Tag Archives: trucks

Off-Road vehicles & equipment need diesel fuel

Preface. Move over semi-trucks. You are not the most important truck in the world, even though I gave you the starring role in “When Trucks Stop Running”.  What really matters are the trucks that grow our fuel: Food. And mining … Continue reading

Posted in Efficiency, Electric & Hydrogen trucks impossible, Infrastructure & Fast Crash, Transportation Infrastructure, Trucks | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

Book review of “Prime Movers of Globalization: the History & Impact of Diesel Engines & Gas Turbines”

Preface. This is my book review of Vaclav Smil’s “Prime Movers of Globalization”. A topic near and dear to my heart after working for the 5th largest shipping company, American President Lines (now Neptune Orient Lines), for 22 years and … Continue reading

Posted in Energy Books, Peak Resources, Rail, Roads, Transportation, Where to Be or Not to Be | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Tesla Semi trucks hauling corn chips

Preface.  Many dismiss my writing about why battery electric trucks can’t replace diesel trucks because commercial electric trucks exist. Most famously the Tesla semi trucks, which are under a trial at the PepsiCo Frito-lay plant in Modesto California. It is … Continue reading

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Trucks running on CNG or LNG

Preface. My books “When Trucks stop running” and “Life After Fossil Fuels” explain why trucks can’t run on electricity — batteries simply don’t scale up, they are too heavy leaving little if any room for cargo. A catenary system has … Continue reading

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A Century from Now Concrete Will be Nothing But Rubble

Photo: road abandoned since 1984 in the Florida Keys Preface. Much of the material that follows is based on Robert Courland’s 2011 book Concrete Planet, which explains why concrete is an essential part of our infrastructure. And it’s all falling … Continue reading

Posted in Concrete, Infrastructure & Collapse, Manufacturing & Industrial Heat, Peak Sand, Roads | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Super heavy trucks ruin roads

Preface. I’m writing a book now which concludes that only biomass and biofuels can replace diesel and other fossil fuels.  But 3 billion people are expected to arrive by 2050, consuming a good chunk of the biomass, plus it will … Continue reading

Posted in Roads, Trucks | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

What would happen if trucks stopped running?

Preface. In “Why You Should Love Trucks” I showed that essential supply chains depend on trucks nearly completely.  Because of little inventory and dependence on just-in-time deliveries, our civilization would almost immediately feel the repercussions of trucks stopping. In fact, … Continue reading

Posted in Cascading Failure, Dependence on Oil, Electric & Hydrogen trucks impossible, Infrastructure & Fast Crash, Oil Shocks, Transportation Infrastructure, Transportation Supply chain, Trucks, When Trucks Stop Running | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on What would happen if trucks stopped running?

Transportation: How long can we adapt before we fall off the Net Energy Cliff?

Preface. There are too many factors besides geological depletion to predict a future timeline of collapse. Plus each region will be more or less affected by each factor, sooner or later as well. This is a unique crash – there … Continue reading

Posted in Cascading Failure, Electric Grid & Fast Collapse, Energy Infrastructure, Exponential Growth, Exports decline to ZERO, Infrastructure & Fast Crash, Net Energy Cliff, Transportation, Transportation Infrastructure | Tagged , , , , | 6 Comments

Matchmaking for trucks so fewer run empty after deliveries

[ These apps have the potential to prevent some trucks from returning empty after their delivery, which wastes finite diesel fuel.  See the full article here. Alice Friedemann   www.energyskeptic.com  author of “When Trucks Stop Running: Energy and the Future of … Continue reading

Posted in Efficiency | Tagged , , | 6 Comments

U.S. House looks at how to improve the nation’s highway freight network

[ Like all books and articles I read on transportation for my book, this session assumes endless growth and worries about future congestion, which will not be a problem on the other side of peak oil, which is coming soon.  … Continue reading

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