Utility Cycling Technology: Our problem is NOT the lack of appropriate technology.

The problem goes way beyond technical solutions. It is a social problem.

“Green solutions are too little too late” says Lovelock. But others say “All we need to do is completely reinvent energy and how we use it”. Think Biological Architecture, light from Algae, and downsized 'velomobile' cars; powered in part with very thin solar voltaic panels.

Earth Day

Most people have no idea what the world is coming to, and would rather not know! Sustainable food supply systems are far from being adequate. Electric and even Nuclear powered vehicles will not keep America moving adequately. This will affect the food supply system more than you can imagine.

There are a lot of people that claim to be getting people ready to live without petroleum. But they seem to be waiting for entrepreneurial companies to do the work, and you know that requires a pre-established market demand.

We should be doing these things for our self's. Every community needs to organize a way to be putting solar electric panels on people's houses and building small electric vehicles, as well as growing food locally. Are people going to wait until they are desperate before they downsize their lifestyles?

New electric cars will NOT save the world! A second generation mainstream electric car is expected to use upwards of 5000 kWh of electricity to drive about 20,000 miles a year. It is now possible to reduce your carbon footprint to very close to zero by using a minimalist vehicle like a velomobile; pedal assisted electric cars. But they should be designed for your local terrain.

I built a small cycle-truck four years ago, designed to sit up straight to keep my back pain from killing me. I could not find a bicycle with all the features that I needed, at any price. And if light weight batteries did not cost so much I would have already put a motor on it.

Now I save at least a thousand dollars a month by not owning a car; And still haul all the cargo I need, but my Bionic legs hurt! I really need an organization to get a grant to start building small heavy duty electric vehicles.

A long European style electric cargo bike can haul enough tools and building materials to pay for for the initial investment in only a few months. And if you motorize it correctly there would be no problem climbing our steep hills. If you want to replace a car with a cargo bike or trike, you really need one that will drive at least 600lbs (total combined weight) up at least a an 8% grade at a legal speed of less than 20mph. That means high torque at slow speeds, not many people know how to build such a machine.

So most people put their trust in the builders, that are built for mostly flat land to get a longer roving range; not the best thing for steep hills.

Velomobiles have an efficiency of 40 miles to 85 miles per kilowatt hour of electricity, depending on the weight, speed, gears used, and hills you climb. As opposed to 3.7 miles per kWh for a full sized electric car. How can anyone not afford to own one of these minimalist vehicles?

33.4 kiloWatt-hour is equivalent to one gallon of gasoline. That's about 125mpg for the full sized car, and over 1347 mpg for the heavy velomobile!