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>There are no electric alternatives for most long distance transportation, which is a huge chunk of our energy consumption. What about trains?
by rcMgD2BwE72F 8y ago
>There are no electric alternatives for most long distance transportation, which is a huge chunk of our energy consumption.
What about trains?
- electricslpnsld 8y agoTrains don't get you and your overseas goods across oceans (yet).
- andrewflnr 8y agoIt may not be fast, but wind power is a proven technology for that application.
- goatlover 8y agoIt’s also not as economical. If your competitor uses shipping that’s weeks faster and more reliable, then you’re not staying in business long.
- rcMgD2BwE72F 8y agoAt some point, we'll make shipping companies pay for their heavy externalities (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Externality#Negative https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Externality#Negative) and we'll have to choose between slow, clean and cheap or fast, dirty and expensive.
- stjohnswarts 8y agoShipping (boats onna water) aren't the 90% problem to solve, that is all on land. You solve that before you worry about the other 10%
- mrpopo 8y agoNothing is a "90% problem", even on land. Tankers' environmental impact is disastrous, although they actually are comparatively quite CO2-efficient for shipping goods. It's just that there is so many of them now.
- buboard 8y ago> (yet) I do wonder what happened to the Transatlantic tunnel
- rcMgD2BwE72F 8y agoShipping accounts for ~2% of total US oil consumption so that's a tiny little chunk. Source: https://3kpnuxym9k04c8ilz2quku1czd-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/US-transportation-oil-use-500x316.jpeg https://3kpnuxym9k04c8ilz2quku1czd-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/w...
- hnphillipj 8y agoAir is listed right beside that, which is probably closer to what he was referring two. Combined, they sit at 10%. Not as much as he thought, but nothing to scoff at.
- yetihehe 8y agoNeither do cars or trucks.
- FlyMoreRockets 8y agoAt this point, there are no long distance electric trains in the US. Odd, it seems like it would be mutually beneficial to have the electric grid run on rail right of way and be used to power trains.
- LanceH 8y agoI imagine it would bring some ability for load balancing moving more freight during specific hours.
- solarkraft 8y agoThis seemed like a good idea at first, but I have a suspicion that it would mess with schedules.
- mulmen 8y agoPower lines can climb much steeper hills than trains.
- imtringued 8y agoExactly! Hillclimbing is a huge weakness of trains which significantly increases the cost of rail construction.
- protomyth 8y agoTexas has plenty of cargo trains with a pretty sophisticated setup. There are currently at least two groups trying to do passenger trains between Austin, Dallas / Fort Worth, and Houston. I'm not sure what they want for Federal or State money.