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I think a key is VMT (vehicle miles traveled). Cut that significantly !
I have my 1982 M-B 240D (manual transmission). 30 to 31 mpg of diesel BUT if I drove as much as my brothers do, I would still have a large carbon footprint.
But I use 5 to 6 gallons/month on average (last 30 days, maybe 2).
Several people have asked me why I have not switched to bio-diesel (home made) and my response was that it was not worth the hassle. I have enough on my plate as is.
Best Hopes for Using Waste Fats & Oils,
Alan
I agree, and one way would be to re-introduce hitchhiking to our society. On a recent trip (29+ mpg with three passengers) and I almost never travel, we saw only one hitchhiker and he was standing next to a sign that said Do Not Pick Up Hitchhikers Next 18 Miles (reason understood) and talking to the Highway Patrol.
My son at seventeen hitchhiked from California to the Republican Convention in NYC. Thanks for the call Sgt. Bible in Colby, Kansas.
I remember hitchhiking out of NYC in December 1966 when subway fares were 10 cents. I had fifteen cents in my pocket, but wanted to save a dime for a telephone call. I was 20 years old. You could drink in NYC, but not Connecticut. So the line I heard at 5 am was "I don't understand why you guys don't save some money so you can get home". At that point with over 24 hours without sleep I looked the role, but got the ride.
Old ways were best. We got value for our money and money for our labor.
There is nothing appealing to me about the fear-driven fantasy world we now live in, but if she wants to flaunt her wealth why not go all the way and like Arnold convert her Hummer to hydrogen
Very interesting and important discussion!
I must admit that I´m a car junkie also. I´ve been restoring and rodding cars for 20 years and as you can understand, I feel quite depressed about peak oil and global warming . Most of you might think also that my carbon footprint is very large due to my interest, but the truth is that I don´t drive much with my oldies.
Alan said the important thing “I think a key is VMT (vehicle miles traveled). Cut that significantly !”
I have been thinking about to convert my latest project to electricity but the price for batteries vs range is not favourable at the moment. I am also very interested in wood gas, as we have plenty of wood over here!
We will also build a couple of electric bicycles during this winter. I also use my ordinary bike regularly and walk whenever possibly.
If and when, the collapse arrives, we need simple solutions to ensure that our basic logistical system works. Wood gas worked during WWII and it will probably work also in the future…
Hitch-hiking used to be very common in the US up until about the mid '70s or so. During WWII it was actually encouraged by the government. Then, in the mid '70s, things started to go kinda crazy, and the perception developed (rightly or wrongly) that picking up hitchhikers was a very dangerous thing to do. It was around that time that we started to hear a lot of news about stalkers and mass murderers, and it seemed like the US had become a more dangerous place.
I think that a part of it is that one must admit that a very large number of people one sees hitchhiking today do seem vaguely dangerous in their personal appearance. Back in the earlier days, you used to see lots of young men hitchhiking. They would all be well groomed and clean shaven, and wearing clothes that didn't look too bad. Many would be college students, or one would sometimes even see a young soldier hitchhiking home on leave, in uniform; such would be offered a ride instantly. You just don't see that now, and because what few hitchhikers one does see appear to be so threatening, people simply are just out of the habit of offering hitchhikers rides.
How far things have fallen. I have seen signs now that state "Do not pick up hitchhikers", and "Hitchhikers may be escaped prisoners or mental patients".
I used to hitchhike alot in 60's early 70's. Work, school, and hundreds of mile journeys. What ended my thumbing was a good male friend raped in the back of a semi.
The way I hitchhike is I go into a truck stop or a diner and introduce myself to someone working there. That person can often connect me with a regular customer who would be likely to give me a ride.