[mindslight]

I too had a hard time reading the article, with my own criticisms of what I'd do differently or details I wish they'd focus on. Replacing the need for electrical energy with the need for the chemical energy of food doesn't seem particularly great. An air compressor is still a technological device that relies on long supply chains, and keeping a few spare parts around doesn't count.

But I try not to be too knee-jerk critical! Because I am glad someone is doing the work of trying experiments to look at outside the local maximum of our current technology.

I'd think that an infrequently-used air compressor would be a fantastic place to use electricity from peak solar generation. That kind of thing seems closer to a sustainability local maximum than using human power.

[mrob]

>Replacing the need for electrical energy with the need for the chemical energy of food doesn't seem particularly great.

Seeing as you need exercise anyway to stay healthy, it might as well be doing something useful.