Category Archives: Transportation

Off Road vehicles and equipment need diesel fueled engines for power, mobility, and efficiency

Posted on March 24, 2017 by

[ I’ve written many articles on why trucks are not likely to ever run on batteries or overhead catenary wires (and why a 100% renewable electric grid is probably not possible). Nor can trucks run on biofuels, liquefied coal, natural … Continue reading →

Posted in Fuel Efficiency, Infrastructure, Transportation, Trucks | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Coal power plants depend on railroads to deliver coal

Posted on February 18, 2017 by

[ The extract of a Senate hearing below is mostly spent on testimony by utilities bashing the railroads for not delivering enough coal due to a disaster in the Powder River Basin, Wyoming area, where coal dust infiltrated the stone … Continue reading →

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Ecological cost of new roads in Africa

Posted on September 14, 2016 by

[ What follows are excerpts from the January 8 2014 issue of Newscientist’s “Africa’s road-building frenzy will transform continent” by Andy Coghlan.  ] China is funding most of the new roads to get the minerals they’ve mined, and transport food … Continue reading →

Posted in Roads, Transportation | Comments Off on Ecological cost of new roads in Africa

Climate change impacts on transportation 2008 U.S. Senate hearing

Posted on May 16, 2016 by

Senate  110-1199. June 24, 2008. Climate change impacts on the transportation sector. U.S. Senate Hearing. Excerpts from this 135 page document follow. DANIEL K. INOUYE, U.S. SENATOR FROM HAWAII The transportation sector is a major indicator of the overall economic … Continue reading →

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Corrosion eats $552 billion infrastructure a year (6% of GDP)

Posted on March 26, 2016 by

USDOT. March 2002. Corrosion cost and preventive strategies in the United States. U.S. Department of transportation, Federal highway administration. 784 pages. NACE. Corrosion costs and preventive strategies in the United States.   [ United States infrastructure was built when the … Continue reading →

Posted in Bridges, Oil & Gas, Railroads, Transportation | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Who Killed the Electric Car and more importantly, the Electric Truck?

Posted on March 22, 2016 by

[ Who cares about electric CARS?  Civilization ends when trucks stop running, and trucks can’t run on batteries because they’re too heavy (93% of the cargo weight, 25% of the cargo space), and an all-electric truck fleet would require thousands … Continue reading →

Posted in Automobiles, Batteries, Electric trucks impossible, Electrification, Optimism & Critical Thinking, Transportation, Transportation | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Who Killed the Electric Car and more importantly, the Electric Truck?

When Trucks Stop Running, So Does Civilization. Energy and the Future of Transportation.

Posted on January 16, 2016 by

When Trucks Stop Running. Energy and the Future of Transportation. Available at Springer, Amazon, Google Play, Barnes & Noble, Alibris Alice Friedemann   www.energyskeptic.com  author of “When Trucks Stop Running: Energy and the Future of Transportation”, 2015, Springer and “Crunch! Whole … Continue reading →

Posted in Electric Grid, Electric trucks impossible, Electrification, Energy, Oil Shocks, Railroads, Ships and Barges, Transportation, Transportation, Trucks, When Trucks Stop Running | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on When Trucks Stop Running, So Does Civilization. Energy and the Future of Transportation.

Why You Should Love Trains

Posted on November 13, 2014 by

Why You Should Love Trains by Alice Friedemann    November 13, 2014 Trains rock! Trains are over 4 times more fuel efficient than trucks. On average it takes just 1 gallon to move a ton 473 miles, using just 2% of … Continue reading →

Posted in Railroads, Railroads, Transportation | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Super Rust Corrodes hundreds of ships and could sink the oil industry

Posted on October 4, 2014 by

Blame it on super-rust, a virulent form of corrosion that has destroyed hundreds of ships and could sink the oil industry. By Richard Martin, June 2002. Wired Magazine. Key points (see the full article at http://archive.wired.com/wired/archive/10.06/superrust.html): Ships that cost hundreds … Continue reading →

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What would happen if trucks stopped running?

Posted on October 1, 2014 by

[ In “Why You Should Love Trucks” I showed that essential supply chains depend on trucks partly or completely in the movement of goods (NAS). Because of little inventory and dependence on just-in-time deliveries, our civilization would almost immediately feel … Continue reading →

Posted in Cascading Failure, Dependence on Oil, Electric trucks impossible, Infrastructure, Oil Shocks, Transportation, Transportation, Trucks | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on What would happen if trucks stopped running?