Category Archives: Transportation

Life before Cars: When Pedestrians Ruled the Streets

Posted on May 31, 2020 by

Preface.  The past is future after fossil fuels, but minus the horses for a while, since before cars they required about a sixth of U.S. farmland for their feed.  My grandfather, Francis J. Pettijohn, used to fondly reminisce about how … Continue reading →

Posted in Automobiles, Transportation | Tagged | 1 Comment

Airplanes are energy gluttons. Finite oil should be used for ships, trains, and trucks instead.

Posted on January 2, 2020 by

Preface. As oil declines and the energy crisis worsens, airplanes ought to be the first to go since they are 600 times less energy efficient than large cargo ships (30,000 / 50), 50 to 120 times less efficient than trains, … Continue reading →

Posted in Airplanes, Transportation | 4 Comments

Anyone who whines about airplanes should have to take the Oregon Trail

Posted on June 20, 2017 by

Source: Book cover of “Oregon Or Bust: True Short Stories from the Descendants of Oregon Trail Pioneers, Prospectors, Trappers, and Settlers in the Great Northwest Hardcover” by Gentry Ward Cutsforth (2012), XLibris. [ In addition, I recommend the Louis CK … Continue reading →

Posted in Airplanes, Lithium-ion, Transportation | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

Do taxes cover the cost to maintain your street?

Posted on February 15, 2017 by

From: http://mapstoryblog.thenittygritty.org/costofstreets/  Are Your Taxes Paying for the Cost of Your Street? Believe it or not, almost everywhere in the country, people are not paying for the cost of the street right in front of their own properties. I made a … Continue reading →

Posted in Roads, Transportation | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Unpave low traffic roads to save energy and money

Posted on April 12, 2016 by

The U.S. has 4.1 million miles of roads (1.9 million paved, 2.2 million gravel). About 3 million miles of roads have less than 2,000 vehicles a day, less than 15% of all traffic. The paved portion of these low-volume roads … Continue reading →

Posted in Concrete, Roads, Transportation, Transportation | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Reduce vehicle fuel consumption to increase energy security

Posted on November 6, 2015 by

[This is a really interesting House session that discusses U.S. energy policy, the need for consumers to be educated about why they should buy more fuel efficient cars, and push-back from the auto industry (see the full 140 pages for … Continue reading →

Posted in Automobiles, Congressional Record U.S., Transportation | Comments Off on Reduce vehicle fuel consumption to increase energy security

David L. Greene, ORNL: Raise cafe standards and gas tax

Posted on November 4, 2015 by

Excerpt from: U.S. House. February 9, 2005. Improving the nation’s energy security: can cars and trucks be made more fuel efficient? Committee on science, House of Representatives, Serial No. 109-3. 140 pages. DAVID L. GREENE, OAK RIDGE NATIONAL LABORATORY, CENTER … Continue reading →

Posted in Automobiles, Congressional Record U.S., Conserve Energy, Transportation | Tagged , , | Comments Off on David L. Greene, ORNL: Raise cafe standards and gas tax

Better truck fuel efficiency to delay the end of the oil age

Posted on April 26, 2015 by

NAS. 2010. Technologies and Approaches to Reducing the Fuel Consumption of Medium- and Heavy-Duty Vehicles (National Academy of Sciences Study) This free, 251 page document is one of the best I’ve seen on the myriad ways trucks could double their … Continue reading →

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Trains Rock! Trucks suck: 4x less efficient. Shift freight from truck to rail

Posted on October 26, 2014 by

A proposed National System of Interstate and Defense RAILROADS, as an infrastructure project for the next fifty years by J. William Vigrass To the National Surface Transportation Policy and Revenue Study Commission, USDOT Bldg., L’Enfant Plaza, 400 7th St. N.W. … Continue reading →

Posted in Railroads, Transportation | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

More diesel for tractors & trucks, less gas for cars

Posted on May 24, 2014 by

The 1980 rationing plan would shift whatever petroleum was needed to agriculture and other essential services before making it available to the public via rationing.   This would be diesel since tractors, harvesters, trucks, and trains can’t and don’t burn gasoline. … Continue reading →

Posted in Rationing, Transportation | Comments Off on More diesel for tractors & trucks, less gas for cars