Fuel Cell Powered Train

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=90 BGCOLOR="#669966" TEXT="#080000" background="a6001573.jpg"> <div> <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#FFFFFF" FACE="Arial" ><B>GoogleGrease</B></FONT>     |     <A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="GoogleGrease">home</A>                                            <B>back to</B>  <A HREF="news.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="News">News</A></div> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <A HREF="high_speed_rail.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="High Speed Rail">High Speed Rail</A><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#FFFFFF" FACE="Symbol" >   ·   </FONT><A HREF="contact.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Contact">Contact</A></div> <div> <I><B>Fuel Cell Powered Train</B></I></div> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" width=210 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000" background="a5fd2013.jpg"> <div> <A HREF="obama_high_speed_rail_plan.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Obama High Speed Rail Plan">Obama High Speed Rail Plan</A></div> <div> <A HREF="obama_first_stop_canada.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Obama First Stop Canada">Obama First Stop Canada</A></div> <div> <A HREF="arr.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Alaska Railroad">Alaska Railroad</A></div> <div> <A HREF="ak_rail_links.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Alaska Railroad Links">Alaska Railroad Links</A></div> <div> <A HREF="amtrack_links.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Amtrack Links">Amtrack Links</A></div> <div> <B>Fuel Cell Powered Train</B></div> <div> <A HREF="alan_alda.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Alan Alda Hydrogen Hopes">Alan Alda Hydrogen Hopes</A></div> <div> <A HREF="the_hydrogen_economy.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="The Hydrogen Economy">The Hydrogen Economy</A></div> <bR> </td> <td valign="top" height=390 width="100%" BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div>  <img src="HTMLobj-2643/aniGif.gif" alt="freenshop.com" border="0" align="bottom" width="386" height="22">  </div> <bR> <div> <B>February 20, 2004--- Hydrogen-Electric High-Speed Train Transportation Technology</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" > for the 21st century has arrived.</FONT></div> <div> This New Technology will lead the World into an era of Supper Fast, Safe, Reliable, Green Transnational Transportation.</div> <bR> <div> <I>World's First Fuel Cell-Powered Train Locomotive Slated for 2008</I> </div> <div> MesoFuel, Inc. has been awarded a contract by Vehicle Projects LLC of Denver, CO to design and manufacture the hydrogen generator for a fuel cell-powered train locomotive. This will be the largest fuel cell powered vehicle ever built.</div> <bR> <div> This project was conceived by Vehicle Projects and completion is scheduled for 2008. "We selected MesoFuel to design and manufacture the ammonia-based hydrogen generation system because of the compactness and efficiency of its MesoChannel hydrogen generation systems," said Vehicle Projects LLC President Arnold Miller.</div> <bR> <div> "MesoFuel is the leader in power-dense hydrogen generation from ammonia, and the ability to process this attractive fuel was a key consideration for us." MesoFuel, along with multiple organizations, will work on the multi-million dollar project in order to produce a complete fuel cell power source that is capable of replacing diesel engines in locomotives.</div> <bR> <div> "Providing a simple, low fuel cost ammonia-based hydrogen generation system for this project is exciting because ammonia is an excellent fuel choice," said MesoFuel CEO Ned Godshall. "It has an extremely high volumetric energy content and is available nationwide via railcar.</div> <bR> <div> Three-quarters of all the atoms in ammonia are hydrogen atoms -- this liquid is one of the most energy-dense forms of hydrogen available -- and so is therefore ideal for the distribution and production of the hydrogen needed for hydrogen fuel cells."</div> <bR> <div> In addition to the fuel-cell-locomotive project, fuel cells are expected to soon have numerous commercial and defense applications because they provide an efficient, zero-emission power source required for future technologically-advanced electronic systems and vehicles.</div> <bR> <div> MesoFuel products enable the on-site, on-demand production of pure hydrogen for fuel cells. The development of MesoFuel technologies have been partly funded under the Defense Advanced Research Project Agency's (DARPA) Palm Power Program and the Army Research Office.</div> <bR> <div> MesoFuel, Inc. (http://www.mesofuel.com) of Albuquerque, NM focuses on the introduction of low-cost hydrogen generators into commercial fuel cell markets.</div> <bR> <div> Using micro- and meso-scale technology, the company produces on-site, on-demand hydrogen generators for environmentally-friendly consumer, industrial, and military fuel cell applications.</div> <bR> <div> MesoFuel has developed hydrogen generation systems that operate on a variety of fuels, including both light and heavy hydrocarbons, de-carbonized fuels such as ammonia, and renewable fuels such as soy diesel. MesoFuel provides the fuel for fuel cells.</div> <bR> <div> <B>2005 July</B></div> <div> Transportation Secretarty Makes Stop in Anchorage</div> <div> By AP</div> <div> Jul 6, 2005, 10:00:00</div> <div> U-S Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta says a federal subsidy for airlines serving remote communities needs to be reworked to accommodate changes in the aviation industry.</div> <bR> <div> Possibilities could include cutting the number of eligible communities and making them pay some of the cost. The Essential Air Service program was discussed Tuesday in Anchorage during a U-S Senate Commerce Committee hearing chaired by Senator Ted Stevens.</div> <bR> <div> The hearing included testimony from Mineta, Federal Aviation Administration chief Marion Blakey as well as local aviation officials and experts.</div> <bR> <div> The subsidy was established when the airline industry was deregulated in 1978. It uses federal money to lower air-travel costs to 34 Alaska communities and 92 elsewhere in the country.</div> <bR> <div> Mineta says the program hasn't kept pace with airport improvements and changes in the way airlines fly, which calls for much-needed structural changes. Changes proposed by the federal Transportation Department include requiring communities to kick in at least ten percent of the subsidy. Mineta says state government or local businesses could also pay.</div> <bR> <bR> <div> <U>MONTANA NEWS ASSOCIATION</U><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" > Thu, Jul 07, 2005 </FONT></div> <div> <B>MINETA'S MISLEADING ALASKA/AMTRAK ANALOGY</B></div> <div> by MNA PRESS </div> <bR> <div> In yet another attempt to obscure the truth about intercity passenger rail, Transportation Secretary Norman Y. Mineta issued a news release (carried on PR Newswire, presumably at government expense) misrepresenting the relevance of the Alaska Railroad to rail passenger service in the lower 48 states. </div> <bR> <div> The Alaska Railroad, whose primary business is hauling freight, does not run long-distance trains. Its longest passenger run, between Anchorage and Fairbanks, is only 356 miles and 12 hours long, in daytime (8:15 AM to 8:15 PM). For eight months (September 13--May 13), service on this route is one round trip per week.</div> <bR> <div> Because "Denali Star Train" (summer) and "Winter Aurora" (rest of the year) traverse some of the world's most dramatic scenery, the route is "spoon-fed" cruise trip passengers in large numbers. None of this is very relevant to overnight trains in the Lower 48, where runs are much longer and the main business is transportation, not scenic cruises. </div> <bR> <div> Apparently hoping the public will ignore the above, the DOT release says: "Mineta said the Alaskan railroad has demonstrated a willingness to innovate, running long distance trains that combine first-class travel cars owned and operated by cruise lines, while continuing to serve commuters and local residents across the state." </div> <bR> <div> NARP Executive Director Ross B. Capon commented, "If the Alaska Railroad is a model in the drive to reform Amtrak, reform may mean shrinking Amtrak's national network to a single, 350-mile-long route." </div> <bR> <div> Mineta refers to "an average of $214 to subsidize each Amtrak passenger." It's not clear how he got that number. Dividing Amtrak's Fiscal 2004 federal grant ($1.218 billion) by its record 25,053,564 passengers produces $48.62, much less than one quarter of Mineta's figure. </div> <bR> <div> Moreover, $48.62 overstates the true subsidy for two reasons. First, much of Amtrak's federal grant supports capital investment for infrastructure shared with commuter railroads. Also, there is widespread agreement that Amtrak's grant cross-subsidizes commuter railroads in the Northeast Corridor. </div> <bR> <div> Mineta repeats his "Amtrak is dying" mantra. Resounding victories for passenger rail June 29 on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives suggest that what is "dying" may be Administration understanding of intercity passenger rail, though this still could prove fatal to the business. </div> <bR> <div> On June 29, the House </div> <div> * adopted by voice vote an amendment to raise Amtrak funding from the committee-passed $550 million (a shutdown budget) to $1.176 billion; </div> <div> * adopted 269-152 (with 73 Republicans voting yes) the Brown (D-FL) amendment to strike language prohibiting the use of federal funds to support 18 Amtrak routes, including the only Amtrak service in 23 states; and </div> <div> * rejected 352-59 the Kennedy (R-MN) amendment to reduce Amtrak funding by $100 million. </div> <bR> <div> The Senate appropriations subcommittee plans to take up its counterpart bill July 14; the full committee July 19.</div> <bR> <div> <B>2005 March 12</B></div> <div> Independent analysts have begun warning that gasoline prices could top $3 per gallon in some parts of the country by mid-year. Whoa, consumers beware! </div> <bR> <bR> <div> <B>2005 March, Pro-Hydrogen Fuel Commercials</B></div> <div> Why didn't 9/11 serve as a wake up call to all Americans that it is our dangerous dependence on foreign oil and the need to secure it militaristically that is largely the impetus for past and present terrorist aggressions against us. In light of such a realization, if you agree, I would think we would be demanding that our government immediately launch a Manhattan project for the development of a pollution-free, renewable hydrogen economy.</div> <bR> <div> Yet we're not. At least not from a majority standpoint. Apparently, the average citizen: A.) Has not come to such a realization. B.) Disagrees with the terrorist link, or C.) Agrees, but is content to maintain the status quo and suppress terrorism by force.</div> <bR> <div> The United States is in a unique position to take the initiative to build a hydrogen economy now. I foresee a hydrogen economy that can be realistically built over a period of a decade, costing $1 trillion dollars.</div> <bR> <div> This might seem like a gargantuan expense over a 10-year period, but People's Weekly World News online reports that the Bush administration's 10-year defense plans are projected to total $5.8 trillion dollars over the course of fiscal years 2005-2014!!</div> <bR> <div> This is no doubt to finance present and future military operations aimed at securing access to oil in the Middle East. In monetary terms, the Bush administration is willing to spend nearly six times the cost of building the kind of hydrogen economy I foresee, on the continued development of a fossil-fuel economy over the next decade.</div> <bR> <div> Factor in the cost in human lives of maintaining a fossil-fuel economy through wars, not to mention global warming, and it would seem that a calculated decision to stay on the present course in the face of a clear and much more viable alternative energy source would be downright immoral.</div> <div> The U.S. is an economy of scale currently worth over $11 trillion dollars. On a cost benefit analysis, $1 trillion dollars over a period of a decade would be a small investment considering the huge benefits a hydrogen economy would bring--not just to the US, but to the entire world. That is why I can't understand the following: </div> <bR> <div> Bush has allocated a meager $1.2 billion to hydrogen fuel cell research and development over a period of 4 years. However, according to Fox News, the current war efforts to secure oil in Iraq alone are exceeding $1 billion /per week. Based on actions, continuing dependency on oil is more important to Bush than pursuing alternative energies.</div> <bR> <div> John Kerry was willing to vamp up the Federal research budget on hydrogen fuel cells to $5.5 billion over a period of 4 years (more, but still not enough) and in addition set a goal that by 2020, the U.S. would get 20% of its energy needs from pollution-free, renewable sources.</div> <bR> <div> He earned my support with this one issue. And yet he was voted out, which tells me that the issue of hydrogen energy is not all that important to the average American citizen.</div> <bR> <div> Many Americans are ignorant about or content with oil dependency and the military/corporate powers that be (i.e. Bush, Cheney...) are all too eager to foster and cultivate their confusion and cash it in for profit.</div> <bR> <div> To pull the plug on all their confusion, the hydrogen industry needs to build public support and a wide constituency, including elected officials, corporate leaders and investors.</div> <bR> <div> We can start by teaching the general public that: A.) Hydrogen fuel is Pollution-Free. B.) Hydrogen fuel is Renewable. C.) Hydrogen fuel will not cause acid rain, ozone depletion, or global warming. D.) Hydrogen fuel can be made from endless supplies of water using solar, wind, hydro, geothermal and tide power.</div> <bR> <div> These simple, reassuring facts are the first message to bring to the general public to generate excitement and support for the hydrogen fuel industry.</div> <div> In 1999, I starred in America’s first television commercial which touted the benefits of hydrogen fuel, reaching millions of viewers. Environmental Media Northwest, the U.S. Department of Energy, and McClure Middle School together produced this commercial. (To view it, go to <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="http://www.4Hydrogen.com/psa.html" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.4Hydrogen.com/psa.html">www.4Hydrogen.com/psa.html</A></FONT> and click ‘Streaming Video’ under ‘Hydrogen Girls’)</div> <bR> <div> I plan to help produce more pro-hydrogen fuel commercials for television broadcast. My point is that more hydrogen-advocate organizations need to make more hydrogen fuel commercials reaching hundreds of millions of American and Canadian citizens, not only on television, but through radio and on the World Wide Web.</div> <bR> <div> If we hydrogen advocates pool our resources together and create pro-hydrogen multi-media commercials, the majority of American and Canadian citizens might no longer be ignorant and content with oil dependency and the war on terrorism. </div> <div> -Captain Ozone</div> <div> <A HREF="http://www.captainozone.com" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.captainozone.com">www.captainozone.com</A></div> <bR> <div> <B>15th of November 2004</B></div> <div> A great day for the National Hydrogen Association of Australia.</div> <div> The NHAA was awarded the Macarthur Environmental Awards, Company Award 2004.</div> <bR> <div> Presented by His Excellency Major General Michael Jeffery AC, CVO, MC (Retd), Governor General of the Commonwealth of Australia, and the Honourable Mr. Pat Farmer MP for Macarthur, The NHAA Directors would like to express their sincere thanks to the awards committee for nominating the NHAA.</div> <bR> <div> His Excellency expressed a keen interest in the development of Hydrogen as an alternative energy and replacement of fossil fuels and the benefits it will produce in reducing green house gases.</div> <bR> <div> The NHAA would like to congratulate all the other award winners on their success.</div> <bR> <div> The National Hydrogen Association was one of the first organisations in Australia to recognise Hydrogen as Australia's future energy carrier. The National Hydrogen Association was formed in year 2001.</div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#CC0033" FACE="Arial" ><B> <img src="HTMLobj-2644/aniGif.gif" alt="sequence" border="0" align="bottom" width="14" height="14">  </B></FONT><B>THE NHAA IS A NON-POLITICAL WEB SITE  </B><A HREF="http://www.hydrogen.org.au/" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.hydrogen.org.au/">http://www.hydrogen.org.au/</A></div> <div> We have now added the International Hydrogen Association of Australia to or web site, to concentrate on the International Partnership for the Hydrogen Economy. The Association is continually upgrading its web site and would appreciate any feed back regarding its content. We are now working on membership for the association and a member forum, any ideas and suggestions please forward to the association.</div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="http://www.hydrogen.org.au/" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.hydrogen.org.au/">http://www.hydrogen.org.au/</A></div> <bR> <div> <B><U>Transportation Bill</U></B></div> <div> Daily congressional & federal action on transportation issues.</div> <div> <A HREF="http://www.eenews.net" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.eenews.net">www.eenews.net</A></div> </td> </tr></table></body>