Fuel Crisis? What Fuel Crisis?

The dictionary definition for crisis is "a crucial or decisive point or situation" or "when a conflict reaches its highest tension and must be resolved".
 
Crisis certainly implies a problem, but it can also offer a chance to bring about change for the better. Whichever way you look at it, something must be done  - and fast.

It all depends on how we react to it...
 
By responding to the current fuel and energy crisis with the right decisions we can bring about a better, more sustainable future for our planet. 

It's a huge opportunity for innovations and discoveries towards a more sustainable lifestyle!

Save fuel, save money!

In the Driving Seat
Environmental concerns and demands for change are no longer ignored and easily dismissed. The need to modify our current energy model is now accepted as a mainstream business issue.

The U.S.'s automobile market, the largest passenger vehicle market in the world(1) saw overall sales of traditional 'heavy drinking' models fall by 14% in April 2008, their lowest annual rate in a decade. At the same time energy efficient and hybrid models saw a rise in sales so steep, manufacturers were unable to meet demand.

Consumers are demanding changes in response to record breaking oil prices. A clear indication of how quickly changes are dictated to and demanded from mainstream business by the end user.

...

Shell estimates that after 2015 supplies of easy-to-access oil and gas will no longer keep up with demand...

Jeroen van der Veer, Shell CEO, in an email to employees

Making sure we head in the right direction
There are many ways each one of us can contribute to help take the solutions to this crisis in the right direction.

Here are some ideas and suggestion of what we can do as businesses, policy makers and individuals:
A load of hot air?
New and creative technolgies are another way in which can guarantee us a cleaner and less oil thirsty future.

Eduardo Gonçalves, WWF's One Planet Living Coordinator, went to Nice, Southern France, to test drive a prototype car that runs on compressed air, and is made almost entirely of local materials.
Alternatives running on empty?
The WWF study, Plugged In: The End of the Oil Age, considers the future of a transport sector now 95% dependent on liquid hydrocarbon fuels.

It examines the impacts and practicalities of electric, coal-to-liquid, gas-to-liquid, natural gas and hydrogen powered transport for the future.

Read more about the direction we need to take for a sustainable transport future:
 
It's not just cars...
80% of the CO2 emissions that heat up our planet come from burning fossil fuels. Not all generates from car engines, but also what heats up our houses and much more.

We need to change dirty energy in general if we want to keep global warming beyond a critical danger zone.