Comments on: Visiting Vancouver in summer 2009, by land?

By: ‘Resistance’ versus ‘abstinence’ in responding to climate change

Wed, 30 Jun 2010 21:41:15 +0000

[...] of our extended discussion on the ethics of travel, given climate change, the idea came up that living in a high-carbon society has similar ethical characteristics to living under an unjust regime. For instance, an aggressive totalitarian state that attacks its neighbours. In both cases, people [...]

By: On “Setting Priorities” in Social Activism

On “Setting Priorities” in Social Activism — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 21:53:43 +0000

[...] the individual the unit of social activism. I do not believe that individuals, qua individuals, have any ability to change the world, to “effectively” pursue social justice goals. Political movements that attain the [...]

By: Re-pondering a low-carbon cross country voyage

Re-pondering a low-carbon cross country voyage — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 15:34:19 +0000

[...] in Canada, Daily updates, Economics, The environment, Travel I am delighted to say that I will be able to take the time from Saturday December 19th through Sunday January 10th off work. Naturally, the thing to do is go to Vancouver, as I was unable to do over the summer. [...]

By: Milan

Milan — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 18:37:04 +0000

I was so unconcerned about this back in 2007... I suppose the difference between then and now is greater awareness of how serious climate change is, the kind of change needed to stop it, and the moral implications of large voluntary emissions.

By: Milan

Milan — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 17:35:26 +0000

Here is a nice demonstration of how improvements in airline efficiency are fairly incremental, and how the total impact of flying remains large.

By: Milan

Milan — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 14:45:51 +0000

Batteries would need to improve a lot to be able to deal with heavy trains, but it doesn’t seem fundamentally impossible.

Something like the bus system above might also be an option, especially for urban light rail. If the electricity storage system could be charged quickly, it could be done at each stop.

By: .

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 12:56:27 +0000

Ultracapacitor Bus Recharges At Each Stop TechReviewAl writes "A US company and its Chinese partner are piloting a bus powered by ultracapacitors in Washington DC. Ultracapacitors lack the capacity of regular batteries but are considerably cheaper and can be recharge completely in under a minute. Sinautec Automobile Technologies, based in Arlington, VA, and its Chinese partner, Shanghai Aowei Technology Development Company, have spent the past three years demonstrating the approach with 17 municipal buses on the outskirts of Shanghai. The executive director of Sinautec touts the energy efficiency of this approach: 'Even if you use the dirtiest coal plant on the planet [to charge an ultracapacitor], it generates a third of the carbon dioxide of diesel.'"

By: Tris

Tris — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 02:23:19 +0000

“If battery technology really improves, battery-powered electric trains may even be feasible.”

Maybe, but you have to remember – trains are really heavy. A bus weighs about 5 tons, and carries 60 people. A train car weighs 60 tons and carries 60 people. The Amtrak double decker train cars carry more – but they weigh 90 tons!

The advantages of rail have to do with low rolling resistance. Flywheels look more promising than batteries as a “hybrid” solution. Or, perhaps the best suburban trolley would be a trybrid – batteries for getting up to speed, flywheels for recapturing breaking energy, and diesel for when the batteries run down.

By: Bernadette Keenan

Bernadette Keenan — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 02:12:19 +0000

Well you are giving this matter very careful consideration. If it helps in my experience the seats on trains recline and there is lots of leg room compared to say buses which are very squishy. You might even be able to sleep on the floor somewhere. Did that with Eurail pass in Europe. Plus on a train you have lots of walk around room. There is a huge baggage car too, so you might even be able to take a bicycle for travel at the other end. Food could be a problem, but there will be stops and they sell food at stations. Could be interesting. Wonder if there is a microwave available on board?

By: Milan

Milan — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 17:37:31 +0000

This article talks a lot about potential improvements in battery technologies. Electrifying train routes is good, but perhaps impractical or not economically viable from coast to coast. I can imagine a situation where major corridors are electric, but side tracks and linkages between populated areas depend on battery or hybrid trains.

By: Matt

Matt — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 17:33:03 +0000

Trains have a huge advantage over cars, in that the route can be electrified, no batteries necessary.

The advantage of course being, no charging, no battery creation/disposal, no extra weight no haul around, and no range limitations.

By: Milan

Milan — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 17:27:03 +0000

Electric cars have some nice potential: "According to Bosch’s calculations, a conventional internal-combustion-engined car can travel 1.5-2.5km on a kilowatt-hour (kWh) of energy. A hybrid with a combined electric and diesel engine would go up to 3.2km. But a battery-powered car can travel 6.5km." If battery technology really improves, battery-powered electric trains may even be feasible.