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The founders of this country would, quite often, consider the future effects of their present actions on the tenth or hundredth generation. As we look ahead to our consumption of petroleum and petroleum by-products, we all can agree that at some point the petroleum will run out. Some believe that it will happen in 30 years, other say it will be at least 100 years. Whether it happens in two generations or five, it is going to happen.

Petroleum is not just fuel for our cars and trucks, but also the raw material for many things we use in our daily lives. Essentially all plastics are derived from petroleum. This includes the enclosures for most consumer electronic products, kitchen tools, sporting equipment, and the interior and much of the exterior of many cars. Tires are also derived from petroleum. Even many not-so-obvious products come from petroleum, such as aspirin and clothing. As supplies of petroleum become scarce the price of all petroleum-based products escalates, eventually leading to the disappearance of products we depend on.

The real culprit in this scenario is the internal combustion engine in cars and trucks. We are literally burning up the petroleum resources of the world. If the internal combustion engine could be replaced with a technology that is not petroleum dependent, our other petroleum-based products would be guaranteed through many more generations.

Allow me to paint a different picture now. The year is 2020, a generation into the future. The automobile looks relatively as it does today, maybe a little smaller on the outside, but much roomier on the inside. There is no engine compartment to take up one-third of the car as we have today. This car is powered by four electric motors, one at each wheel. The electric motors are small, about twice the size of a soda can. The combined torque and horsepower that is actually delivered to the road by the four electric motors are double that of a 1997 automobile, and each of these motors weighs less than fifteen pounds. By using these independently controlled motors, loss of traction and control caused by slick roads is virtually eliminated. A computer controls the torque and speed of each wheel, giving vastly superior cornering and maneuverability in all weather conditions and on all road surfaces. Additionally, as the driver steers the vehicle the computer changes the speed of the wheels on one side of the vehicle with respect to the other, and redirects the vehicle. At higher speeds, this gives the vehicle more stability than conventional steering.

The vehicles will be powered by a combination of solar energy and hydrogen. The solar energy is captured in rooftop or open field collectors and stored until it is needed to refuel the vehicle. Electricity is then supplied to spin up the on-board flywheels. This mechanical energy storage device relies upon the kinetic energy stored in the spinning flywheel, produces no harmful waste and will last indefinitely. Our future car will be able to travel 100 to 150 miles on a single charge of the flywheel and will be sufficient for 90 percent of the average vehicle use.

Hydrogen can be used in situations where solar energy is not readily available or vehicle range is limited by the flywheel’s energy capacity. Hydrogen is produced in conventional manners utilizing power from solar, hydro, nuclear or wind energy. The infrastructure is in place today to produce hydrogen for use in industry. The hydrogen is transferred to the vehicle and stored in a metal hydride, or solid state form. As the vehicle needs more electricity, the metal hydride is heated and the hydrogen is fed into a fuel cell. The fuel cell combines the hydrogen with oxygen from the atmosphere to produce electricity in a manner similar to that used on spacecraft for the past 40 years. The innocuous by-product is water from the fuel cell.

This is not fiction. All of the technology needed to make such a vehicle exists today and is being tested on many vehicles. Fuel cell powered transit buses and delivery vans are being used under test conditions at many locations around the world. The year 2020 could easily see cars getting their energy primarily from sun and wind. Vehicles would be far safer, more stable, and even will be 100 percent recycled. The automobile industry will be a clean industry -- in manufacturing, in maintenance, in use and in disposal. We can be proud of the legacy we leave to future generations. Concern for the environment today builds the vision of the world of tomorrow.

Originally written in 1995 by Carl E. Lawrence and published in the Denver Clean Cities newsletter.