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Not sure where this idea comes from that cars are a “small percentage”, but here’s what I could find: “light-duty vehicles (cars, small trucks, vans, sport util

Not sure where this idea comes from that cars are a “small percentage”, but here’s what I could find: “light-duty vehicles (cars, small trucks, vans, sport utility vehicles, and motorcycles) 54.2%” of energy usage in the transportation sector of the US. https://www.energy.gov/energysaver/transportation-fuels https://www.energy.gov/energysaver/transportation-fuels

jjulius 2y ago
> ... energy usage in the transportation sector of the US. Climate change isn't limited to one country. Additionally, you're also mis-quoting your source. According to your link, only "about 28% of total U.S. energy consumption in 2021 was for transporting people and goods from one place to another". The 54.2% you're citing is the percentage of light-duty vehicles that make up that 28% of energy use. In other words, only ~15% of energy usage in the US is from light-duty vehicles.
- bluejekyll 2y ago
  The reason I highlighted the % of transportation that’s personal vehicles is to make it clear how much impact it has on the overall usage. 15% of total consumption is not a small percentage by any means, at least not by my estimation of small.
  - jjulius 2y ago
    I don't think it's "tiny" as OP mentioned, sure, but to my mind (and as I mentioned in another comment), that leaves a remaining 85%. 85% is a portion that I'd be comfortable using the word "most" for - eg, most of the energy usage in this country comes from sources other than light-duty vehicles. I think that's the point OP was making, word choice (eg, "tiny") aside.
    - bluejekyll 2y ago
      There’s a good opportunity for those other use cases as many of them are centrally located and so with investment that could be in the form of government subsidies (if they could every agree on anything) to upgrade factories and utilities, etc. And at 85% utilization, you’re correct that it’s a big opportunity.
  - bluefirebrand 2y ago
    That 15% is in the USA, a country that has largely shipped it's manufacturing overseas. Globally it's estimated to be a smaller percentage overall, although it does seem that it still is closer to 10% according to this: https://www.iea.org/energy-system/transport/cars-and-vans https://www.iea.org/energy-system/transport/cars-and-vans So yes, maybe it's not "tiny". My point still stands, I think. We are focusing much more than 10-15% of our overall efforts on optimizing a slice that doesn't seem like it will contribute improvements relative to our efforts

jjulius 2y ago

> ... energy usage in the transportation sector of the US. Climate change isn't limited to one country. Additionally, you're also mis-quoting your source. According to your link, only "about 28% of total U.S. energy consumption in 2021 was for transporting people and goods from one place to another". The 54.2% you're citing is the percentage of light-duty vehicles that make up that 28% of energy use. In other words, only ~15% of energy usage in the US is from light-duty vehicles.

bluejekyll 2y ago
The reason I highlighted the % of transportation that’s personal vehicles is to make it clear how much impact it has on the overall usage. 15% of total consumption is not a small percentage by any means, at least not by my estimation of small.
- jjulius 2y ago
  I don't think it's "tiny" as OP mentioned, sure, but to my mind (and as I mentioned in another comment), that leaves a remaining 85%. 85% is a portion that I'd be comfortable using the word "most" for - eg, most of the energy usage in this country comes from sources other than light-duty vehicles. I think that's the point OP was making, word choice (eg, "tiny") aside.
  - bluejekyll 2y ago
    There’s a good opportunity for those other use cases as many of them are centrally located and so with investment that could be in the form of government subsidies (if they could every agree on anything) to upgrade factories and utilities, etc. And at 85% utilization, you’re correct that it’s a big opportunity.
- bluefirebrand 2y ago
  That 15% is in the USA, a country that has largely shipped it's manufacturing overseas. Globally it's estimated to be a smaller percentage overall, although it does seem that it still is closer to 10% according to this: https://www.iea.org/energy-system/transport/cars-and-vans https://www.iea.org/energy-system/transport/cars-and-vans So yes, maybe it's not "tiny". My point still stands, I think. We are focusing much more than 10-15% of our overall efforts on optimizing a slice that doesn't seem like it will contribute improvements relative to our efforts