When Trucks Stop Running Energy and the Future of Transportation
In lively and engaging language, this book describes our dependence on freight transport and its vulnerability to diminishing supplies and high prices of oil. Ships, trucks, and trains are the backbone of civilization, hauling the goods that fulfill our e
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Alice J. Friedemann
When Trucks Stop Running Energy and the Future of Transportation 123
SpringerBriefs in Energy Energy Analysis
Series editor Charles A.S. Hall, Syracuse, USA
More information about this series at http://www.springer.com/series/10041
Alice J. Friedemann
When Trucks Stop Running Energy and the Future of Transportation
123
Alice J. Friedemann Oakland, CA USA
ISSN 2191-5520 ISSN 2191-5539 (electronic) SpringerBriefs in Energy ISSN 2191-7876 SpringerBriefs in Energy Analysis ISBN 978-3-319-26373-1 ISBN 978-3-319-26375-5 (eBook) DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-26375-5 Library of Congress Control Number: 2015955597 Springer Cham Heidelberg New York Dordrecht London © The Author(s) 2016 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. Printed on acid-free paper Springer International Publishing AG Switzerland is part of Springer Science+Business Media (www.springer.com)
Preface: Running on Empty
Even as a child, I was interested in oil. When I was 10 years old, Dad drove us into the hot oven of Death Valley in a dark blue car with black seats and no air-conditioning. We were being cooked alive. The gas gauge crept toward empty for what seemed like hours. I thought, for sure, we were going to run out of gas. Cockroaches may be able to survive this heat, but I am not a bug! I will never forget finally pulling into the gas station, the drinking fountain getting ever closer until, at last, I felt the delicious chill of water in my throat. Dad gassed up the car, and all was well with the world. A decade later, it looked like civilization itself was running on empty as the energy crisis of 1973 took over our lives. I was in college, and joined an alternate technology group. We watched engineers build electric cars, windmills, and convert a car to run on methanol. I got to help build a solar collector by drinking beer and painting the cans black. Saving the planet was not only going to be fun, it was going to be a party! It wasn’t long before non-OPEC oil was found and
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