<DrumBeat: January 11, 2008 The Oil Drum DrumBeat: January 12, 2008>

56 comments on Coal rank and thoughts on EROEI

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totoneila on January 11, 2008 - 12:21pm Permalink | Subthread | Comments top

Hello PG,

Thxs for this repost by Heading Out, somehow I missed it the first time.

Besides the valuable coal info, it also reminds us that it was just a short time ago that heavy manual labor was a basic requirement in energy harvesting of all forms [food, water, and fuels]. Imagine HO's grandfather's daily output if he was without the wheelbarrow--thus my many postings on our strategic need for wheelbarrows and bicycles postPeak.

Alas, how soon we take energy for granted-- a not so gentle reminder would be for the ubiquitous wallswitch's internal mechanism to require fifty pounds of heave-ho shove to turn on the juice, instead of a mere flick of a finger.

Bob Shaw in Phx,Az Are Humans Smarter than Yeast?

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OMGlikeWTF on January 11, 2008 - 1:16pm Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top

Hello Bob,

Do you think its feasible to combine a bicycle and wheelbarrow with a small electric motor and battery / and or solar panel?

I like your idea of the spiderweb rail riding. Pedal and PV on rail would be a pretty cool combination. I like the idea of using kites to move large ships, but I reckon it could work on rail as the tracks would act like the keel of the boat.

Is going to be one hell of a culture shock this generation was (some times literally) concieved, born and raised in the car!

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totoneila on January 11, 2008 - 2:12pm Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top

Hello OMGlikeWTF,

Thxs for responding. Sadly, I am not an engineer/scientist, so I don't have the expertise to do the extensive CAD/CAM, energy efficiency tradeoffs, materials applications, cost analysis, reliability and manufacturability considerations, market studies, etc. I always encourage those with more expertise to improve or refute my basic, crudely outlined concepts.

Yep, I think Spiderwebriding extending outward from the endpoints of Alan Drake's ideas has merit. Hopefully, a bike or wheelbarrow manufacturer is looking at this as a feasible growth opportunity as we go postPeak. Who knows what might happen if we decide that machete' moshpits are NOT the ideal decline path?

Bob Shaw in Phx,Az Are Humans Smarter than Yeast?

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jjggbb on January 12, 2008 - 5:17am Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top

I was in China a few months ago. They had lots of little electric bicycles, and lots of little electric bicycle delivery carts.

I don't know if you can buy them outside of China. I think they run on lead-acid batteries. I asked my guide how much the bicycles cost and got a number from $100 to $300 for the bicycles. (Probably just a guess on the guide's part.)

I would say it is feasible, especially if you are thinking road transport. Battery replacement will be an issue.

Jeff

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56 comments on Coal rank and thoughts on EROEI

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