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Human Power

Electric Velomobiles: as Fast and Comfortable as Automobiles, but 80 times more Efficient (Part Two)

A car with a top speed of 270 km/h can be driven anywhere on Earth, while an electric velomobile with an electric assistance of up to 50 km/h is illegal is most countries.

Cargo Cyclists Replace Truck Drivers on European City Streets

A cargo cycle is at least as fast as a delivery van in the city - and much cheaper to use.

The Art of Producing Sustainable Consumer Goods: Basketry

Virtually all human cultures have made baskets, and have apparently done so since we co-existed with ground sloths and sabre-toothed cats.

How to Downsize a Transport Network: The Chinese Wheelbarrow

For being such a seemingly ordinary vehicle, the wheelbarrow has a surprisingly exciting history.

Medieval Smokestacks: Fossil Fuels in Pre-industrial Times

Almost all of the leading economies in Western Europe during the last millenium relied on a large-scale use of fossil fuels such as peat and coal.

Bike Powered Electricity Generators are Not Sustainable

The present approach to pedal power results in highly inefficient machines.

Pedal Powered Farms and Factories: The Forgotten Future of the Stationary Bicycle

The possibilities of pedal power largely exceed the use of the bicycle.

The Short History of Early Pedal Powered Machines

From the 1870s onwards, pedals and cranks were attached to tools like lathes, saws, grinders, shapers, tool sharpeners and to boring, drilling and cutting machines.

Insulation: First the Body, Then the Home

Modern thermal underclothing offers the possibility to turn the thermostat much lower without sacrificing comfort or sex appeal.

Hand Powered Drilling Tools and Machines

During the last quarter of the 19th century, a radically improved generation of tools appeared.

The Velomobile: High-tech Bike or Low-tech Car?

The human power required to achieve a speed of 30 km/h in a velomobile is only 79 watts, compared to 271 watts on a normal bicycle.

Recycling Animal and Human Dung is the Key to Sustainable Farming

Flushing the water closet wreaks ecological havoc, deprives agricultural soils of essential nutrients and makes food production dependent on fossil fuels.