Oil Depletion
As gasoline prices rise many of us are wondering how we as a nation and a people should react to the scenario.
Well first we should conserve, we should drive less and drive vehicles that burn less oil. Yet we should remember that conservation while certainly a great thing to do is a stopgap matter. No matter how we much we increase gas mileage the oil is still running out. In the long run all conservation does is pass the problem along to future generations.
Second we should look for or work on alternatives to oil. Some alternatives such as electric cars and hydrogen powered cars are impractical with today’s technology. Others such as making fuel from plant materials are doable but they’re going to be very expensive. Obviously we’re going to spend a lot of money on this.
More importantly we should switch as much of our plastics industry as possible over to plant derived plastics. The majority of people don’t realize it but much of our plastic and many of our chemicals are made from oil. Fortunately, much if not most of this can also be made from plants and the Department of Agriculture has already done much of the research needed to make this possible.
Third we have to take advantage of the alternative ground transportation technology that doesn’t need oil which is available right now electric powered rail. Unlike hydrogen electric powered rail is an old and proven technology that’s been around for nearly a hundred and thirty years. We don’t have to do expensive research to build electric trains, trolley cars, subways and monorails all we have to do is pull the plans off the shelf.
Electrifying our railroad system is feasible but it will be very expensive. Railroad electrification and the creation of new light rail, streetcar, trolley bus, subway, monorail and other electric transit system in our cities will cost big money. However, it won’t cost much more than the money we already spend on highway and airport construction and airline bail outs. The federal government spends $140 billion a year on highways and Uncle Sam already allocates around $50 billion for urban mass transit.
From a structural standpoint much of America is well prepared for such new transportation systems. The Interstate Highway Corridors in the countryside and the freeway corridors in the cities and suburbs would be ideal locations for high speed electric rail or even maglev (magnetic levitation) rail lines. Since these corridors have already been disturbed so rail construction along them won’t do much environmental damage and they serve most destinations. Such an electric rail network might be the only hope our economy especially industry has if the cost of air travel becomes prohibitive.
The cities present us with another set of problems, subway construction is expensive but construction of surface rail lines in freeway right of ways and along old rail lines provides a cheaper alternative. Utilizing surface routes could enable transit systems to use double decker train cars which can carry a lot more people and take up less room.
Street level transit will be a bigger challenge, oddly enough suburbs especially newer high density suburbs may have an advantage here. The wide parkway type streets in many suburbs would be perfect routes for street car and light rail lines. In many suburbs light rail could be installed without removing homes or businesses. Such lines wouldn’t disrupt traffic that much. Modern low floor trams mean that expensive and elaborate stations are not needed.
Older cities with narrower streets and more compact neighborhoods would have a disadvantage here. One solution already in use in San Francisco, Boston and Ohio would be to bring back trolley buses that is buses getting electric power from overhead lines.
The question is where is the electricity to run these trains going to come from? Since current solar and wind technology can’t produce enough power and natural gas is running out the answer will be coal and nuclear. Yes, coal is dirty and nuclear is potentially dangerous. Fortunately we can overcome these shortcomings well run nuclear reactors as the US and British navy’s submarine fleets have been proving for nearly fifty years can be operated safely in the most dangerous conditions and new scrubbing technologies can make coal emissions cleaner.
In the long run there are other technologies that might bail us out. Fusion power (which probably won’t be available for about forty years if ever) would be a far safer and cheaper version of nuclear power. Solar power might also be collected in space and beamed down to earth by satellites someday. Both fusion and space solar could potentially generate vast amounts of power but that power would be electricity which without great increases in battery efficiency would be far more practical for use in rail than in cars and planes.
Therefore the best answer to increasing oil depletion and rising gas prices is still summed up in two words: electric rail. The question is how do we get our leaders to say those two words and start thinking about them?
Well first we should conserve, we should drive less and drive vehicles that burn less oil. Yet we should remember that conservation while certainly a great thing to do is a stopgap matter. No matter how we much we increase gas mileage the oil is still running out. In the long run all conservation does is pass the problem along to future generations.
Second we should look for or work on alternatives to oil. Some alternatives such as electric cars and hydrogen powered cars are impractical with today’s technology. Others such as making fuel from plant materials are doable but they’re going to be very expensive. Obviously we’re going to spend a lot of money on this.
More importantly we should switch as much of our plastics industry as possible over to plant derived plastics. The majority of people don’t realize it but much of our plastic and many of our chemicals are made from oil. Fortunately, much if not most of this can also be made from plants and the Department of Agriculture has already done much of the research needed to make this possible.
Third we have to take advantage of the alternative ground transportation technology that doesn’t need oil which is available right now electric powered rail. Unlike hydrogen electric powered rail is an old and proven technology that’s been around for nearly a hundred and thirty years. We don’t have to do expensive research to build electric trains, trolley cars, subways and monorails all we have to do is pull the plans off the shelf.
Electrifying our railroad system is feasible but it will be very expensive. Railroad electrification and the creation of new light rail, streetcar, trolley bus, subway, monorail and other electric transit system in our cities will cost big money. However, it won’t cost much more than the money we already spend on highway and airport construction and airline bail outs. The federal government spends $140 billion a year on highways and Uncle Sam already allocates around $50 billion for urban mass transit.
From a structural standpoint much of America is well prepared for such new transportation systems. The Interstate Highway Corridors in the countryside and the freeway corridors in the cities and suburbs would be ideal locations for high speed electric rail or even maglev (magnetic levitation) rail lines. Since these corridors have already been disturbed so rail construction along them won’t do much environmental damage and they serve most destinations. Such an electric rail network might be the only hope our economy especially industry has if the cost of air travel becomes prohibitive.
The cities present us with another set of problems, subway construction is expensive but construction of surface rail lines in freeway right of ways and along old rail lines provides a cheaper alternative. Utilizing surface routes could enable transit systems to use double decker train cars which can carry a lot more people and take up less room.
Street level transit will be a bigger challenge, oddly enough suburbs especially newer high density suburbs may have an advantage here. The wide parkway type streets in many suburbs would be perfect routes for street car and light rail lines. In many suburbs light rail could be installed without removing homes or businesses. Such lines wouldn’t disrupt traffic that much. Modern low floor trams mean that expensive and elaborate stations are not needed.
Older cities with narrower streets and more compact neighborhoods would have a disadvantage here. One solution already in use in San Francisco, Boston and Ohio would be to bring back trolley buses that is buses getting electric power from overhead lines.
The question is where is the electricity to run these trains going to come from? Since current solar and wind technology can’t produce enough power and natural gas is running out the answer will be coal and nuclear. Yes, coal is dirty and nuclear is potentially dangerous. Fortunately we can overcome these shortcomings well run nuclear reactors as the US and British navy’s submarine fleets have been proving for nearly fifty years can be operated safely in the most dangerous conditions and new scrubbing technologies can make coal emissions cleaner.
In the long run there are other technologies that might bail us out. Fusion power (which probably won’t be available for about forty years if ever) would be a far safer and cheaper version of nuclear power. Solar power might also be collected in space and beamed down to earth by satellites someday. Both fusion and space solar could potentially generate vast amounts of power but that power would be electricity which without great increases in battery efficiency would be far more practical for use in rail than in cars and planes.
Therefore the best answer to increasing oil depletion and rising gas prices is still summed up in two words: electric rail. The question is how do we get our leaders to say those two words and start thinking about them?
posted by great one at 8:51 AM
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