My Grandmother told a fun story about how a friend came to visit and drove his brand spanking new car. Well it started to rain so her friend put the car in the barn. When the visit was over and her gentlemen caller went to leave he was horrified to see that a horse had leaned over its stall and proceeded to eat the fabric trim around the top of the new car. Apparently solar powered hooved devices have unique personalities and are open to new dining experiences.
100 years later and still a good story!
Thanks Granny
They are enjoying a smooth ride on a paved road. With those tall wheels a few ruts would be a piece of cake. In the early days of cars farmers and auto/truck owners fought over clearing snow off roads. In winter, a horse pulling a wagon with snow runners replacing the wheels could pull a heavier load than in the summer over rough roads. Eventually the farmers were shoved into modernity and the horses became pets and recreation animals.
We all know the story on relying more on unconventional petroleum sources of fossil fuels and the rapidly declining EROEI not to mention the potential environmental effects on landscapes and water supplies.
That said, I wanted to make everyone aware of a very interesting new technology that seems to be just on the horizon - microwave fracking. http://www.arescotx.com/microwave-technology-the-new-fracking/.
This seems to have the potential to vastly increase the available resources for fracking and avoids (?mostly) the use of water and thus potential water contamination. It targets oil shale (kerogen) instead of shale oil that normally can only be strip mined but does it much more environmentally responsibly. I raise the issue so that we may all be informed of new technological developments. I think it will be quite fascinating to see what the EROEI will be since the method uses alot of electricity. Seems like a perfect place to use solar or wind as you "store" the energy in the crude oil obtained.
That said…I am grateful for my well insulated house, energy efficient car, solar panels and masonry heater in pursuit of resilience and the good life . Merry Christmas, Happy Hannukah and Happy Holidays to all.