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Conservation: 80% of Oil is Waste (green to gray/yellow)

We know we can move a ton 423 miles using one gallon of fuel (diesel). Yet in four billion of the eight  billion miles Americans drive daily in congested, repetitive travel we move a person 18 miles using one gallon of fuel.

There is no energy crisis; there is a waste of energy crisis. Ending the waste, ends the crisis, ends Global Warming and ends Peak Oil.

We need a better know-what.

The following chart shows sources and uses of power. Power generation infrastructure (orange) is 69% inefficient. Oil and transportation at the bottom is 80% inefficient. Protected from competition by government policies, these infrastructures represent 100 year old know-how.

Oil prices will stabilize as efficiencies reduce demand; inflation will be suppressed. Decreasing oil imports will help the trade deficit and strengthen the dollar. Jobs created by re-tooling to sustainable infrastructure and lower costs will enable people to afford both their house payment and getting to work.

Why move a ton to move a person?

A waste is so great, it is changing the climate.

Waste indicated in Livermore graph accepts that moving a ton to move a person is appropriate.

Greater efficiencies are practical by challenging the assumption we must move a ton to move a person. This is illustrated by Parasitic Energy Consumption (PEC), a ratio of power required for a trip.

PEC illustrates the waste of massive vehicles in stop and go traffic.

"Beam me up Scotty", moving only what you want to move non-stop is perfect use of energy. It has a PEC equal to 1.

Increasing Parasitic Mass (vehicle mass) and Stop-Starts increases relative waste.

PEC based on a 200 lb passenger
  • Trains/buses
    • PEC = 290
    • 3 tons of vehicle
    • 10 starts
  • Cars
    • PEC = 275
    • 1 ton vehicle
    • 25 starts
  • JPods
    • PEC = 4
    • 450 lb of vehicle
    • 1 starts
  • "Scotty"
    • PEC = 1
    • 0 vehicle
    • 1 starts

Relative waste of massive vehicles in stop and go traffic

Calculations of fuel efficiencies and DOE Energy Use
Mode Load BTU's Watt-hours FTE Gas mpg km/liter Diesel mpg km/liter
JPods 1.57 433 127 12.0 264.4 112.3 321.0 136.4
Cars 1.57 3,512 1033 97.2 32.6 16.8 39.6 16.8
Personal trucks 1.72 3,944 1160 109.1 29.0 15.0 35.2 15.0
Motorcycles 1.20 1,855 546 51.3 61.7 31.8 74.9 31.8
Demand response 1.00 14,301 4207 395.6 8.0 4.1 9.7 4.1
Van pool 6.10 1,322 389 36.6 86.6 44.7 105.1 44.7
Bus, Transit 8.80 4,235 1246 117.2 27.0 13.9 32.8 13.9
Air, domestic 96.20 3,261 959 90.2 35.1 18.1 42.6 18.1
Rail, Amtrak 20.50 2,650 780 73.3 43.2 22.3 52.5 22.3
Rail, Transit (light & heavy) 22.50 2,784 819 77.0 41.1 21.2 49.9 21.2
Rail, Commuter 31.30 2,996 881 82.9 38.2 19.7 46.4 19.7

FTE is Freight Train Equivalent. Long-haul freight and sea borne shipping set a "gold standard" of about 436 ton-miles per gallon of diesel. With that level of efficiency Global Warming and Peak Oil would not be problems.

Wonderful commercial by Chevron on why, if we imagine it, we can change the lifeblood of our economy from oil to ingenuity.