The TechMobility Podcast
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The TechMobility Podcast
Railroad Relavance, Mazda's Home Run, Are You Underwater, and Straw's Moment
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Ken Chester :I'm Ken Chester. This is a case where what is old is new again, and what I'm talking about this time are railroads. Railroads was a technology that was the leading tech over 150, 160, 170 years ago. It was the railroads prior to the good road movement of the early 1900s that allowed people from rural areas and halfway across the country to get around. It enabled goods and services to be shipped around. It caused the very basic and basis for many companies to grow nationally, Sears and Roebuck case in point. You could order anything from Sears, including an entire house shipped by rail to town of your choice, the nearest railhead. Everything, even down to the nails and the upholstery and a carpet, Buy a railroad. The reason why I bring this up is that you might think that railroads are kind of past due, they're blasé, they're not relevant. Eh, who cares? In.
Ken Chester :Utah right now the first new railroads being built in over 100 years, and they're putting a technical twist on it. And I wanted to talk about that because railroads are not something that you think of when you think of cutting-edge technology. I mean you got steel wheels, steel rails, wooden or cement ties and you got a locomotive that pulls it Pretty much the same technology. You got air brakes, you got knuckle couplers. It's the technology. Those two things were invented over 100 years ago and they still govern railroads to this day. There have been improvements on a lot of this stuff, but the basic concepts of how a railroad runs is still how a railroad runs. They've just gotten more efficient with it. Let me introduce you to the Savage Tool Railroad. It's a new short line that will serve tenants in the Lakeview Business Park in Grantsville, Utah, and the short line will be Utah's first new railroad in decades. The Surface Transportation Board the feds guaranteed approval for the railroad to construct, rehabilitate and operate 11 miles of rail line in Toole County, Utah. The rail line will be built to connect tenants of a 1,700-acre master-planned logistics park to the global market. Imagine this Over a hundred-year-old technology being used to connect real-world, modern-day cutting-edge companies with the rest of the world because it's going to connect to what we call a Class 1 railroad, the Union Pacific Railroad.
Ken Chester :And I don't know how much you may or may not know about railroads, but let me put it to you this way there are roughly four class ones. That means they have revenues of over $250 million each per year and they cover tens of thousands of miles of rail. And that would be the Union Pacific Norfolk Southern, would be CSX in the East Coast and would be Kansas City I'm sorry, canadian Pacific, kansas City, which is, yeah, cpkc, which used to be the old Kansas City Southern, and the Canadian Pacific. These are class one railroads. And, oh, I'm sorry, I forgot the Burlington Northern, santa Fe. These are class one railroads. They've given up over the years tens of thousands of short line, underproductive miles. There are class two and class three railroads which are defined by how much revenue they do and how much trackage they have. And actually those small short line and regional line railroads do a heck of a land office business, where their business model is different and because they don't have the overhead they can actually operate with less cost, which the railroad industry is like any heavy metal industry it's very capital intensive, so the smaller businesses tend to thrive where a bigger railroad could make the numbers work. So what they're doing is they contend that the construction of the rail line also aligns with a broader vision for economic development within the Toole County region. And oh, by the way, this article came out of Progressive Railroading Magazine, one of the magazines I read, one of the many I read just for you.
Ken Chester :The park includes direct truck connections to Interstates 80 and 15, complemented by an interchange with the Union Pacific Railroad. The new short line will operate from the UP'saefer subdivision main line to the park and it allows them to develop new warehouses, facilities and other businesses in the park. And I went to their website because I wanted to know more about the Savage Tool Railroad. So this is what they said Utah's new rail line will bring first-class supply chain solutions to Tool County. Did you hear me? First-class supply chain solutions on an industry or transportation mode that's 150 years old or older. Savage aims to provide best-in-class rail access to our customers wherever they do business. Now they've added some technology to this, expanding the Savage Transload Network, developing intermodal ramps. This allows them to manipulate the freight in such a way, if you are a smaller business to get the benefits of what the larger businesses do. So they've got warehousing, storage and loading capability which will allow a smaller business to piggyback and get the best rates in shipping this stuff, building and operating storage in transit yards and developing short line railroads. So this is not the last of it, and they're doing it to make success out of something called the Lakeview Business Park, which is brand spanking new. This convenient rail access helps customers and site selectors bring their businesses to Toole County. Imagine that.
Ken Chester :And in case you think it's just unique to that, here in Iowa not necessarily new railroads, but existing railroads have actually expanded and built brand spanking new facilities. Case in point the Iowa Interstate Railroad actually goes over trackage that used to be the Rock Island. They have spent millions of dollars New railroad yards, new repair facilities, new trackage, new loading facilities. They built a new warehousing and loading facility right here in Des Moines, just in the south edge of town. Lining a mile of track costs millions of dollars. It's expensive, but they're spending the money because they see the future. There's still a future in rail.
Ken Chester :Not all old technology is dinosaur and not practical, but the Savage Toole Railroad is indicative of how they are reimagining short line services to be a benefit, and more benefit, as opposed to back in the day when it was just cast off lines of larger railroads where they said we can't make money, there's not enough people on the line, so we're going to shut it down or sell it to a smaller business. And certainly in the 80s and 90s that was more true. But today, with them reimagining things and actually building in additional things, that makes it more attractive to ship by rail. It is also a move from an environmental standpoint. It reduces wear and tear on the roads of all those heavy trucks which are now not going to be applying Interstate 80, interstate 15, or the entrance into the business park, because they're going to offload that to rail. And rail is more efficient per ton mile anyway than even trucks.
Ken Chester :So it's a win, win, win. Everybody wins. The environment wins fewer trucks, the railroad wins fewer trucks. The railroad wins higher volume. The Union Pacific wins. Another customer that puts it all together, delivers it for the Union Pacific and all they got to do is haul it and with their interchangeable and their nationwide ramp they can go anywhere. So you get the benefit of a large railroad but you get the service of a small railroad and you get the benefit of a warehousing and storage facility that helps me, as a small business, be able to even use it. Everybody wins and this is what's going on in the country, not just in Utah. Except in the Utah case, it's a brand new railroad, very often it's just a new facility and there's a lot of that going on, big and small, all over the place, to help manufacturers in the United States.
Ken Chester :At Mazda Zoom. Zoom is bigger and better these days.
Speaker 4:My impressions of the CX-70 are next, you are listening to the Tech Mobility Show.
Ken Chester :Social media is the main place to be these days, and we are no exception. I'm Ken Chester of the Tech Mobility Show. If you enjoy my program, then you will also enjoy my weekly Facebook videos. Thank you. Show in the search bar. Be sure to subscribe to our Facebook page. Social media is the place to be these days and we're no exception. I'm Ken Chester of the Tech Mobility Show. If you enjoy my program, then you will also enjoy my weekly Instagram videos, from the latest vehicle reviews to timely commentary on a variety of mobility and technology-related topics. These short features are designed to inform and delight you Be sure to watch, like and follow us on Instagram. You can find us by typing the Tech Mobility Show in the search bar.
Ken Chester :For those of you that listen to podcasts, we have just the one for you. Hi, I'm Ken Chester. Tech Mobility Topics is a podcast where I upload topic-specific videos each week Shorter than a full show. These bite-sized programs are just the thing, particularly if you're interested in a particular topic covered on the weekly radio show. From Apple Podcasts to iHeartRadio and many podcast platforms in between, we got you covered.
Speaker 1:Just enter Tech Mobility Topics in the search bar, wherever you listen to podcasts.
Speaker 1:Looking for a really tough truck, the choice is Mazda 12 all-new models, more engine choices, including the most powerful V6 of any import truck. Standard rear ABS, a better basic warranty than Nissan, toyota, ford or Chevy. Lease a B2300 model for $159 a month, $159 down. We make the exceptional, affordable Mazda. It just feels right.
Ken Chester :Okay, that was 30 years ago. $159 a month, $159 down. That was also back when Mazda was building the compact pickup trucks. They were one company. Toyota was building them, nissan was building them, and that's how they broke into the market. These things were bulletproof. They were little trucks. Go anywhere, do anything Last? Oh my goodness, ah the days. $159 a month, $159 down what you wouldn't do to be able to get a new truck for that. But yes, 30 years ago sorry, the folks who translated Zoom. Zoom into performance attribute for its vehicles in the United States is on a roll, so to speak.
Ken Chester :Mazda went big last year with the introduction of the CX-90 crossover SUV, the automaker's largest and most luxurious vehicle offered to American motorists. I was fortunate to experience the vehicle for myself last year in San Francisco During a torrential downpour On a flooded out road. Yeah, and I'm going to tell you something Even against the nightmare of a ride and drive event that could have been for Mazda, the CX-90, a large three-row crossover SUV, performed commendably as I was going up US 101, and I mean pouring rain. This thing had the grip of a mountain goat, as big as it was. I had no trouble and I was not that familiar with 101, but just rolling along, life was good. One very cool thing about the CX-90, and I interviewed one of the engineers about it was its ability to set and respond to a specific driver profile by just scanning the driver's face. There were 200 different things you could adjust and it gave you, you went through the setup. Once it recognized your face, you set everything. Then, particularly if you are, if your vehicle has numerous drivers, it's perfect because you don't even have to press a button. It gets in, it sees you, it knows who you are and adjusts everything based on your settings automatically. And I thought that was pretty cool settings automatically and I thought that was pretty cool.
Ken Chester :Introduced to the North American market in the spring of 2023, the CX-90 became quickly a successful flagship for Mazda brand. The automaker then pivoted to the lucrative two-row mid-size SUV market with the launch of the CX-70. Now the CX-70 and this is what we're talking about during my impressions today is the third model in Mazda's large product group, the first being the CX-90 and CX-90 Hybrid. This two-row crossover SUV was specifically developed for the strategic North American market and, in addition to its superior environmental and safety performance, and in addition to its superior environmental and safety, performance balanced with the joy of driving. Culminating from Mazda's signature human-centric philosophy, the CX-70 design and features complement the customer's active lifestyles. According to Mazda, the CX-70 not only enhances its SUV lineup, but also shores up the company's business and brand in North America. Get this now.
Ken Chester :All CX-70 models come with a hybrid powertrain, something they call M-Hybrid Boost, which is a 48-volt mild hybrid system, and it dovetails with Mazda's efforts to accelerate electrification in the region in a manner that appropriately meets market needs. The underlying concept for the CX-70 is something they call passion pursuer. This model offers roomy and practical cargo space with a sporty design tailored to the preferences of outgoing and active customers who enjoy pursuing their interests and passions. The design expresses the vitality inherent in Mazda's Kodo, or Soul of Motion, design concept. Available in five trim levels, basic power for the CX-70 is produced via a mild hybrid powertrain, which consists of the following components A 3.3 liter inline gasoline, six cylinder turbo I said inline, not a V6 and inline six, just like the CX 90, because they believe that, because they could.
Ken Chester :Uh, the way that they engineered the vehicle, they did not have to widen the frail frames to get around the engine and they thought it gave it a better look and a more stable vehicle because of that. In addition, an 11-kilowatt M hybrid boost generator and a 0.33-kilowatt-hour lithium-ion battery so really small. Combined, the system generates 280 horsepower and 332 foot-pounds of torque. The upscale S models are equipped with a mild hybrid system that delivers 340 horsepower and 369 foot-pounds of torque. Both drivetrains communicate power to all four wheels via an eight-speed automatic transmission in the Automaker's i-Active all-wheel drive system. The all-wheel drive system features a rear bias typically 70-30,. System features a rear bias typically 70-30, for better handling control and weight distribution. Epa fuel economy numbers are 24 City 28 Highway for the base power train. 23 City 28 Highway for the performance version. Towing capacity is 5,000 pounds. Cargo capacity is an impressive 75.3 cubic feet, with the second row seats folded flat.
Ken Chester :Here's what I liked about the vehicle. Much like the CX-90 on which it's based, the CX-70 is smooth, comfortable and easy to drive. I found that acceleration was average for its class, but despite its size, I am impressed with its fuel economy numbers. This crossover SUV is a solid build and it feels like it was made out of one hunk of metal as opposed to the thousands of parts that went into it. Head-up display is a welcome feature to help the driver remain focused on the road before him. While I had trouble in the past linking my Android phone to certain automakers infotainment systems, the CX-70 offered no such resistance. It was easy peasy.
Ken Chester :Base models offer the motorist the ability to choose between sport and off-road driving modes, while upmarket models add tow mode capability. The driver's seat comes with a good outward view. All four doors open wide, providing excellent access to the passenger compartment. In fact, the rear doors open 90 degrees, making access to the rear seating area easy for just about everybody. In addition, climate control for rear seat passengers add to the comfortable and pleasant experience for all occupants. A few additional points to mention about the passenger experience. The CX-70 boasts a cavernous I mean cavernous cargo area and there's plenty of legroom for the second row occupants and plenty of USB ports throughout the cabin, as well as friendly user displays, controls and switchgear. Finally, the CX-70 has designed the spare tire to be accessible from inside the vehicle. Yay, under the cargo area floor, away from the elements and the underside, the ugly underside, outside of the vehicle, and y'all know how I feel about that. Overall, I thought that the Mazda CX-70 is an excellent way to transport five people in comfort cost-effectively. Its backseat room, combined with its large cargo area, literally screams private car exclusive limo to me, and a smart fleet owner will snap these up and make it happen. The base manufacturer's retail price for the 2025 Mazda CX-70 starts from $40,445 for the Preferred to $55,950 for the S Premium, plus Destination charges add $1,375.
Ken Chester :Coming up next, I discuss why so many Americans are currently car poor.
Ken Chester :This is the Tech Mobility Show.
Ken Chester :Do you listen to podcasts? Seems that most people do. Hi, I'm Ken Chester, host of the Tech Mobility Show. If you missed any of our weekly episodes on the radio, our podcast is a great way to listen. You can find the Tech Mobility podcast just about anywhere. You can enjoy podcasts. Be sure to follow us from Apple Podcasts, iHeart Radio and many platforms in between. We are there. Just enter the Tech Mobility podcast in the search bar. Wherever you listen to podcasts. social
Ken Chester :Social media it's the place to be. We no exception. Hi, I'm Ken Chester, host the TechM obility show. Several times a week, I post to TikTok several of the topics that I cover on my weekly radio show. It's another way to keep up on mobility, technology news and information. I've built quite a library of short videos for your viewing pleasure, so be sure to watch, like and subscribe. That's the tech TechM obility show on TikTok. Check it out.!
Ken Chester :A recent report from Edmunds, the online car portal, found a disturbing trend An increasing number of consumers with auto loans that had negative equity, meaning they owe more on their vehicle than what it's worth. Problem is a lot more, and it's a growing problem. This is topic B lot more and it's a growing problem. This is topic B On average. They're saying that the average upside down loan, in other words, the spread between what the vehicle's worth today versus what you owe on it, is at an all-time high of more than $6,400. Let me give you additional perspective and then we'll talk about this. Of those with negative equity, one in five owe $10,000 or more and just 7.5% owe more than $15,000. What does that mean? Let me give you some background.
Ken Chester :Negative equity does not go away when you trade a car. It doesn't. The dealer's not going to step up and give you more than your vehicle's worth. They're in a business to buy and sell vehicles. Typically. What happens? If there's room to make the numbers work, you can usually trade. But what happens? They will add that deficit to the new note, meaning you are worse shape driving out of the showroom, not better shape. The money didn't go away, folks. It got rolled into your new loan, meaning that the new vehicle you just bought was underwater by the same amount as the old one and maybe worse, because it doesn't count the depreciation of the vehicle itself that you just bought. Now I know some folks would say things get tough. Well, I'll just have them, come get it. Let's talk about that for a minute. What does that mean?
Ken Chester :If you're in a situation where you got into a high car note because you convinced yourself you could make it and maybe at first you could but job situation changed. Maybe it was counting on both of you working. One of you got laid off, situation happened, got sick, something else happened and you don't have the income anymore. You got a vehicle that you owe more than it's worth. You got a payment that you can't afford. In olden days what would have happened is you would have let it go back to the bank or credit union. They would have sold it at auction and went about their business. That's not the case anymore With the increasing cost, the increasing average cost of new and used vehicles now, if they take your car to auction. If they repossessed your vehicle and they take it to auction and they get less money for it than the loan that you took out against, guess what? Now they're coming back for you for a vehicle you don't own anymore and you're still legally liable for the money for the difference they're out, plus any conditioning fees, processing fees, lawyer fees. They don't tell you that part. All that on top of that and you are legally liable for all of it. So if you thought you could let that go, maybe wait six months, a year and maybe buy a hoopty borrow a few dollars. Nah, that'll jam up your credit righteously.
Ken Chester :In this article, the Washington Post article, the financial writer says basically this if you have to take an 84 month loan out to buy your new vehicle, you can't afford it. And this is the problem, and it's something that, down through my years of helping people buy vehicles, I tell them never, ever, ever to do. But most people walk into the dealership. Dealer says, well, what are you looking for? And you tell them well, have you thought about what you want for a monthly payment? You never, ever buy a car, truck, suv, whatever, based on a monthly payment. Don't do that Because it obscures everything. Oh, they'll get you the payment. It may be 84 months. In some cases it's higher. Oh, they'll get you the payment. It may be 84 months. In some cases it's higher. When I started out in this business, the average length of loan was 36 months 36. The standard loan today is 60 months five years.
Ken Chester :But as you're getting into these trucks, these SUVs, these expensive stuff going 60, 70, $80,000, folks are stretching them loan payments out. I got to have that truck. I want that truck. Sir, it's a $75,000 truck. I want that truck. How can we make this payment work? Wrong approach People.
Ken Chester :Anything happens you get sick, you lose your job, uh, the vehicle getsed because you didn't buy gap insurance, something we've covered a few years ago, which is another problem. You're still liable, by the way, and all gap insurance is. It is at least, and the dealer will gladly sell it to you. But you can probably buy it from your local insurance agent for less money. But definitely, if you're buying a new vehicle these days, you want gap insurance, and what that is is it covers that gap, literally between what you paid for the vehicle and what it's worth. Financial planners will tell you that you crossed the break, even about three years in on a 60 month loan, the F&I people at the dealership will tell you that they want you to carry it for the whole thing. But typically the first three years of a five-year loan is where you need to be carrying the gap insurance. Why? Because if you told the vehicle you're liable for the difference. You're upside down. You are jacked up. Question is not sure.
Ken Chester :The gap insurance would apply on top of negative equity. That takes care of you when you buy the vehicle new, but not necessarily something that you're rolling over negative equity. And oh, fun fact, we've talked about this about a year or two ago. Do you realize that 17% of people buying new vehicles right now in the United States of America have a car payment one car payment of over $1,000 a month. $1,000 a month, 12 grand a year. Can you imagine what the interest is on top of that? And the insurance on top of that? Yeah, you're cutting corners somewhere and that's not okay. Bottom line people, negative equity is not a good thing and it doesn't go away For you to just walk away. You got to come up with that difference Now.
Ken Chester :I just represented somebody a couple of weeks ago. Put them in a 2021 vehicle. They traded a 17 year old vehicle that we drove out there to the dealer a hundred miles away. Car ran fine and we made a deal. It was within her wheelhouse and she got darn close to new vehicle because she listened to me. So we ended up getting a lot of value out of the vehicle. We ended up paying $21,200 for the vehicle and it had less than 25,000 miles on it and three years old and was loaded.
Ken Chester :By the way, that same vehicle during the pandemic would have cost $15,000 more easily and if somebody was crazy enough to have bought that thing brand new during the pandemic or one or two years old during the pandemic, they would have major negative equity right now and couldn't get out of it. And that's the problem. The amount of negative equity per person is growing big time because people are wanting the vehicle more than looking at the numbers. But like I always say and I say it again you talk to your credit union, find out what the numbers are for the vehicle, then you figure the payment and you figure out if you can afford it and, if not, change the vehicle you're going to buy, but academically, if you need 84 months pay off a car payment, something that appreciates like that, then you can't afford it. Full stop, walk away, find something else because it will come back to bite you, no joke, guaranteed. So yeah, car poor, it's happening.
Ken Chester :What's old is new. Again, straw is having a moment as a modern building material.
Ken Chester :We are the Tech Mobility Show.
Ken Chester :To learn more about the Tech Mobility Show, start by visiting our website. Hi, I'm Ken Chester, host of the Tech Mobility Show. The website is a treasure trove of information about me and the show, as well as where to find it on the radio across the country. Keep up with the happenings at the Tech Mobility Show by visiting techmobility. show. That's techmobility. show. You can also drop us a line at talk at techmobility. show. Did you know that TechMobility has a YouTube channel? Hi, I'm Ken Chester, host of the TechMobility Show. Each week, I upload a few short videos of some of the hot topics that I cover during my weekly radio program. I've designed these videos to be informative and entertaining. It's another way to keep up on current mobility and technology news and information. Be sure to watch, like and subscribe to my channel. That's the Tech Mobility Show on YouTube.
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Ken Chester :Social media is the place to be these days, and we're no exception. I'm Ken Chester of the Tech Mobility Show. If you enjoy my program, then you will also enjoy my weekly Instagram videos, from the latest vehicle reviews to timely commentary on a variety of mobility and technology-related topics. These short features are designed to inform and delight you. Be sure to watch, like and follow us on Instagram. You can find us by typing the Tech Mobility Show in the search bar.
Ken Chester :Used since the 19th century, the idea of straw building might bring to mind a medieval homestead. Straw, typically as a rural, rustic building material, has been a do-it-yourself solution for affordable, earth-friendly construction. New designs combined with industrial scale efforts are underway to expand the availability of straw as a building material, bringing it into the 21st century. This is Topic C. Can you imagine a home with the ability to absorb carbon out of the atmosphere just like a tree, to actually be efficient to a point where building it actually is better for the planet than not building it? This is the moment that straw is having and no, it's not what you probably remember If you've seen any throwback or pictures to the 19th century. We're not talking about using straw like that we're using. We're talking about using straw as an insulating material. There's some pretty cool stuff going on Now. We've talked about earth, we're talking about straw.
Ken Chester :There is a movement to go back to basics in new and novel ways and innovative ways to go back to stuff that sometimes the old ways are really the best ways. This is a case in Slovakia, a company called EcoCocon. They manufacture prefab straw panels and they just opened a new factory a month and a half ago, built out of the product that they make, and it shows and it's a fully automated factory, by the way and it shows their modular straw-based construction system, as well as striking the striking wood trusses that suggest straw panels could play a role at building out warehouses and other large facilities. And they actually said what I'm about to tell you. Literally, you put in straws, plywood, a pack of screws in one end, and then at the other end, you have a finished product. You don't have any people involved in between. So not only is it efficient, but it's ecologically friendly.
Ken Chester :Considering the challenges facing architects who want to curtail carbon emissions in new buildings, straw actually offers a compelling case. Made from agricultural waste, straw walls sequester significant carbon. Get this about a pound and a half for every pound used. So in other words, a pound of straw removes a pound and a half of carbon out of the environment, and that's before factoring in material transport. But if you get to a green situation, more benefit and, the best part it can even be composted when knocked down. When you finally tear the building down, you talk about returning earth to earth. You can do it this way.
Ken Chester :Researchers have even theorized that building with these types of biomaterials could turn buildings in the carbon sinks instead of swing going from a 40% source to a 50% carbon sink. That's almost double, that's almost 100%, tightly compacted and, in the case of some manufacturers, prefabricated into wall panels. Insulating straw is dense, easy to work with and this is something that I found interesting not subject to significant pest, mold or fire problems. That kind of threw me because I'm thinking okay, it's straw, it's straw, and that's exactly what I thought would happen. But nope, they say nope, not a problem, and it doesn't require a new technology adoption or a radical shift in the current construction blueprints for homes. And I think what it is is tightly compacted, woven in almost to speak, and I think that is amazingly cool. It is astonishing how much better straw is than virtually anything else. And this is a Chicago-based architect saying this who designed straw insulated homes and have done extensive energy modeling showing the advantages of straw. The same architect recently analyzed the carbon emission difference between the standard construction and straw. The embodied carbon, or the amount of carbon emissions needed to produce the building materials used in a project, was 80% less for a straw home.
Ken Chester :When it comes to building buildings, people don't think about all the odds and ends that go into it and they don't realize how brutally cheap it can be to use secondary material and that just using a tiny fraction, tiny fraction of what America generates in straw and agricultural waste could help insulate a significant part of the new homes built every year. We spend a lot of time and we've talked about it in this program home affordability it's a problem in this country. We've talked about tiny homes. We've talked about properties, we've talked about all sorts of things Using straw a secondary material that gets thrown away anyway, and it reduces costs, lowers the cost of actually heating and cooling the place and it doesn't take major changes in plans or how you build a home. That's way cool. Changes in plans or how you build a home, that's way cool. Straw not only insulates, it deadens the outside sound, creating a much quieter indoor environment. That same architect says that even in a cold climate like Chicago, if the power totally goes out in the middle of winter and it gets cold in Chicago, the indoor stays about 40 degrees, worst case 40 degrees and that's above zero At simplest form. Straw doesn't need the new infrastructure or new innovations. It's about changing the material's diet Fewer, fossil fuels-based materials, more vegetables I thought that was cute, but I hate vegetables. Oh well, while the winds of change may be, more on building new fancy factories, building with straw is happening Mainly in Europe, though.
Ken Chester :In northern Denmark, for example, there was a school that was built, a sleek minimalist structure made from wood, straw and get this local seaweed. In Sweden, they're building a 12-story apartment tower made of timber and straw, and we talked about a hybrid timber CLT. We talked about that and how in a lot of cases it's stronger than steel and more environmentally friendly. The architect said he's experimented with a straw bale shed for his kid's school. He's working on a pair of straw insulated homes and he said working with straw did not radically change his process. But outside of wall thickness and he said he says that's the big thing. Prefab saves money and improves sustainability. So more and more Straw, straw straw. And we can get Straw Straw Straw. And we can get it because we already have it and it doesn't cost any more to use it and build it into plans. So many different ways of being biologically mature. We've come to the end of our visit. Be sure to join me again next time, right here. You've been listening to the Tech Mobility Show.
Speaker 1:The Tech Mobility Show is a copywritten production of Tech Mobility Productions Inc. Any rebroadcast, retransmission or any other use is prohibited without the written consent of
Ken Chester :Do you listen to podcasts? We have just the one for you. Hi, I'm Ken Chester. Tech Mobility Topics is a podcast where I upload topic-specific videos each week, shorter than a full show. These bite-sized programs are just the thing, particularly if you're interested in a particular topic covered on the weekly radio show. From Apple Podcasts to iHeartRadio and many podcast platforms in between, we got you covered. Just enter Tech Mobility Topics in the search bar.
Ken Chester :Wherever you listen to podcasts, social media it's the place to be. We're no exception. Hi, I'm Ken Chester, host of the Tech Mobility Show. Several times a week, I post to TikTok several of the topics that I cover on my weekly radio show. It's another way to keep up on mobility, technology news and information. I've built quite a library of short videos for your viewing pleasure, so be sure to watch, like and subscribe. That's the Tech Mobility Show on TikTok. Check it out. To learn more about the Tech Mobility Show, start by visiting our website. Hi, I'm Ken Chester, host of the Tech Mobility Show. The website is a treasure trove of information about me and the show, as well as where to find it on the radio across the country. Keep up with the happenings at the Tech Mobility Show by visiting techmobility. show. That's techmobility. show. You can also drop us a line at talk at techmobility. show.
Ken Chester :Do you listen to podcasts? Seems that most people do. Hi, I'm Ken Chester, host of the Tech Mobility Show. If you've missed any of our weekly episodes on the radio, our podcast is a great way to listen. You can find the Tech Mobility Podcast just about anywhere. You can enjoy podcasts. Be sure to follow us from Apple Podcasts, iHeart Radio and many platforms in between. We're there. Just enter the Tech Mobility Podcast in the search bar, wherever you listen to podcasts.
