plumberroy

Only way to do that is bring back manufacturing to small towns . When I was a kid nearly every town had something to provide jobs (60's-70's ) and most towns had stores to buy most needs . They are hundreds of small towns across the United States that are burning down one abandoned building at a time

late

The engine will be burning hydrogen, and that means intense heat.. There has been a lot of work trying to develop ways to deal with the problem. One approach is to crack hydrogen out of water as you need it. Fuel cells are another possibility.

I think the short answer is yes, it's invisible..

tds101 

Things may be changing soon...

A struggling California region is suddenly poised to become very, very rich

2old

YIPPEE! Borax all over again. I'm heading there to be part of a group building the rail line to move the stuff (JK). But seriously, we've had basically the current Lithium batteries for 10 - 15 years with only minimal improvements. The next precipitous change could take a while.

LeeG

A fundamental barrier to low energy transportation is the huge sunk investment in high energy transportation with a very large inventory of used vehicles. On top of that are the tax policies that keep fuel costs low thereby making high energy used vehicles viable. It’ll take multiple ‘73 style fuel crisis for reality to sink in and change people’s choices. Obviously not there yet.

Polaris OBark

cf: Post 16

john m flores 

Toyota, Porsche, and others are experimenting with hydrogen vehicles. Toyota's Mirai is hydrogen fuel cell and for sale in California. Porsche's looking at hydrogen combustion, as is Formula 1, as a means of maintaining the visceral thrill of an internal combustion motor with reduced emissions.

Building a hydrogen delivery infrastructure is part of the challenge. One of the thoughts is to re-use part of the natural gas pipeline infrastructure already in place, but safety requirements are likely very different, requiring a lot of upgrades and retrofits.

One place where hydrogen may play a role is in heavy transport, such as overland freight, shipping, and air travel. Battery density is much to low for these applications, meaning that current tech batteries may be inordinately large to support these applications. Hydrogen could work here, and the pipeline/infrastructure needs would be much less intensive than in passenger light vehicles. Imagine container ships fueled by hydrogen and the trucks that transport goods to delivery warehouses powered by hydrogen as well. At that point, you might also run the delivery vehicles on hydrogen if the distribution warehouse has hydrogen on site.

Interesting times for sure.

Alan K

That cracking requires substantial amount of electrical energy (electrolysis). As you need it in a mode of transportation would mean carrying a large capacity (heavy) battery to perform electrolysis on the go - that would make for an obviously wasteful cycle.

Alan K

Yes, how a large portion of our population currently lives (huge numbers concentrated in relatively small area for work) has definitely exacerbated energy related problems. Decentralized living would go a long way in being part of solution.

CrimsonEclipse

Hydrogen for transportation is a horrible idea.
The tank WILL leak and it is really REALLY flammable.
Don't get me started on cryo storing hydrogen.

I'll take 1,000,000 non UL batteries over a single H2 tank.

jon c. 

You can convert an IC engine to run on hydrogen quite easily. I've seen it done.

plumberroy

Letting our rail systems go away didn't help either rail can move freight very fuel efficiently. Rail could eliminate over the road trucking and be efficient transit but we now longer have the infrastructure. I hate to drive but my wife doesn't drive my . As maintenance there are days that I may have to stay until it is done and roads aren't bike friendly in my neighborhood. Ore bike for that matter.

Leisesturm

Rail cannot handle much in the way of elevation changes. The rail infrastructure has not so much 'gone away' as it's potential was stunted by the 'easier' way of relying on over the road trucking. Urban and inter-urban mass transit systems could absolutely benefit from a rail modality, but individual passenger vehicles are the primary transportation paradigm. That needs to change.

Alan K

Switzerland and bulk of the Europe seems to do alright with their rail system.

mschwett 

they spend appropriately on the most sustainable, equitable, efficient modes of transport - rail of all types, bus, etc. in the united states the illusion of "freedom" and desire to avoid "big government" or taxes leads to spending primarily on roads and freeways, which are horribly inefficient (especially when paired with the required parking) compared to almost any type of public transport.

the OP's article is a good reminder why the anti-e attitude of many cyclists is deeply counterproductive to both the cause of more cycling infrastructure and the environment. HTFU and accept that the real enemy of cycling as both a recreational pastime and a practical for of transport is the car paradigm, not e-bikes and e-scooters.

john m flores 

Rail still plays a very important role in long distance freight. Up to 40% of long distance freight is via rail. And that includes getting across the Rocky and Sierra Nevada Mountains. Overall (short and long trips), rail is second to trucks but it's still a big player.

Leisesturm

Not arguing that it isn't. I've always lived near freight tracks since I left NYC. Can't get away from them. They're everywhere. Can't say the same for overland passenger rail service though.

vinayakp33

Yes, It's interesting to think about how e-bikes and e-scooters now. Even though electric cars get a lot of attention for cutting down on oil use, e-bikes and scooters actually play a big role too. They're becoming more popular in cities because cities need fresh air now. This shows that there are lots of ways we can reduce our dependence on fossil fuels and help the environment. By using different kinds of eco-friendly transportation, we can save oil, and we will make our planet cleaner and healthier.

veganbikes

I think the above poster might be a AI bot? Anywho it is a slightly older thread. A young zombie.

Dockhead

Not true! Less demand means less production -- basic econ. Every trip done by any kind of EV is that much less oil extracted and burned.

In the case of ebikes and scooters, it's not just the form of energy but the quantity of it -- ebikes use tiny amounts of energy compared to any kind of car (including electric).

How the electrical power is produced matters, however, especially in the case of electric cars where the quantity of energy used is similar to that of normal cars. If it's generated with coal, you're not doing the planet a great favor by using an electric car vs. petrol one. So part of this is getting rid of coal power ASAP and building more wind, solar, and nuclear. Where I live, the last hydrocarbon fired power plant was shut down last year and the electrical grid is 100% carbon free. It's 40% nuclear, and the rest is wind, solar, hydro, and biomass.

Dockhead

Actually the prediction is that individual transport will increase compared to mass transport, including inside urban areas. That's because of self-driving cars. Various cities are planning to ban human-driven cars in city centers. You will park your car, if you have one, at the edge and switch to light rail or a public self-driving car. Self-driving cars need far less road area than human driven ones and no parking at all, so banning human driven cars will radically transform cities. For the better. What is now roads and parking will be green spaces, pedestrian areas, bike paths. I've seen actual city plans for actual cities with this.

It's predicted that buses will entirely disappear as a public self-driven taxi will be cheaper and more convenient.

I wish I were a bit younger in order to live to see all this fully implemented.