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

CAFE standards: 54.5 mpg cars exist, but public prefers gas-guzzling SUVs and trucks

[Passenger vehicles sold in 2025 in the United States are supposed to get 54.5 miles per gallon on average.  But they won’t.  It will be closer to 35.4 miles per gallon, as the Union of Concerned Scientists explains in Translating … Continue reading

Posted in Automobiles | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on CAFE standards: 54.5 mpg cars exist, but public prefers gas-guzzling SUVs and trucks

Just 16,000 catenary trucks (out of 5.6 million) would use 1% of California’s electricity generation

Preface. We must electrify trucks since fuel from oil, coal, and natural gas is finite, and biomass doesn’t scale up.  Without transportation, electricity contraptions like wind turbines, solar facilities, and nuclear power plants can’t be built. A wind turbine, for … Continue reading

Posted in Electric & Hydrogen trucks impossible, Trucks: Electric | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Congressional hearings on Rail

June 10, 2008. S. HRG. 110–1165 Keeping America Moving: A review of national strategies for efficient freight movement. 74 pages. Hearing before the subcommittee on SURFACE TRANSPORTATION & MERCHANT MARINE INFRASTRUCTURE, SAFETY, & SECURITY of the committee on COMMERCE, SCIENCE, … Continue reading

Posted in Congressional Record U.S., Railroads | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Congressional hearings on Rail

Barges are more energy efficient than rail and truck

  [After reading two congressional hearings, one in 2008, and another in 2013, about how the inland waterway system was falling apart, and had been for 30 years, I was curious to know why such an important asset would be … Continue reading

Posted in Ships and Barges | 2 Comments

Trucking and Fracking

September 18, 2013. The Transportation Needs and Impacts of Fracking-Based Energy Extraction. U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration               May 16, 2012. Jack Olson. Impacts of Heavy of Oversize Truck Shipments on the … Continue reading

Posted in Trucks | Comments Off on Trucking and Fracking

Oil Infrastructure – pipelines, refineries, terminals

Sider, A. and Friedman, N. November 2, 2016. More than half of U.S. Pipelines are at least 46 years old. Building new systems has become harder amid opposition from landowners and environmental groups. Wall Street Journal. More than 60% of … Continue reading

Posted in Oil, Oil & Gas, Pipeline | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Oil Infrastructure – pipelines, refineries, terminals

Expanding rail infrastructure to accommodate growth in agriculture and other sectors

Excerpts from 103 page: Keith, K. Jan 2013. Maintaining a track record of success. Expanding rail infrastructure to accommodate growth in agriculture and other sectors. TRC Consulting. [I’m working on a book about the distribution of food when declining oil … Continue reading

Posted in Railroads | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Expanding rail infrastructure to accommodate growth in agriculture and other sectors

Reducing fuel consumption of medium & heavy-duty vehicles 2014 National Research Council

Look at the enormous waste of fuel when JIT supply chain trucks ramped up in the late 70s  (page 63). Excerpts from the 117 page: NRC. 2014. Reducing the Fuel Consumption and Greenhouse Gas Emissions of Medium- and Heavy-Duty Vehicles, … Continue reading

Posted in Efficiency | Comments Off on Reducing fuel consumption of medium & heavy-duty vehicles 2014 National Research Council

Peak fossil fuels limits climate change to low-to-medium outcomes in IPCC report

Excerpts from 24 page:  Höök, M., Tang, X. 2013. Depletion of fossil fuels and anthropogenic climate change: a review. Energy Policy, 52: 797-809 Conclusion of paper: Fossil fuel constraints will limit anthropogenic climate impact towards the low-medium outcomes presented by … Continue reading

Posted in ! PEAK EVERYTHING, But not from climate change: Peak Fossil Fuels, Climate Change, Supply Chains, Transportation | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Peak fossil fuels limits climate change to low-to-medium outcomes in IPCC report

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

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

Posted in Transportation What To Do, Trucks | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Better truck fuel efficiency to delay the end of the oil age