Petroleum is a non-renewable source of energy that plays a prominent role in our daily lives. The transportation sector alone uses 52% of all oil consumptions in the world (Rodrigue, 2010). In 2008, Canada was listed among the top ten oil-consuming nations worldwide along with the U.S., which alone consumed around 208 million barrels of oil per day (Stanley, 2008). The soaring prices of gasoline have led to the possible solution of oil drilling in the Arctic Circle to alleviate the pain at gas pumps. As Arctic ice shelves melt and become more penetrable due to global warming, many nations are considering oil-drilling initiatives to obtain the undiscovered 30-35% of oil reserves (Markey, 2010). However, oil will only sustain global demands for a mere four years before falling into an economic crisis (Howden, 2007). Dependence on oil drilling to alleviate prices at gas pumps can only pose a continual threat to our environment. Oil drilling causes destruction to vegetation, wildlife, habitats, and indigenous life. Annually, offshore drilling produces 214,000 pounds of pollutants that contribute to global warming, while around 6 million tons of oil enters the ocean yearly due to oil spills. Toxins from crude oil can intoxicate Arctic wildlife causing bioaccumulation in the food chains of the aquatic ecosystems (Australian Government, 2008), and causes aquatic species to lose their insulating capabilities leading to death (Dabbs, 1996). The devastating Exxon Valdez oil spill in the south Gulf of Alaska killed 2,800 sea otters and 250,000 seabirds (Cleveland, 2008). These outrageous figures prove that the damage caused by oil drilling is continuing to rise in magnitude. The negative implications caused by offshore drilling will create an oil epidemic rather than alleviating high oil prices in the long run. To overcome this, we propose an alternate solution—creation of a condensed city with the implementation of eco-friendly public transportation and the use of alternative fuel sources. Situating taller structures in closer proximity confines the city into a smaller area and limits the amount of travel and thus, oil consumption. In condensed cities like Dubai, buildings such as the Burj Khalifa tower are built 2000 feet up into the sky, and structures such as the Hydropolis hotel are built deep into the depths of water (Archer, 2008). Another prominent structure is Dubai’s rotating skyscraper, which traps wind and converts it into electrical energy for electrically operated vehicles. (BBC News, 2008). In order to meet the transportation needs of a highly dense city, a fast and reliable 24-hour public transit system should be implemented with highly branched subway lines as seen in Tokyo, and the Bus Rapid Transit system used in Curitiba, Brazil. An efficient petroleum-free transit system can be created using an underground system as intricate as the Tokyo subway system, which carries around 2.8 billion people annually to 282 subway stations, modified with the use of maglev trains. (Grist Magazine, 2007). Maglev trains work by a repelling force between a superconducting magnet and the ground coil on the track, providing both levitation and propulsion. They are frictionless, thus, able to reach a maximum speed of 550 km/h while producing very little noise. However, this technology is very costly (Railway Technical Research Institute, 2004). The Bus Rapid Transit system is a highly efficient subway-like bus transportation grid first utilized by the city of Curitiba, Brazil. Which is home to 1.7 million people and over 75% of the population who heavily depend on this type of public transportation Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) is a transit network adopted by many cities as a way to significantly improve urban mobility. BRT is designed to take in 270 passengers at a time in order to reduce congestion while meeting transit demands (Leroy, 2004). In terms of cost, it takes a 100 million dollar to
