I was thinking today how people got by before gasoline and diesel. we had steamships and steam engines that powered trains and tractors run on coal or wood during the 1800s. And even during the early 1900s, steam cars gave gasoline and electric cars a run for their money. But in the end the time it takes to build a fire and to get a head of steam up (1/2 hour to 1 hour) as opposed to turning on the ignition and driving off with a gasoline powered car made things go the way they did in the world. And, even now natural gas powered Electrical generating stations are the preferred stations (pollution wise) in the United States. And because of the Ring of Fire and Earthquakes in the western United States, Nuclear power plants are only profuse east of the Mississippi River, even now. If you have ever been in a big earthquake and have seen what one can do you would understand why. In California we only have one Nuclear power plant at present that is actually operating which is San Onofre, near San Clemente and San Diego.
But mostly, as oil inevitably becomes more expensive just like it quadrupled in price in the 1970s driving the U.S. into several recessions from the 1970s through the 1980s, we must think in ways like this again. Oil from here on out likely will always be (most of the time) either too expensive or gone. And maybe that is a good thing for the world to get used to. It will force everyone to find new solutions. And some of those solutions were how everyone survived before 1900.
Windmills
One of the solutions will be windmills for pumping water. When I first got married in the early 1970s I helped a friend fix his water pumping windmill. The kind you see in cowboy movies or on some farms and ranches today. The sucker rod had become bent because of the water freezing in the bottom of the water pumping shaft. So, I had to climb the windmill to disconnect the shaft from the wind wheel. So, since I wasn't afraid of heights because I was then a rock climber, I easily climbed up the ladder and clipped myself in so I had both my hands free to work disconnecting the top of the sucker rod shaft. So, never having done this before I disconnected it at the top where it connects to the wind wheel mechanism. Unfortunately, a gust of wind came up right then and I was almost cut to pieces up there alone because I hadn't anchored the wind mill wheel and it spun violently and out of control. However, it was only a gust, so as it slowed down I grabbed it and tied it down with a rope and chain and then climbed down very grateful I wasn't more seriously hurt beyond cut hands and arms from the spinning blades. Then I disconnected the bottom of the sucker rod and took it into the shop to straighten the sucker rod shaft. One of the ways to avoid a bent sucker rod is to stop the wheel with a device on the ground that puts the wind vane and the wind wheel in the same plane. This slows down or stops the wheel from spinning with enough force to bend the sucker rod during a big freeze or snow.
Could you use an existing water pumping windmill to also generate electricity? Likely you could. You would only need some kind of technology that piggy backed on the force of the wind to generate electricity when the wind blew enough to suck up water and generate electricity too. Or, if you had enough water for the present in a tank or pond, you could disconnect the sucker rod and tie it off as long as you didn't lose it down the water shaft (depending upon how it was installed in the first place). Once the sucker rod is disconnected you then might be able to use the full force of the wind to generate electricity into batteries or into direct usage if the winds were strong and stable. But since winds change all the time likely batteries would be the best. So, your biggest problem would be technology to stabilize the voltage because in most electrical generating windmills they need to travel at a certain given speed to generate the right voltage for their system. So, variable windmill speed could be a problem to your electrical system with an old fashioned windmill as well.
Later: I was thinking if you were able to get the right gear ratio, a car alternator or generator might be one of the best things to hook up to a spinning windmill like this. You could then have it charge a bank of Deep Cycle Batteries like those used in Motor Homes, for example.
Solar panels built into the outer surface of cars and trucks
There are now windows that can collect solar energy and roof tiles for houses that convert solar energy to electricity as well. Likely soon cars and trucks could be painted with solar cell material so whenever the sun was out you might be able to plug your electricity into your home being generated from your car or trucks surface on a sunny day. Also, just like in Motor Homes Deep Cycle Batteries could be in a cars trunk to store electricity generated during a sunny day. So, when you get home from work you could plug your electricity into your home grid and sell electricity back to your utility company or put it into your own battery system in your home tied into your solar cells on the roof of your home. Even now, many motor homes have had solar arrays on their roofs feeding electricity that charges their batteries for years now from the sun. This can be especially helpful if your motor home is parked in one place and not being driven. This keeps the deep cycle batteries topped off with electricity. (Even though it is a good idea to start any gasoline or diesel engine and run it for 5 or 10 minutes every week or two to keep it operating efficiently ongoing).
Efficient of use of electricity will also mean more as oil becomes too expensive to buy in any form. So, the slow conversion to energy replacements will take a lot of time and money to develop and perfect. However, it is important to learn as much as we can from our ancestors just 100 and more years ago. That is how we will all survive worldwide with the least amount of chaos as oil becomes too expensive to buy and then disappears completely over the next 10 to 25 years here on earth.
Not taking the time to find out how to convert to other energy sources will only help cause more chaos for all. So, the more you know now about converting to other energy sources for farming and transportation the more useful you will be to yourself and your family and friends and your cultures worldwide.
By synthesizing historical methods with the most efficient non-oil based energy systems of today human civilization can continue with the least amount of chaos and confusion ongoing for many many centuries to come.
One of the first things that won't be able to be transported long distances as oil becomes more expensive and eventually goes away is food. Food more and more will only be afforded if grown locally to where you presently live on earth. The second thing that will happen as oil becomes more expensive and goes away is that less and less people will be able to afford air travel by jets. So, you will see more people traveling by bicycles, electric light rail trains and sailboats than in the past. In many places you will see a return to horse carts both open and enclosed much like the Amish do in places like Pennsylvania now. Learning to make things with non-electric tools as in building homes and cabinetry like the Amish do might be useful eventually. One of the techniques is to use wood doweling rather than nails to assemble pieces. Sometimes this can even be done when building houses. So, where there's a will there's a way!
Other articles I have written on this and related subjects recently:
Farming without Gasoline or Diesel
5 Billion Less People on Earth?
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