Abandon planes, create attractive overnight train connections, bring back overseas ferries.
this post was submitted on 04 Dec 2023
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I would love to use a sleeper train, if the nice ones with beds weren't so expensive :(
In many cases it can save you a hotel stay.
Plant- or algae- derived oils may work better. The key is to not extract hundreds of billions of tons of hydrocarbons that have been sequestered for 100 million years.
We could also scale synthetic fuel made from atmospheric carbon, we’ve had the tech for decades after all, it’s just a lot more expensive than stealing it from the ground. While algae might be easier, i have doubts as to plant based biofuel owing largely to the land and water use required to scale up to the levels we need. I don’t doubt that with greenhouses and desalination it could be done, but labor, capital, and effort wise i would expect algae or chemical systhasis to come out on top.
Problem is that either way it takes more energy to make than it receives, which when we constantly burn oil for power is a net loss, but at the same time it’s the only long term solution for applications like long term flight.
There are very real limits to biofuel availability which are going to limit how much we can use them. Maybe for a few long-haul flights, but its mostly going to be travel avoidance and better surface transport which replaces aviation
Like trains? I hear every time a train is built Elon feels unimaginable pain. We should build more trains.
Trains are great. Electric aircraft are a possibility
Cargo Zeppelins would be really cool. Not very practical, but still
