Problems, Predicaments, and Technology

  Issaqueena Falls, South Carolina

  White Sands National Park in New Mexico, a very unique gypsum sand desert

  I have written in here several times that no other form of energy can match fossil hydrocarbons in their energy density except for uranium, but uranium requires a nuclear reactor to be utilized; something that cannot be carried by hand (like a container of gasoline can). Oil is especially important not only because of its density, but also because of its portability and versatility. No other form of energy can be transported and utilized as easily as oil. Most of us are familiar with oil in the form of gasoline or diesel, but perhaps also in kerosene or fuel oil as well. Natural gas is actually higher in density, but requires slightly different storage and engines. This portability and versatility explains why so many power tools such as lawn mowers, chainsaws, spin trimmers, lawn edgers, and more are powered by gasoline. The same advantages are also why most cars, trucks, tractors, agricultural machines, mining equipment, and roadbuilding equipment all use gasoline or diesel as ...

My dad on the Hiawatha Rail Trail (the old Milwaukee Route) just outside the St. Paul Pass Tunnel (Roland Trailhead). More info:  https://www.ridethehiawatha.com/ Not that I have all that large of a following, but it has been quite a few weeks since my last entry, and I do feel that an explanation is in order. Normally, I wouldn't find many issues in my own personal life something worth sharing on a blog about science and the set of predicaments we find ourselves in as a species. However, in this particular instance, I do think it reflects an issue connected to the wider sense of what this blog is all about - accepting predicaments we have little or no agency over. The picture above was taken in 2012, almost a decade ago. I had suggested that my dad accompany me on a trip out west. I had been telling my parents stories of my trips out west for the previous decade or so at the time, and while my mom had been to the Pacific Coast with a friend of hers, Dad had never been that far wes...