Discoveries in the Making
Reinventing the wheel
Few technological innovations can match the dramatic impact of the automobile, with its global implications for culture, economic activity and the fate of our environment. While the latest generation of automotive technology is less polluting and more fuel efficient than ever before, its sheer dominance in our everyday lives continues to pose a major ecological challenge. Professor Matthew Paterson of the School of Political Studies argues that we cannot fully meet that challenge until we understand just how and why these vehicles have become so dominant. Only in this way can we see how to change the political and social institutions sustaining the role of automobiles in our world, and avoid the crises that will occur when that role collides with the physical ability of our society — and our planet — to support all that traffic.
Mathew Paterson, associate professor, School of Political Studies
Tel.: 613-562-5800, ext. 1716
Email: mpaterso@uOttawa.ca
Professor Paterson’s most recent book can be found at http://www.cambridge.org/catalogue/catalogue.asp?isbn=9780521870801.
The International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer is on September 16.