Aggressive government policies, technological advances and increased use of alternative fuels will be needed to reduce petroleum consumption by 80 percent by 2050, according to a National Research Council report. "If technology advances and the transition is achieved, the total benefits to society are likely to be many times the extra costs of the transition," said Oak Ridge National Laboratory's David Greene, who contributed to the report. He and colleague Changzheng Liu noted that the benefits include not only reduced greenhouse gas emissions and petroleum independence, but also energy savings and increased consumer satisfaction with advanced technology vehicles, resulting in increased sales of cars. The 186-page report is available at http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=18264.
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