FOODTUBES
™
…The transport internet – really fast food
Replace 44 tonne, 40 metre trucks with ultra-light, carbon fibre cargo-capsules &
propel them through pipelines with Linear Induction Motors. Today, 92% of the
fuel moves HGVs. 8% moves the goods. 25% of all daily freight is supermarket
goods. FOODTUBES use 10% of the equivalent fuel – in sustainable electricity.
GRIDLOCKED ? – CAN’T BREATHE? Inefficient food transport costs the Earth. For every 25 million homes
(e.g. the UK) we burn 17 billion litres of diesel. In the UK this is 8% of all the carbon dioxide added to the air
each year, accelerating global warming. The road maintenance and health costs add $18B a year. In contrast,
we transport 180 times more weight of water than food every day (150 litres/person) in pipelines, with little
pollution & no traffic jams. Multiply by 5 to get the totals for the 120 million USA households.
QWERTY Economics
WHY WON’T THEY CHANGE? Because the freight industry is deeply entrenched at every
level of government and commerce. They claim rights to profit from dominating our roads,
shaking our buildings and polluting our air. Many traditional politicians and food bosses
are oil-junkies, dedicated to keeping things as they are – whatever the social costs. They
propose equally harmful bio-fuels & fewer plastic bags.
WHAT DOES IT COST? - Jan 2008 – Adding one lane to the M25 roadway for 63 miles (101 klms) in each
direction; Contract valued at around £1.5 billion ($3 B). Highways Agency. = $28 M /klm. Time scale 5 years.
Requires continuous, costly maintenance – HGV’s do 80% of the damage to roads, causing most traffic jams.
Invisible, 1 metre diameter PIPELINES are laid everywhere, quickly & quietly by the water, gas and oil
industries. FOODTUBES will only cost $5 M /km – low maintenance for 50 years. Interlinked 150 km sections
will be built, connecting farms, manufacturers and retailers – with Public Terminals installed for small business
use. Large campuses, offices and military camps will have their own terminals. Transmitting a computer
controlled, 1 X 2 metres cargo-capsule - 1.57 Cubic Metres – will cost about $10 and secure food supplies.
FOODTUBES
™
…The transport internet – really fast food
WHY BOTHER TO CUT EMISSIONS?
WHY CHANGE THE TRANSPORT INFRASTRUCTURE?
NEXT CENTURY - SEA LEVEL MAY RISE:
BY
If/When the West Antarctic Ice Sheet melts – 19 feet
If/When the Greenland ice sheet melts – 24 feet
If/When the East Antarctic ice sheet melts – 170 feet
Total
SCIAM – Feb 2008
213 feet
64 metres
“…predicting future sea level changes from the
current climate models greatly underestimates
the future contribution of the polar ice sheets to
sea level rise”
Robin E Bell, Columbia University,
Vice chair, International Planning Group,
For the International Polar Year.