This week's program begins with a quick review of planet-shaking news.
Then, we go to the book launch of "Transportation Revolutions: Moving People and Freight Without Oil"
The authors are Richard Gilbert & Anthony Perl. I recorded that on March 18th, in Vancouver, Canada.
You get the speech by Richard Gilbert, plus some of the Q and A.
Both the talk, and the book, are loaded with real facts and figures on future transpo, and how to get there, sustainably. Finally, some answers.
Are you ready to see U.S. airports shrink from 300 to 30, as the oil runs out? We learn why electric cars will dominate the road. Electric railroads.
Richard Gilbert, an energy expert from Toronto Canada, opens with a speech explaining (a) the inevitability of Peak Oil and (b) what we can do about it - if we start now.
Anthony Perl, a professor at Simon Fraser University, in Vancouver, Canada - says we don't need any more road construction. Now that we know about Peak Oil, and ever-increasing oil prices, governments should "hit the pause button" on new highway construction, and airport expansions. We won't need them!
A great book for students, activists, bloggers, and citizens trying to contain the old-school enthusiasm for building new oil-based infrastructure.
As the economy deteriorates, you can bet governments will turn to new roadbuilding, bridges, and all the stuff that worked in the LAST depression. That's my opinion. This book shows why that is nuts, and gives us the graphs, facts, and figures to call for a future transportation system that actually works.
I like the emphasis on conservation and renewables, instead of promoting nuclear as an answer. Good. But I wish the authors had a little more push on climate change, as a reason to use these same solutions. I ask that question, during the Q and A that followed.
This book is expensive. It is loaded with references, and all the gear that lets people answer to government experts, and industry lobby people. If you want to get active in any serious way, this is a reference book that is well worth it. It is published by Earthscan.
I predict people will use "Transportation Revolutions" for years. And yet the text isn't heavy going - it's clear and well written - an unexpected bonus these days, when it comes to authoritative books on any technical subject.
Anybody can read it, and should.
Ecoshock show 080328 1 hour CD Quality 56 MB or Lo-Fi 14 MB.
The web site for the book is here.
If you want to run just the feature on Transpo Revolutions, it is available as a separate file, complete and ready to run on radio, computer, or your IPOD, at 48 minutes long.
The CD Quality Transpo feature is 45 Megabytes. The Lo-Fi mono version is 11 MB. Or just look at the Climate Solutions page on our main website.
Alex
Radio Ecoshock
3 comments:
Unfortunately, there's some physical limitations which prevents the dream of electric cars from being a reality for the average, or even moderately wealthy person. Batteries light enough to work in a car are made from either lithium or nickel. Neither element is common on the earth's surface or the shallow areas accessible by mining. Without sufficient nickel or lithium beyond the currently available supply, there's only enough of it to make approximately 2 million highly efficient electric cars of very modest range, perhaps 30 miles. Magic batteries not discovered yet? Using which exotic elements even less common than nickel? I don't think so. A solution must be practical and cheap. And building solutions around "Not invented yet" is idiocy.
So electric cars are only the future if you're one of the wealthiest people on earth.
The rest of us are going to bicycle to the nearest tram station, with its overhead electric cables to power it.
Getting the population of the first world to give up their cars is already happening with gasoline prices rising, though its a slow process. It will be helped along with additional rises.
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