Petroleum

On-Road Transportation is almost entirely depended on petroleum-based fuels: gasoline and diesel.
Passenger cars and light-duty trucks consume 1.6 billion gallons of gasoline and diesel per year or about 85 percent of total consumption.
We consume about 500 gallons of fuel annually for every man, woman and child in San Diego County.
In spite of all alternative and sustainable energy efforts, SANDAG projects continuing increase of petroleum use from 1.7 billion gallons currently to about 2.3 billion gallons in 2030.

Source: Energy Policy Initiatives Center, University of San Diego, 2008.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Petroleum
Advantages	Disadvantages
Very High Energy Density	Combustion creates air pollution: CO, SO2, NOX, GHG
Easy to handle, transport, and store	Greatest contributor of CO2 - the most abundant greenhouse gas in the atmosphere.
Mature worldwide infrastructure	US is not self sufficient and depends on petroleum imports
Abundant supply in the world	Extraction and transportation methods cause large-scale environmental diseasters
Least expensive of energy alternatives	Supply is limited and shortages are predicted
	Increased use in the developing world such as China and India expect to drive prices up