Trains, Planes and Automobiles

If history is our guide, it will take another 50 years before Electric Vehicles are cheap enough to replace combustion engine vehicles.  This requires that we prepare our electric grid to handle the extra load.  Banning fossil fuels now is like shooting all the horses in 1900.

Steam Power

The first steam powered device was the aeolipile, steam turbine invented in the 1st century ad by Heron of Alexandria and described in his Pneumatica. The aeolipile was a hollow sphere mounted so that it could turn on a pair of hollow tubes that provided steam to the sphere from a cauldron.

The first steam-powered water pump was introduced by Thomas Newcome in 1712. It was improved by James Watt in 1764.

The first steam-powered car was introduced by Nicolas Cugnot in in France in 1769

The first steam-powered land carrier was introduced by Oliver Evans in England in 1789.

Development of steam-powered vehicles continued throughout the 1800s in most European countries. The US joined in with the Stanley Steamer in 1889.

The first steam-powered locomotive was introduced by Richard Trevithick in South Wales in 1804. Development of the steam-powered locomotive was more rapid and railroads were being built in the US in the 1820s.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steam_engine

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_steam_road_vehicles

It took 100 years to develop the steam engine to move goods and people by rail and another 100 years to develop the steam engine for automobiles.

Gasoline Power

The internal combustion engine was invented Ohio by George Brayton in 1872. It was further developed In 1876, Nicolaus Otto, working with Gottlieb Daimler and Wilhelm Maybach, patented the compressed charge, four-stroke cycle engine. In 1879, Karl Benz patented a reliable two-stroke gas engine.   

Development of the internal combustion engine continued and gasoline was provided in 1892. In 1913 Henry Ford deployed his moving assembly line.  By 1920, 9 million vehicles were in operation in the US. When the price of the Model T went to $300, sales soared.

It took 50 years to establish the automobile in the US.

The first manned flight was achieved by the Wright brothers in 1903 using the internal combustion engine. Jet engines were developed and deployed in 1949 by commercial airlines.

It took 50 years to move to jet airliners.

Toyota began selling its Hybrid Prius in 2000.

It took 20 years to develop the Hybrid Prius.

Tesla introduced its first electric car in 2008.

We have no choice but to return to high production of oil, gasoline and natural gas as well as solar and hydro now in order to end the inflation.

Norb Leahy, Dunwoody GA Tea Party Leader