FCV's:
Too much of a threat to the military-industrial Iron
Triangle?
Fuel cell vehicles, such as the Chevy Equinox FCV, Honda FCX Clarity, and Toyota FCHV, captured a pretty big chunk of the spotlight at the LA Auto Show this year, but nobody really seemed to care.
Sure, fuel cell vehicles are expensive and there isn't yet a hydrogen infrastructure. In reality it would take 10's of billions dollars to kick start the hydrogen economy and to create enough tax incentives to make fuel cell vehicles affordable for consumers.
With such high costs, why not just focus on plug-in hybrid vehicles and pure electric vehicles anyway, the consensus seems to be saying these days.
How sad. How embarrassing for a country that used to be the world's leading auto manufacturer and technological leader. Does America have any future beyond consumption?
While I am a big fan of plug-in hybrids and electric vehicles, from where will the electricity come? Coal? Nuclear power? Some might say solar and wind power, which would be great, but it's well known that hydrogen can make renewable energy sources much more effective because of hydrogen's energy storage abilities.
More interesting, if lithium proves effective for diesel or gasoline powered plug-in hybrid vehicles, then it could just as easily prove effective for plug-in hydrogen fuel cell hybrid vehicles.
But let's forget auto technology, or which type of auto works best. Ultimately, hydrogen can power combustion engines, electric vehicles, plug-in hybrids and fuel cell vehicles. Thus, the real sticking point of hydrogen is hydrogen creation and distribution. While these issues are real, they can and will be overcome with investment.
Therefore, the hydrogen economy, ultimately, is about investment. It's about MONEY.
Today, $3.00 gas is starting to capture the attention of America. Yet, the real cost of gasoline is far more expensive.
In the 90's, the costs of securing Middle East oil averaged between $50 billion to $150 billion dollars per year, depending upon the study. Thus, on average in the 90's, the $10 billion worth of oil per year purchased from this area actually cost at least $60 billion and maybe as much as $160 billion. Thus, if gas cost $1.00 per gallon in the 90's, it would have cost at least $6.00 per gallon if the full cost of that gasoline were completely paid at the pump.
If Americans had been paying the real cost of gasoline during the '90s, vehicles like the Hummer or the Sequoia would have never been built.
Yet, sadly, that cost still doesn't include things like the War in Iraq and oil-funded terrorism against the US.
Nothing Changes
Ultimately, one year of foreign oil security costs could easily kick start the hydrogen economy. Sadly, like an iceberg, the real size of America's foreign oil dependency costs are far too well hidden. Thus, most politicians aren't even addressing these costs, nor are they factoring them into their energy plans for America - at least not on record. Unfortunately, however, as these politicians one-up each other on their CAFE plans as they try take over the helm of America and its titanic energy consumption, none offer a real vision for change.
CAFE, however, is a joke and a largely irresponsible Congressional act. The reason the real costs of gasoline are hidden is because it supports the military-industrial complex - the Iron Triangle that has been funding both political parties for, well, forever. If Congress didn't help hide these costs, CAFE wouldn't be needed.
The fact that not one politician is campaigning against this Iron Triangle seems to hint that it still controls both parties. Hopefully, at least, America's titanic foreign oil consumption has a few more lifeboats when it goes down.
Fuel cell vehicles, such as the Chevy Equinox FCV, Honda FCX Clarity, and Toyota FCHV, captured a pretty big chunk of the spotlight at the LA Auto Show this year, but nobody really seemed to care.
Sure, fuel cell vehicles are expensive and there isn't yet a hydrogen infrastructure. In reality it would take 10's of billions dollars to kick start the hydrogen economy and to create enough tax incentives to make fuel cell vehicles affordable for consumers.
With such high costs, why not just focus on plug-in hybrid vehicles and pure electric vehicles anyway, the consensus seems to be saying these days.
How sad. How embarrassing for a country that used to be the world's leading auto manufacturer and technological leader. Does America have any future beyond consumption?
While I am a big fan of plug-in hybrids and electric vehicles, from where will the electricity come? Coal? Nuclear power? Some might say solar and wind power, which would be great, but it's well known that hydrogen can make renewable energy sources much more effective because of hydrogen's energy storage abilities.
More interesting, if lithium proves effective for diesel or gasoline powered plug-in hybrid vehicles, then it could just as easily prove effective for plug-in hydrogen fuel cell hybrid vehicles.
But let's forget auto technology, or which type of auto works best. Ultimately, hydrogen can power combustion engines, electric vehicles, plug-in hybrids and fuel cell vehicles. Thus, the real sticking point of hydrogen is hydrogen creation and distribution. While these issues are real, they can and will be overcome with investment.
Therefore, the hydrogen economy, ultimately, is about investment. It's about MONEY.
Today, $3.00 gas is starting to capture the attention of America. Yet, the real cost of gasoline is far more expensive.
In the 90's, the costs of securing Middle East oil averaged between $50 billion to $150 billion dollars per year, depending upon the study. Thus, on average in the 90's, the $10 billion worth of oil per year purchased from this area actually cost at least $60 billion and maybe as much as $160 billion. Thus, if gas cost $1.00 per gallon in the 90's, it would have cost at least $6.00 per gallon if the full cost of that gasoline were completely paid at the pump.
If Americans had been paying the real cost of gasoline during the '90s, vehicles like the Hummer or the Sequoia would have never been built.
Yet, sadly, that cost still doesn't include things like the War in Iraq and oil-funded terrorism against the US.
Nothing Changes
Ultimately, one year of foreign oil security costs could easily kick start the hydrogen economy. Sadly, like an iceberg, the real size of America's foreign oil dependency costs are far too well hidden. Thus, most politicians aren't even addressing these costs, nor are they factoring them into their energy plans for America - at least not on record. Unfortunately, however, as these politicians one-up each other on their CAFE plans as they try take over the helm of America and its titanic energy consumption, none offer a real vision for change.
CAFE, however, is a joke and a largely irresponsible Congressional act. The reason the real costs of gasoline are hidden is because it supports the military-industrial complex - the Iron Triangle that has been funding both political parties for, well, forever. If Congress didn't help hide these costs, CAFE wouldn't be needed.
The fact that not one politician is campaigning against this Iron Triangle seems to hint that it still controls both parties. Hopefully, at least, America's titanic foreign oil consumption has a few more lifeboats when it goes down.
