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

Reduce vehicle fuel consumption to increase energy security

Posted on November 6, 2015 by

[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 →

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David L. Greene, ORNL: Raise cafe standards and gas tax

Posted on November 4, 2015 by

Excerpt from: U.S. House. February 9, 2005. Improving the nation’s energy security: can cars and trucks be made more fuel efficient? Committee on science, House of Representatives, Serial No. 109-3. 140 pages. DAVID L. GREENE, OAK RIDGE NATIONAL LABORATORY, CENTER … Continue reading →

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

Posted on November 4, 2015 by

[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 →

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

Posted on August 22, 2015 by

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

Posted on June 24, 2015 by

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 →

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Barges are more energy efficient than rail and truck

Posted on June 16, 2015 by

  [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

Posted on June 16, 2015 by

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 →

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Oil Infrastructure – pipelines, refineries, terminals

Posted on June 10, 2015 by

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 →

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Expanding rail infrastructure to accommodate growth in agriculture and other sectors

Posted on June 5, 2015 by

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 →

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

Posted on June 4, 2015 by

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 →

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