A recent article in the Swiss Beobachter magazine called The Auto of the Future (in German) reviewed four examples of research in Switzerland to make lighter and more fuel-efficient autos. It's an example of technologists concentrating on one isolated problem (how to propel cars more efficiently) instead of taking the longer view (how does the steadily growing number of automobiles affect our quality of life). I wrote the following Letter to the Editor in response:

I'm always puzzled by how much time and money we invest in research and development of "green" automobiles. I'm puzzled because the core of the problem is not the fuel, but the automobile itself.

Our mentality of "a car for everyone" simply has no place in a sustainable future. As populations grow and living standards rise, continuing with this mentality will result in ever more cars on the road. Along with those cars will come more traffic jams, more accidents, and more land that disappears under the asphalt of new roads and parking lots -- whether the autos are green or not.

We would be better served if we made an effort to increase our use of trains, buses and bicycles. And instead of concentrating so much attention on a partial solution such as green autos, we could aim for a more long-term and all-encompassing solution to the problem, for example by setting a goal to reduce by one half the number of private automobiles on Swiss roads by 2020.