People pondered the future of transportation Wednesday at a conference called ‘Electrifying Transportation: A Road to Energy Security' at North Carolina State University.

Luncheon speaker Dr. Daniel Sperling, director of the University of California-Davis Institute for Transportation Studies, addressed a crowd of hundreds on the challenges on the road to transportation reform.

"If we're serious about reducing oil imports, if we're serious about reducing greenhouse gas emissions, we've got to make our vehicles much more efficient, we've got to de-carbonize our fuels, we've got to drive less," he said.

Among the displays and exhibits was the Chevy Volt, in its first appearance in the southeast. Set to launch in 2010, it's the company's first extended range electric vehicle.

U.S. Rep. Bob Etheridge toured the expo. He said the development of electric vehicles and other alternatives could be a boost to the struggling American auto industry.

"Whoever has the first really economical transportation for the American public, is going to be the company that's going to lead the way back for the 21st Century," Etheridge said.

The conference was sponsored by Research Triangle Energy Consortium, Duke Energy, and Progress Energy.