A Human on a Bicycle: Incredibly Efficient

Graph showing how efficient a human travelling on a bicycle is, more efficient than a horse

With the recent Israeli and American attack on Iran the price of oil has shot up and shows no signs of going back down. This seems like a good time to remind people that a bicycle is the most efficient form of human-powered transportation. Indeed, the graph above is an update to a popular graph showing efficient transportation, but grouped into the animal kingdoms. Save gas, save money, and get fit by riding a bike this summer.

Travel involves two main expenditures of energy: fighting gravity and propelling yourself forward. Most terrestrial animals must expend energy first to stand up, then to take each step forward. (Longer-legged land creatures tend to be more efficient because they get more distance out of each step, which explains why mice are so inefficient.) Flying animals, though, can move forward cheaply by gliding through the air, carried more by currents than by their own power. Swimming animals can similarly glide through water while letting their natural buoyancy minimize the need to fight gravity.

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Canada Continues to Defend Sovereignty with “Elbows Up”

Peace Tower at Parliament Hill in Ottawa

America openly threatened Canadian sovereignty last year and has engaged in a planned economic destruction of the nation. The Republican Party views the entire hemisphere as theirs and is actively invading or influencing political operations in sovereign countries. Canadians do not like the stance that their ally has taken; and to make their concerns heard they have launched a boycott of the USA. It’s working. The American economy is being hurt by Canadians not buying their booze and not visiting the nation.

Where’s the good news in this? It’s working. Canadians have made it clear to the American government that we are not to be trifled with and that sovereignty is important to us. Canadians are not giving up either.

The shift has affected everything from what brands Canadians buy to where they vacation to how they vote. There are economic implications on both sides of the border that policymakers are taking into account. Polling suggests the altered behavior won’t change anytime soon.
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“We’ve always seen the U.S. as a very strong and reliable ally,” said Michael Devereux, an economics professor at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver. “That has really been undermined in the last year.”

Canadians began moving their food purchases away from the U.S. starting in early 2025, a data analysis released last month from the Bank of Canada found. Domestic brands gained wallet share as retailers and liquor stores encouraged shoppers to instead buy Canadian

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Snow Fences Generated Power This Past Winter in Minnesota

Picture of a solar snow fence.

Minnesota tried out a neat idea to upgrade their snow fences along highways to generated electricity through solar panels. The idea of a solar fence itself isn’t new, but the application of it in this context is. Unsurprisingly, the results were exactly what you would think of a solar project: it works and the current pay off is about decade, plus increasing the scale of the project reduces the time it takes to recoup costs. Compare that to your average snow fence that has zero ROI. When thinking of a robust power grid these small-scale projects can add up to a very powerful solution.

The solar snow fence generated 10 to 30 kWh per day—enough energy to power an average household—with a payback period of approximately 11 years.

For managing blowing and drifting snow, the solar snow fence outperformed the traditional snow fence due to its lower porosity and higher stiffness. Solar snow fences had the best economic viability if they operated under a PPA.

The length of the fence is a critical factor for economic viability, as those measuring at least one mile will benefit from economies of scale. Design improvements such as longer solar panels, fewer posts and a better connection between the solar panel and the steel post will lower costs and potentially reduce the payback period to five years.

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Ireland Ditches Coal

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Ireland joins the ranks of other countries that have officially ditched coal, yes coal. Coal that 20th century power source that gave us global warming which too many places, like Canada, still use. We used to say that the future is renewable energy and it’s no longer the future: it’s today. Renewables are cheaper, more reliable, and not victim to the whims of an authoritarians who randomly attacks other countries. Renewable power gives Ireland predictable energy costs. It’s only a matter of time that no country uses coal so it’s in every country’s interest to get on the renewable generation as soon as possible.

“Ireland has quietly rewritten its energy story, replacing toxic coal with homegrown renewable power,” said Alexandru Musta??, campaigner on coal and gas at Europe’s Beyond Fossil Fuels.

“But this isn’t ‘job done’. The government’s priority now must be building a power system for a renewable future; one with the storage, flexibility, and grid infrastructure needed to run fully on clean, domestic renewable electricity,” Musta?? warned.

Jerry Mac Evilly, Campaigns Director at Friends of the Earth Ireland, appealed to the government to ensure oil backup at Moneypoint is kept to an absolute minimum and ultimately decommissioned. He also appealed for the government to prevent further development of data centers, which he said are increasing Ireland’s reliance on fossil gas.

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Smarter Kids Emerge From Montessori Programs

toddler playing

toddler playing

If you’re looking for opinions on education all you need to do is ask parents what they think. If you want actually useful data to plan policy then talk to experts on how children learn. Those experts will all agree that inquiry based learning is the way to go. A recent study confirmed that the inquiry approach is the best way, and that following the tried and true Montessori methods is best for children and even cheaper for society.

By the end of kindergarten, children who won a random lottery to attend public Montessori preschools outperformed their peers in reading, executive function, short-term memory, and social understanding—all while costing approximately $13,000 less per child than traditional preschool programs.

Those costs do not include anticipated savings from improved teacher morale and retention, a dynamic demonstrated in other data.
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“These findings affirm what Maria Montessori believed over a century ago—that when we trust children to learn with purpose and curiosity, they thrive,” said Angeline Lillard, Commonwealth Professor of Psychology at the University of Virginia. “Public Montessori programs are not only effective but cost-efficient.”

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