How much longer before the human race loses the use of its legs?

Instead of bikes and scooters left lying around, up trees, and in rivers, how about bringing back the tried and true sedan chair for the lazy? Two new jobs created for each chair.

I drive an electric wheelchair, range approximately 70km’s with a top speed of 12kph, no need for anything else. It’s got a drink holder and carry bag for the groceries too. Charge overnight and good for at least three days use. Say no more.

Fold up bikes/scooters can be carried on board trains. But only by the able-bodied Even their E equivalent.

Current coal-fired power will be phased out around the world and replaced by other carbon-free or carbon-neutral options. Some may well be renewable if they can be rolled out without taxpayer's subsidies!

Given there are vastly cheaper, massively more reliable, safe, clean and much-much more affordable 24/7 options, i.e., MSR thorium! See THORIUM IN TEN MINUTES. By NASA scientist and nuclear technologist, Kirk Sorensen. If only to confirm and validate with irrefutable proof that not only is carbon-free MSR thorium safer, much more affordable than any current coal-fired application!

But that, also and because, it is also the most energy dense material on the planet, and so abundant that we can never ever run out of the stuff. Once deployed, rather than kicking our economy in the testes, it comes with a quite massive, turbocharging, economic boost!

Conversely, there's coal to gas conversions that are both available and applicable. See Graham's Ambit gambit Blog.
Alan B.

Hear, hear and well said, Galen!

The one I'm currently using is powered by hand and other kindly folks. Without which I'd still be stranded between my home and the heritage bank. Just murder to actually push uphill, without Popeye forearms.

My rooftop solar cost me over 7 grand. And I only get 8cents per exported KwH. Yet pay the electric company 24 cents per, when I use theirs at night. And means, no taxpayer subsidies my renewable options. neither when rolled out or in use.

Therefore given an elderly, frail terminally ill, disabled pensioner is expected to pay for their renewable options while still paying a mortgage! Why can't everyone else!?

Yes, I know how tough it is and would like to kick some of the renewable fanatics in the unmentionables, for literally expecting the great unwashed to support their fanatical fundamentalism on carbon-free power.

Except their (absolutism) position is not quite true, given wind turbines, which only operate on average 6 out of every 24 hours and solar is severely compromised when expected to power anything at night without very expensive battery backup. And just not available unless you're among a privileged latte sipping few.

As always, the aforementioned overcome that problem by spending the taxpayer's funds like drunken sailors, to the endless detriment of the (exponentially) shrinking economy. And the quality of life for all the less fortunate folk.

And try and distract (among other equally disingenuous strategies) by siding with undocumented irregular arrivals! Almost as if they are in league with organised crime/people smuggling syndicates!?
Cheers, Alan B.

I agree wholeheartedly with using two wheeled transportation.
My very first vehicle (a long time ago) was a motor scooter.

Since then,I've had the usual range of cars, and now use a little 4WD for leaflet delivery work.
A few years ago I used the assistancer a petrol-assisted pedal pushbike to make city delivery work easy, quick, and fast.
Then as work increased, I switched to a small motor scooter for longer routes.

The van gives me about 8km per litre at slow kerb crawl, whereas the scooter gives around 30km/litre. I feel good about reducing my fuel consumption and subsequent pollution.
This economy is excellent, aided by the sheer enjoyment of open-air travel through pleasant surrounds
I also prefer to use the scooter for private use most of the time and it sure is easy to park to manoeuvre past queued cars.
It makes sense in dense cities to use cycle transport for single person travel, with the attendant convenience of direct point-to-point journeying. Go for it, commuters.

Being 102 post-pensioner my Tesla wheelchair (0-100Ks in 3.1 seconds) can drag off a V8 Mustang any day.

CORRECTION:

Being a 102 year old post-pensioner my Tesla wheelchair (0-100Ks in 3.1 seconds) can drag off a V8 Mustang any day.

So there. Here I am in action http://youtu.be/1z43muPetNc?t=2m11s

Well I’m not that fast Pete, and I don’t like the colour green. When Alan has sorted the thorium issue out I will upgrade to the nuclear option! Till then I’m stuck with the reliable old lithium batteries for now.
Galen

Watch out folks, all these planners are out to rob us of our cars, & stick us back in the 1890s.

Even if they can't go that far yet, they want to rob us of the roads we paid for many times over, by cluttering them up with 10Km/H bikes & mobility scooters.

I'm sure a bike will suit most mums. Grab the pre schooler & the primary school kid, stick them in the saddle bags, & off they go. 10K to preschool, another 5 to primary school, & only another 5 to work.

Don't know quite where she'll stick the groceries she has to get on the way home, & a pity about that thunderstorm, but the fool planners are sure it is good enough for the peasants.

I suggest you go soak your head in a bucket of cold water Mr Alan Davies, to wash out these fool ideas. Perhaps you could consider things a bit more realistically in the future with a clean head.

Galen.
The Chinese recently unveiled an autonomous passenger transporting drone, with a range carrying up to 150 k's around 30 klks. And are producing as many as a million electric cars every year. Plan to completely phase out petrol powered production in a couple of years and are now working on a laser/thorium powered design. To use the inherent energy in thorium to largely replace batteries.

At least, in theory, should be able to drive as far as the tyres will allow without ever needing to refuel and after changing tyres brake pads etc. able to power on for 100 years without a refill. With just $100.00 worth of fuel!

And possibly autonomous passenger carrying drones. Then there are closed vacuum loops and VLT's able to crank up to just below light speed inside those airlocked, vacuum tube loops?

We know that there are some working model tractors good for half a day on a full charge and some Tesla E trucks. All that's required are a few (park over and pay) magnetic interface chargers at the truck stops to make these the bee's knees for the overnight, between major capitals.

New capacitors that together with new batteries may allow a recharge in thirty seconds flat and a range of up to 800 klicks.

That and drought proofing the nation! Absolutely dependant on the rollout of MSR thorium.

Given we start now!? Achievable inside seven years, given so much of the preliminary work has already been done and dusted at Oak Ridge Tennessee, over half a century ago.

And still frightens the living BJ's outta the fossil fuel industry, big nuclear and big pharma alike. All of who, have a proven infinite capacity to value the profit graph way-way ahead of people!?
Alan B.

Pete,

You are a lovable idiot.

Hi Galen and Alan B.

On Thorium powered vehicles, be they scooters, wheelchairs, cars and trucks.

See http://youtu.be/oBhEBpECwv0?t=3m34s about the Ford Nucleon. Thorium is mentioned for the Cadillac from 4 minuts 5 seconds. Note, weight of shielding, weight, insurance costs and radiation spills and exposure in case of crashes.

Nothing like adding ruptured fission engines, with consequent radiation spills, to the hundreds of daily crashes here in Oz.

Pete

Thorium is less radioactive than a banana.

Thorium is fertile, not fissile and therefore not able to produce as is, compression caused nuclear reaction or thermonuclear explosion.

As I understand the Chinese experiment, it uses laser beams to excite the thorium molecule, releasing energy that is transformed within the radiation-proof football sized container, to electricity? It is not a nuclear reactor! Works very differently

I don't understand how. Or any catalytic reaction!

Given if I did, I'd build one and install it in your Tesla wheelchair. For a suitable fee.

Pete, if you don't understand the science, suggest you keep your mouth closed and have the world merely suspect you are a fool or loveable clown than open your mouth and remove all doubt?

On another note, ceramic fuel cells do not burn methane, but rather process it in a chemical reaction that is most easily explained as the reverse of electrolysis, where electricity decomposes water to produce its constituent gases.

The cell works to combine the hydrogen atoms in methane with O2 to produce pristine water vapour and on demand, flick of a switch electricity, plus endless free hot water. As shown in a trial in Victoria some years ago. And a chemical reaction, not CO2 producing combustion.

Yes, there is a small amount of CO2 released by the process. And able to be scrubbed out in vacuumed water. Say treated effluent? And then geosequestered by the broad scale farm production of oil-rich algae. which as a farmed crop uses only 2% of traditional irrigation.

Would massively improve the health of the Murray and all those who rely on farming enterprises in the basin for their economic well being. If we replaced cotton and rice production with algae sourced biodiesel and jet fuel.

Algae can be up to 69% oil and under optimised growing conditions double their bodyweight every 24 hours.

Even so and very possible using only treated effluent. to completely replace all irrigation incomes and all who depend on same, except seed merchants, to massively improve their own personal economic outcomes and prospects.
Alan B.

Holland is flat, lots of bikes; solution, flatten the hills in your area and the rest will follow.

Yes Is Mise, most of Oz is far from Amsterdam flat.

I am an area coordinator for our local Rural watch. One of my duties is to deliver our news letter monthly in my area, with almost 8 kilometres of roads.

On one occasion for some reason I had no car at home, so jumped on the bike my youngest daughter had bought to use for exercise. As a car driver I had not really noticed how undulating my district is. I realised it with in a kilometre, & at the top of a long down hill run to the main road, decided there was no way I could ride the thing back up it, & went home.

I had to push the infernal contrivance about a third of the way home, as said undulations were too much for these old legs. While pushing it up one hill I realised that the daughter had only taken the thing for a ride about 4 times, before abandoning it in a shed. You have to have rocks in your head to want to commute on one of the things.

Hasbeen, I couldn't agree more.
I weigh in at around 135kg's, can you imagine the extent of visual pollution I would be creating if I even tried to get on one of these things.
And all the grunting and groaning and cursing whoever invented the damn things.
The whole idea is so foreign to me, I can't begin to imagine ANYONE riding a damn bike, powered or not.
I actually have an electric bike, purchased on a whim and a prayer.
Never used it, too uncomfortable.
With all the cars I have it seems ridiculous to even consider a bicycle.
As others have pointed out, they are a morons folly.
There are so many reasons why one should NOT ride a bicycle, powered or not, I don't think I need elaborate.
We have enough trouble avoiding these idiots now, can you imagine what it would be like if we allowed any more of them to slow down traffic, even further.
Powered or not, they belong to the children and that's where they should be left, not on the road mixing it with much bigger and faster vehicles.
I will accept three and four wheelers, powered with either electricity of fossil fuel, but ALL forms of two wheelers have to go, or at least off the main arteries/highways and be relegated to the backstreets, if not for their own safety, but for EVERYONE'S good or benefit.

Hasbeen,

You need a bike with lots of gears, then when the going gets tough you can go down to a gear that lets you proceed uphill at a pace slower than you can walk!!