Categories
-
Recent Posts
- The insect apocalypse will kill billions more people than climate change
- The war on drugs. A book review of “Chasing the scream”
- Peak crude oil did not happen in 2018. But we are still running out of time
- Sheriffs have too much power
- Book review “They poisoned the world: Life & death in the age of Forever Chemicals”
- John Howe on one child per woman: still too high to stay under limits to growth curves
- Ted Trainer: The radical implications of a zero growth economy
- Part 5 Raven Rock. Hidey holes for government and military officials to carry on democracy after nuclear war destroys the planet
- Become a Bison rancher
- Part 4 Raven Rock. The government abandons plans to aid the public, only the government to survive
- Prisoners are treated worse than slaves in America
- Part 3 Raven Rock. The government’s plans for after a nuclear holocaust
- Part 2 Raven Rock. The U.S. government’s plans to save civilians from nuclear war
- Legal & Illegal Immigration numbers must drop to carrying capacity
- Part 1 Intro. Raven rock: the story of the U.S. governments secret plans to save itself after a nuclear war and let the rest of us die
Category Archives: Automobiles
MIT: Why the electric-car revolution may take a lot longer than expected
Preface. This study from MIT explains why price parity of electric and gasoline vehicles is likely to take a lot longer than 5 years, and perhaps never if cars continue to depend on lithium-ion batteries. Deeper cost declines beyond 2030 … Continue reading
Why self-driving cars may not be in your future
Preface. Below are excerpts from several articles about why a completely automated vehicle is unlikely. Heaven forbid they are invented. Researchers have found that people will drive 76% more miles, stop using bicycles and mass transit, waste a considerable amount … Continue reading
Posted in Artificial Intelligence, Automobiles
Tagged AI, artificial intelligence, automated, NASA, not ready, reaction time, self-driving, tesla
1 Comment
How Much Oil is in an Electric Vehicle? by Nicholas LePan
LePan shows how plastics, made from fossil fuels, make up so much of a car, plus lighten the weight so the car can go further on gasoline. Since fossil fuels are finite, many assume we’ll just make them out of … Continue reading
Automated vehicles: more driving, energy wasted, & congestion
Preface. My main post on this is: “Why self-driving cars may not be in your future“. Alice Friedemann www.energyskeptic.com Author of Life After Fossil Fuels: A Reality Check on Alternative Energy; When Trucks Stop Running: Energy and the Future … Continue reading
Posted in Automobiles, Efficiency
Tagged automated vehicle, AV, cars, efficiency, self-driving
8 Comments
If we really cared about CO2, we’d reduce car size and weight, not make electric cars
Preface. Since my book “When trucks stop running: Energy and the future of transportation makes the case that it’s trucks that need to be electrified to keep civilization going, since biofuels don’t scale up, natural gas and liquefied coal are … Continue reading
Review of “The Powerhouse: Inside the Invention of a Battery to Save the World” by Steve LeVine
Preface. This is a book review of Steve Levine’s 2015 “The Powerhouse: Inside the Invention of a Battery to Save the World”. If you ever wondered why batteries are still not even close to powerful enough to replace fossil fuels, … Continue reading
Posted in Automobiles, Batteries, Energy Books
Tagged battery, electric car
Comments Off on Review of “The Powerhouse: Inside the Invention of a Battery to Save the World” by Steve LeVine
Natural gas is a stupid transportation fuel
[ My comment: The only reason natural gas has come up as a transportation fuel at all is the false belief that there is 100 years of natural gas (even this article does, but natural gas may last far less … Continue reading
Posted in Automobiles, Natural Gas Vehicles, Transportation
Tagged cars, natural gas, transportation
Comments Off on Natural gas is a stupid transportation fuel
Electric truck & car range less in cold weather
Preface. What follows are two articles. The first has excerpts from Calstart’s study of the effects cold weather had on lithium and Sodium Nickel Chloride e-truck batteries. The second article is from Consumer Reports, which says that half of driving … Continue reading
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
Comments Off on Most energy efficient: passenger bus, rail, or auto?
Reduce vehicle fuel consumption to increase energy security
[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 What To Do
Comments Off on Reduce vehicle fuel consumption to increase energy security