Category Archives: Transportation

97% of vehicles and trains run on oil which peaked in world-wide production in 2005 — the tractors to plant and harvest, the trucks to deliver food all depend on combustion engines that burn oil

Why is passenger rail so damned inefficient?

Posted on October 10, 2016 by

[ 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 , , , , | 4 Comments

Effects of biodiesel on diesel engines: John Deere

Posted on September 29, 2016 by

[ Since petroleum is finite, the most important focus of U.S. energy research ought to be keeping trucks operating, since civilization ends when trucks stop running.  Ideally this would be done with a “drop-in” fuel that can be burned in … Continue reading →

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Natural gas is a stupid transportation fuel

Posted on September 23, 2016 by

[ 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 →

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Hybrid electric trucks are very different from HEV cars

Posted on June 7, 2016 by

Preface. The National Research Council paper I review in this post explains why it is hard to transfer auto hybrid technology to trucks.  They are entirely different animals — medium-duty trucks weigh up to 10 times more, have up to … Continue reading →

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The Dark side of Cruise ships. Garbage. Sewage. And more.

Posted on June 4, 2016 by

[ I detest cruise ships which destroy the ambiance of small towns in Alaska and everywhere else they go.  While cruise ships disgorged their sewage and garbage in Alaska’s Skagway harbor, passengers disgorged into shops owned by the cruise ships … Continue reading →

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Electric truck & car range less in cold weather

Posted on June 4, 2016 by

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 →

Posted in Automobiles, Batteries, Cold weather, Electric & Hydrogen trucks impossible, Electrification, Trucks: Electric | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

Sex, crime, and death on the high seas. A U.S. Senate investigation of the cruise ship industry

Posted on June 1, 2016 by

Senate 113–642. July 24, 2013. Cruise Industry Oversight: recent incidents show need for stronger focus on consumer protection. U.S. Senate hearing. 169 pages. Since 2011, cruise lines voluntarily reported 959 alleged crimes to the FBI, and 130 crimes that must … Continue reading →

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Book review of Door to Door and the amazing world of transportation

Posted on May 19, 2016 by

Edward Humes.  2016. Door to Door: The Magnificent, Maddening, Mysterious World of Transportation. HarperCollins. A book review by Alice Friedemann at www.energyskeptic.com  author of “When Trucks Stop Running: Energy and the Future of Transportation, 2015, Springer] I was in the … Continue reading →

Posted in Energy Books, Transportation, Travel | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

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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Most energy efficient: passenger bus, rail, or auto?

Posted on April 28, 2016 by

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 →

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