Chock Full of Nut Coal
In environmental discussions the quantities of pollutant involved are very difficult to visualize. What does a ton of carbon dioxide look like? Nobody knows. It’s a clear gas and the sky is huge so what does that even mean to our primate brains? - Handwaving Freakoutery
As goes Germany, so goes California; and as goes California so goes the nation. Or something like that.
So let’s just get to it and go boil the oceans by burning some clean, beautiful coal.
After all burnin’ coal is back in style over in Europe!
We need a ton it it, literally.
So, here’s a bag of coal.
This single bag weight 40 lbs, and is approximately 1.70 cubic feet, or 0.062 cubic yards. One ton (‘Murican freedom ton, not British or metric!) of coal would require 50 of these bags. At $9.99 a pop at the local Tractor Supply Co., that’s almost $500 including sales tax all of which we’ll, of course, pay for with our Inflation Relief Checks. Thanks Gavin! What would we do without your superior understanding of economics?
But more importantly, 50 of these bags takes up 3.1 cubic yards of space.
But we need something to carry all this coal.
Here’s a new Ford 150 Lighting EV Pickup we took on a backcountry influencer trip presumably in collaboration with REI and Outsidehouse Magazine for the sole purpose of pissing off The Fleeting West . Rar.
We’re choosing the all new EV version of the F-150 for two reasons: we’re gonna save the world driving EVs, and it has a frunk.
The volume of this pickup’s bed and frunk are 52.8 cubic feet and 14.1 cubic feet respectively (total: 66.9 cubic feet). Converted to cubic yards: 1.95, 0.52, and 2.48. If we were to fill this pickup with bags of coal, we’d fall short of being able to carry a full ton by 10 bags. The rear seats fold up providing even more room. We can put the rest back there.
We’re also screeching close to the truck’s maximum payload capacity of 2,235 lbs for the standard range model. Oh and speaking of weight, this entire contraption with our payload of coal weighs just over 10,000 lbs which is perfect for ruining “backcountry” roads.
Now just what are we going to do with that ton of coal? Use it to create solar panels!
Nah, instead check out Handwaving Freakoutry’s fun article on how to visualize the carbon dioxide output of coal versus nuclear.
He explains it 100x better than I ever could, but I felt he left out how to visualize exactly what one ton of coal looks like. So now you have an idea.
Thanks for the linkback sir.
Great piece. Gavin will just drive what’s left of the oil & gas industry in CA somewhere else.