet at the beginning of 1973, the US relied on oil for 46 percent of its energy supply, of which 32 percent was imported. Today we import about two thirds of the oil we consume. The price of crude oil in early 1973 was around $3 a barrel, and gasoline cost 39 cents a gallon. In 2009 dollars, those figures are close to $15 a barrel and $1.85 a gallon. Crude oil prices in early 2009 were still almost three times higher than in 1973. However, the fuel cost for driving a mile is less today than in 1973, because cars are more fuel-efficient and it takes thirty percent less fuel to go a distance today than in 1973.

Download the PDF.

2018-02-07T23:17:15+00:00Categories: ACCESS 34, Spring 2009|Tags: , |

Environmentally Benign Automobiles

Daniel Sperling, Lee Schipper, Mark Delucchi, and Quanlu Wang

His dream has come true. There's now more than one vehicle for every licensed driver in the United States, and other developed countries are not far behind. But has the car's success created the conditions for its own demise? Conventional wisdom of market researchers, consultants, and other experts is that the automobile and its petroleum-powered internal combustion engine will be with us for a long time and that any energy and environmental problems can be readily solved. The automotive industry would very much like to believe that cheery prognosis - and perhaps it's correct.

Download the PDF.

Go to Top