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Would electricity costs be relative enough for an electric car to still make sense? What about goods and products that you buy that's shipped on the massive fle

Would electricity costs be relative enough for an electric car to still make sense? What about goods and products that you buy that's shipped on the massive fleet of trucks? A sudden surge to $100 a gallon gas destroys civilization.

tomjen 18y ago
Rail. Ships with sails. Humans can take a lot more shit than they are given credit for.
- helveticaman 18y ago
  Warren Buffet invests in trains: http://www.cnbc.com/id/20519680/ http://www.cnbc.com/id/20519680/ Freight ship with parachute-like sail: http://www.shippingtimes.co.uk/images/Beluga_SkySails.jpg http://www.shippingtimes.co.uk/images/Beluga_SkySails.jpg
  - tlrobinson 18y ago
    Interesting idea, but that sail looks tiny for that size ship. I can't imagine it does much.
    - nazgulnarsil 18y ago
      the gas savings outweighed the cost of the parachute or they wouldn't have done it. 1% savings on a ship that size is significant money.
    - nostrademons 18y ago
      The sails in the picture are being winched in. Normally, they fly like a kite, about 200 m above the ship, and tow it forwards. The winds are much stronger up there. It also looks like the kite has been partially furled - the picture on Wikipedia looks much bigger: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MS_Beluga_Skysails http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MS_Beluga_Skysails
- alaskamiller 18y ago
  I'm referring actually to the transportation system within the United States and the "last mile" effort required to deliver goods. As fanciful as it is to think that rails is the replacement, it's not. It's a supplement to the system.
jmilton 18y ago
How was this downmodded? An incredible rise in gasoline prices would surely have a profoundly major upward effect on energy pricing. The entire economic structure of American society would be utterly destroyed. Technology isn't so great if people cannot afford or even get access to food. A more productive exercise would be to imagine that we simply had to half our personal energy use. Merely shifting away from gasoline is not the answer.

tomjen 18y ago

Rail. Ships with sails. Humans can take a lot more shit than they are given credit for.

helveticaman 18y ago
Warren Buffet invests in trains: http://www.cnbc.com/id/20519680/ http://www.cnbc.com/id/20519680/ Freight ship with parachute-like sail: http://www.shippingtimes.co.uk/images/Beluga_SkySails.jpg http://www.shippingtimes.co.uk/images/Beluga_SkySails.jpg
- tlrobinson 18y ago
  Interesting idea, but that sail looks tiny for that size ship. I can't imagine it does much.
  - nazgulnarsil 18y ago
    the gas savings outweighed the cost of the parachute or they wouldn't have done it. 1% savings on a ship that size is significant money.
  - nostrademons 18y ago
    The sails in the picture are being winched in. Normally, they fly like a kite, about 200 m above the ship, and tow it forwards. The winds are much stronger up there. It also looks like the kite has been partially furled - the picture on Wikipedia looks much bigger: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MS_Beluga_Skysails http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MS_Beluga_Skysails
alaskamiller 18y ago
I'm referring actually to the transportation system within the United States and the "last mile" effort required to deliver goods. As fanciful as it is to think that rails is the replacement, it's not. It's a supplement to the system.

jmilton 18y ago

How was this downmodded? An incredible rise in gasoline prices would surely have a profoundly major upward effect on energy pricing. The entire economic structure of American society would be utterly destroyed. Technology isn't so great if people cannot afford or even get access to food. A more productive exercise would be to imagine that we simply had to half our personal energy use. Merely shifting away from gasoline is not the answer.