Direct Rebound Effect
Recently I took the D-tram to Nußdorf/Vienna when suddenly the passengers looked out the window and admired a delightful little red car enthusiastically. It was a Fiat 500 Cinquecento the first series from 1957 to 1972. I searched the Internet discovering that the Cinquecento weighed between 450 – 550 kg and guzzled an average of 5 liters gasoline per 100 km. The model of the second series (1991 to 1998) already weighed 670 – 780 kg and the consumption increased to 6 liters per 100km. The current Fiat 500 weighs about one ton and burns up between 4 and 5 liters per 100 km. Producing a small car of the same type requires more material today, and despite enormous advances in engine development, the fuel consumption did not decrease considerably. Technical devices such as a refrigerator, TV or cars are becoming more efficient, but also larger. They require as much or even more energy and resources than their less efficient predecessors. Its called a direct rebound. If I were rich, I would buy a Rolls Royce Cullinan, an SUV: Weight 2.6 tons, 6.75 liters petrol engine, 15 liters per 100km, price over 400,000 Euro. Better for me is to acquire a pick-up for my farm.
Literature: Bernd Sommer, Entkoppelung, Wege aus der Wachstumsgesellschaft, Herausgegeben von Harald Welzer und Klaus Wiegand, Frankfurt am Main, Juni 2013.
Rolls-Royce Cullinan – > Caroline Krismer, a Tyrolean, is responsible project developer of the first SUV of Rolls Royce, www.oeamtc.at/autotouring
Autosalon Genf: The SUV boom continues – E-mobility is increasing!
Roland Leithenmayr VfV
NGO Committee on Sustainable Development Vienna 