Thinking that nothing is ever gained or lost in a system, only transferred
and typically at a loss, Ive often thought of what sustainability is in a
nuts-and-bolts kind of way. Something Ive been thinking of, off and on over
the last few years is how much electricity a human being can generate.
Using running water as a source is all good, but lets say you were to build
a simple machine consisting of maybe some parts of a bicycle including the
peddles, gears, chain etc, then instead of the wheel, you could have the
alternator out of a car. Or, if tha was too much to peddle, you could use
the wheel (or a substitute) as a pulley then another pulley going to the
alternator. How many amps can a person generate at 12V?

Something like this would be simple, dead cheap, and would provide an
excellent backup when all else has failed in the middle of nowhere and your
generator/solar/engine/wind power have all died and you need to charge your
batteries. Beyond that, I wouldnt feel at all bad about pedalling for a
couple of hours a day on a long voyage as opposed to running the engine for
a couple of hours. Sort of earning your daily bread, if you like.

Thoughts?

Shaun