Gas pump prices, future of oil economy featured at UC Davis Lake Tahoe Center lecture

Volatile oil prices. Looming climate change. Worldwide economic and political unrest. Worsening traffic congestion. Crisis in transportation financing.

As we begin to face the consequences brought about by uncontrolled growth and neglected carbon awareness, we realize that America’s ongoing love affair with the car will continue to cause widespread environmental impacts and global conflicts over oil supply. These challenges and their solutions are the ongoing focus of research by the Institute of Transportation Studies (ITS) at UC Davis. For more than two decades, understanding the challenges and solutions have been the nexus of Institute’s work.

A lecture on energy policy and the automobile is slated for Thursday, Feb. 23 and will feature Dr. Dan Sperling, professor of civil engineering and environmental science/policy and founding director of the Institute of Transportation Studies at UC Davis. The discussion will begin 6 p.m. inside the Tahoe Center for Environmental Sciences, 291 Country Club Drive, Incline Village. The cost is a $10 donation. A no-host bar begins at 5:30 p.m.

Sperling has authored or co-author over 200 technical papers and 12 books, including Two Billion Cars. He will present insight on current strategies and research, and promulgate his unique and optimistic view of the rapidly evolving transportation and energy solutions of the future. Dr. Sperling will unveil how new technologies will allow consumers to access a suite of transportation and energy applications, ranging from dynamic real-time ride sharing applications, to programs that help consumers conserve energy in their cars and homes. As tomorrow’s advanced transportation technologies rapidly unfolds, will Lake Tahoe’s environmentally sensitive communities be ready to drive to a sustainable future?

The event is hosted by the UC Davis Tahoe Environmental Research Center and Sierra Nevada College. Additional sponsorship by The Weekly and Ferrari Crown Resort. Call (775) 881-7566 or tercinfo@ucdavis.edu for information.