Proposal of Virtual Transportation as an idealized alternative in consumption society.

Current discussions on world ecology and global warming need systems design to idealize our future, in addition to incrementalism. Idealized design of our desirable future can provide insights into actions to take. Transportation systems emission contribute significantly to global warming. Contemporary transportation policies and associated research also need to incorporate idealized systems thinking, in addition to incrementalism. Transportation literature review reveals that the need for transportation includes not only the functional physical movement of people and goods, but also the hedonic desire to explore new territory and the enjoyment and thrill of travel itself. As an example of idealized systems design of our future, the author proposes Virtual Transportation, which is a highly developed form of virtual reality. This could partially fulfil the needs of tourism and the hedonic aspects of transportation. Such substitution of travel for pleasure with Virtual Transportation, could considerably reduce global warming. Also, Virtual Transportation could become an alternative goal to automobile ownership developing nations. Further research is needed in measuring the hedonic aspects of transportation needs.