WORKING GROUP C – MOTION

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the aspects of industrial processes in which movement is imparted to the materials being processed. Between one-fourth and one-third of the total energy budget in the United States is absorbed by transport, and this sector exhibits the fastest growth rate; therefore, all measures to reverse or at least to arrest this trend are desirable. While the Working Group could see many opportunities for this trend being achieved through technical improvements, it is convinced that besides the use of smaller cars, better organization and management of transport and traffic offer the most immediate and cost-effective possibilities. The Group also wishes to draw attention to the desirability of fostering developments in communication technology to help eliminate some of the present demand for travel. Air transport consumes by far the largest amount of energy per passenger mile. Public transport buses are the most economic means of passenger travel and freight transport. There is need to shift the present distribution of use of the different modes of transport toward the more energy efficient ones.