Category Archives: Trucks

Hydrogen: The dumbest & most impossible renewable

Posted on August 16, 2024 by

Preface. This post originally appeared in Skeptic Magazine in 2008 as “The Hydrogen Economy. Savior of Humanity or an Economic Black Hole?” I’ve updated it quite a bit since then. Hydrogen is the dumbest, most ridiculous energy alternative. It is … Continue reading →

Posted in Alternative Energy, Electric & Hydrogen trucks impossible, Energy, Hydrogen, Pipeline, Ships and Barges, Trucks | Tagged , , , | 5 Comments

Off-Road vehicles & equipment need diesel fuel

Posted on February 1, 2024 by

Preface. Move over semi-trucks. You are not the most important truck in the world, even though I gave you the starring role in “When Trucks Stop Running”.  What really matters are the trucks that grow our fuel: Food. And mining … Continue reading →

Posted in Efficiency, Electric & Hydrogen trucks impossible, Infrastructure & Fast Crash, Transportation Infrastructure, Trucks | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

Hydrogen hopium: Storage

Posted on October 21, 2022 by

Source: Russel Rhodes (2011) Explosive Lessons in Hydrogen Safety. https://appel.nasa.gov/2011/02/02/explosive-lessons-in-hydrogen-safety/ Preface.  What is hopium? Irrational or unwarranted optimism. An addiction to false hopes. A metaphorical substance that causes people to believe in a false hope (H + opium). And Hopium … Continue reading →

Posted in CAES Compressed Air, Drought & Collapse, Electric & Hydrogen trucks impossible, Hopium, Hydrogen, Trucks | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Hydrogen hopium: Storage

Trucks running on CNG or LNG

Posted on July 23, 2021 by

Preface. My books “When Trucks stop running” and “Life After Fossil Fuels” explain why trucks can’t run on electricity — batteries simply don’t scale up, they are too heavy leaving little if any room for cargo. A catenary system has … Continue reading →

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Lifespan of infrastructure, transportation, and buildings

Posted on February 27, 2021 by

Preface. What follows is from the International Energy Agency 2020 report “Energy technology perspectives” on how to transition to net zero emissions by 2050. This might require the replacement of just about everything, since power plants, steel blast furnaces, cement … Continue reading →

Posted in Airplanes, Automobiles, Concrete, Dams, Electricity Infrastructure, Energy Infrastructure, Limits To Growth, Manufacturing & Industrial Heat, Oil & Gas, Transportation Infrastructure, Trucks | Tagged , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Super heavy trucks ruin roads

Posted on July 18, 2020 by

Preface. I’m writing a book now which concludes that only biomass and biofuels can replace diesel and other fossil fuels.  But 3 billion people are expected to arrive by 2050, consuming a good chunk of the biomass, plus it will … Continue reading →

Posted in Roads, Trucks | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

What would happen if trucks stopped running?

Posted on October 1, 2017 by

Preface. In “Why You Should Love Trucks” I showed that essential supply chains depend on trucks nearly completely.  Because of little inventory and dependence on just-in-time deliveries, our civilization would almost immediately feel the repercussions of trucks stopping. In fact, … Continue reading →

Posted in Cascading Failure, Dependence on Oil, Electric & Hydrogen trucks impossible, Infrastructure & Fast Crash, Oil Shocks, Transportation Infrastructure, Transportation Supply chain, Trucks, When Trucks Stop Running | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on What would happen if trucks stopped running?

Agricultural Transportation and Energy Issues. Senate hearing 2005.

Posted on January 25, 2017 by

Preface. What follows are excerpts from this hearing.  Over and over senators warn of our dependence on oil.  The question is: what are they doing about it?  I’d guess given the crackdown on immigration that the government is aware of … Continue reading →

Posted in Transportation, Trucks, U.S. Congress Energy Dependence, U.S. Congress Transportation | Comments Off on Agricultural Transportation and Energy Issues. Senate hearing 2005.

U.S. House looks at how to improve the nation’s highway freight network

Posted on November 23, 2016 by

[ Like all books and articles I read on transportation for my book, this session assumes endless growth and worries about future congestion, which will not be a problem on the other side of peak oil, which is coming soon.  … Continue reading →

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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 →

Posted in Biodiesel, Trucks | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Effects of biodiesel on diesel engines: John Deere