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- Electrifying freight trains in the U.S. is a bad idea
- Why Nuclear Power can’t replace fossil fuels
- Energy, Water, & Climate Change are interdependent
- Why fusion power is Forever Away
- Climate Change dominates news coverage at expense of other existential planetary boundaries
- Excerpt from “The Geopolitics of Resource Wars”
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- Book Review “The Outlawed Ocean” by Ian Urbina
- Underestimating the Challenges of Avoiding a Ghastly Future
- Motherboards: too complicated to make after oil
- “More and More and More” one of the best books on energy ever written
- The staggering destruction of knowledge by Christians in the Roman Empire
- The staggering cost of Net Zero in Britain
- Why the R/P Reserves to Production ratio does not show when oil will run out
- Catton on Collapse “Bottleneck: Humanity’s Impending Impasse”
Category Archives: Railroads
Electrifying freight trains in the U.S. is a bad idea
Diesel-electric locomotives use electricity to drive forward motion despite the name ‘diesel’. A large diesel engine turns a shaft that drives an AC generator which makes electricity. This electrical energy powers large electric motors at the wheels called ‘traction motors’ … Continue reading
Posted in Electric Grid, Electrification, Railroads
Tagged diesel-electric, electrification, electrify, electrify rail, rail, train, train electrification
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Will California’s high-speed rail go off the tracks?
Preface. Way down below is the original post, a 2014 U.S. House hearing I summarized that revealed so many flaws with the California high-speed rail project I was sure funding would end. It is so bad, so flawed, that in … Continue reading
U.S. Senate 2014 Freight rail service: improving the performance of America’s rail system
Preface. This Senate hearing is mainly full of oil and grain industry leaders bashing the rail industry and asking Senators to do something about it. But the railroad industry is four times more energy efficient than trucks, and not guilty … Continue reading
Why railroads are against running locomotives on natural gas
Since oil is finite, natural gas was seen as a fuel that could extend how long oil lasted by being a “bridge” fuel. Since natural gas is finite also, and would lead to dependence on unstable foreign nations, the plan … Continue reading
Posted in LNG Liquified Natural Gas, Natural Gas Vehicles, Railroads
Tagged CNG, LNG, natural gas, railroad
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Coal power plants depend on railroads to deliver coal
[ 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
Posted in Blackouts, Coal, Interdependencies, Railroads, Transportation Infrastructure
Tagged climate change, coal, CTL, electric grid, interdependency, railroad, transportation
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Why is passenger rail so damned inefficient?
[ This is about passenger rail, not freight rail, which is incredibly efficient. Freight rail is efficient because to reduce aerodynamic drag and diesel fuel use (USDOT 2008), they travel on average only 23 miles per hour (to reduce aerodynamic … Continue reading
Posted in Mass Transit, Railroads, Transportation
Tagged auto, bus, mass transit, passenger, rail
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Most energy efficient: passenger bus, rail, or auto?
Preface. Weight reduces energy efficiency, so one way to make transportation more efficient is to light-weight rail cars, buses, trucks, and cars. For every 10% reduction in weight, up to 7.6% more fuel efficiency can be gained (Joost 2012). While … Continue reading
Posted in Automobiles, Mass Transit, Railroads
Tagged auto, bus, car, efficiency, energy, mass transit, passenger, rail
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USA rail policy: goals, objectives, and responsibilities. House hearing 2013
House 113-28. June 27, 2013. National rail policy: Examining goals, objectives, and responsibilities. House of Representatives. [ Excerpts of the 211 page transcript of the hearing follow ] Edward R. Hamberger, President and Chief Executive Officer, Association of American Railroads … Continue reading
Posted in Railroads, U.S. Congress Energy Policy, U.S. Congress Transportation
Tagged freight, house hearing, passenger, rail
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