Last month I missed my column because I was vacationing in South America. It was a wonderful trip, but that is beside the point of what I want to discuss this month. One of things that struck me throughout our travels was the number of cars and trucks no matter where we went, from Washington DC to Lima Peru to Punta Arenas (near the southernmost tip of the American landmass on the Strait of Magellan) there were cars and trucks everywhere. I then got to thinking about my travels throughout the world over the years, (many cities in Europe –eastern and western, Asia, Pacific Islands, Fairbanks, Resolute –type that one on your Google map) again, trucks and cars everywhere.

What is the cost to the planet of these wonderful conveniences, maybe even "necessities"? First there are the raw materials that go into their manufacture and maintenance. The mining of ore, the growing of rubber, et al, all consume limited resources in the process of obtaining other limited resources. Then there is the infrastructure needed, such as roads, bridges, etc.; these again use more planetary resources. Then there is the fuel needed to run them; another limited resource. Then there is the pollution resulting from their use, primarily into the air. The air was so bad in Lima that my wife got a severe asthma attack after only a few hours. Then there is the psychological impact. In Athens people were getting so frustrated that they would actually drive on the sidewalk. Think about your last trip into DC on I66. Severe traffic is a world problem

Many countries and cities are taking measures to alleviate the problems. There are pollution control devices and sensors in our vehicles (but they frequently lead to more frustration – my truck won't start because of a failed sensor). In one of the South American cities we visited, either Buenos Aires or Lima they didn't allow trucks into the city during the day; in the other taxis ran on natural gas.

All of these problems could, of course, be solved by lots less people throughout the world, but that does not seem to be acceptable. Looking at the problem as a physicist, I can only think that we are going to need a completely revolutionary concept to solve this problem.