Alternative Energy and Volvo - Tomorrow Never Dies for the Hydrogen-Electron Economy

Down sank the great red Sun, and in golden shimmering vapors

Veiled light of his face, like the Prophet descending from Sinai

Longfellow, Evangeline

The United States of America under the Obama Administration has ambitious plans to ditch Fossil Fuels from Saudi Arabia and go Alternative Energy both in terms of Domestic Fuel Supply as well as Electric Power which is generated using Fossil Fuels.

Too bad the Democrats lost control of the Senate to the Republicans as stated in the article “Republican Win to hurt Obama's clean-Energy plans”, published Wednesday November 3 2010, CNET News - Green Tech and confirmed in the article “US Republicans seize Lower house”, published Wednesday November 3 2010, BBC News.

They are in effect, following the IEA (International Energy Agency) and removing subsidies on Foreign Imported Oil as stated in the article “IEA: To Promote efficiency, cut fossil fuel subsidies”, published June 8, 2010 7:56 AM PDT by Martin LaMonica, CNET News - Green Tech.

This is an excellent way to save billions of Taxpayers dollars which may effectively be financing terrorism as stated in the article as stated in the article “U.S. Navy buys 20,000 gallons of algae fuel”, published September 15, 2010 10:36 AM PDT by Candace Lombardi, CNET News - Green Tech.

Overall, an excellent strategy that will save the Domestic Economy billions as well as remove the current Achilles Heel of the American Army, that being their Dependence on Foreign Oil that strategically can be choked off in a future WWIII, predicted to be a war fermented by the Middle East, ironical sitting on nearly 90% of the Worlds Oil.

Peak Oil WILL occur in 2015 AD, when prices for Black Gold will be high due to global demand outstripping supply as stated in the article “IEA official warns of shrinking oil supplies: Report”, Sunday August 2nd, 9:04 pm ET, AFP, Yahoo! News and backed up by the dire warning in statements attributed to Sir Richard Branson of Virgin as stated in the article “World faces Oil Crunch by 2015”, published Sunday 14 February 2010, AFP, The Jamaica Herald.

More reason to go Solar, on a large scale, such as eSolar, a Solar Steam Plant capable of producing Power at prices competitive to Fossil Fuel Power Utility Companies as stated in the article “eSolar plugs Solarplant into California Grid”, published August 4, 2009 9:01 PM PDT by Martin LaMonica, CNET News - Green Tech.

Possibly the largest installation of Photovoltaic Panels in the United States of America is located in Blythe, in the California Desert, consisting of four (4) massive installations costing US$1 billion each as stated in the article “US approves World's biggest Solar Energy Project”, published Monday October 25 2010, Yahoo! News.

Saudi Arabia also knows this and are switching over to Nuclear Power and Solar Power as in the case of Brunei as stated in the article “Oil-Rich Brunei to have Solar Power plant”, published Thursday August 6, 3:33 am ET, Yahoo! News, AFP.

Meanwhile OPEC (Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries) reassures the World that they have up to two hundred (200) years worth of Oil Reserves, as per their website. Most of this, however, is estimates and is not based on Proven Oil Reserves.

Meanwhile All-Electric Vehicle production is ramping up in the USA, EU and Japan to the point that there is now a possibility of a Rare Earth Metals Crunch by 2012 AD, as the Lithium-Ion batteries, the current technology used in making Lithium-Ion Batteries used in All-Electric Vehicles

The 2011 Nissan Leaf uses Lithium-Ion batteries as described in the article “Nissan Leaf projected to be in the black”, published April 30, 2010 5:44 AM PDT by Reuters, CNET News - Green Tech and Hydrogen Fuel Cells use Rare Earth Metals such as Platinum as well.

These Hydrogen fuel cells can be used in place of batteries with the Hydrogen being sequestered from Diesel, E80 Gasoline or Kerosene, effectively a All-Electric Vehicle with batteries based on Hydrogen Fuel Cell as stated in the article “Volvo developing a hybrid hydrogen-electric vehicle”, published November 5, 2010 10:01 AM PDT by Liane Yvkoff, CNET News - The Car Tech blog.

Jamaica is affected as the switch to All-Electric Vehicles means that spare parts from Japan will soon stop, as the Japanese change out vehicles older than four (4) years old to avoid heavy taxes. Already there is a spare parts shortage in Jamaica as stated in the article “Spare Parts shortage hits used-car Trade”, published Friday October 22 2010, The Jamaica Gleaner.

All-Electric Vehicles coming to our island is a SERIOUS possibility, contrary to the musings against such a situation by Kent LaCroix, President of the Automobile Dealers Association (ADA) as stated in the article “Is Jamaica ready for Electric vehicles ?”, published Friday, October 01, 2010, The Jamaica Observer.

Back up a second. Did I just say “Hydrogen being sequestered from Diesel, E80 Gasoline or Kerosene”? Indeed I did folks. So the Republicans can relax. Republicans can still collect your “kickbacks” for lobbying on behalf of the Oil Industry, as although the Obama Administration has been seeking to wean the United States of America off a heavy diet of Oil and irresponsible behaviour of Big Oil during the DeepWater Horizon Explosion off the coast of Louisiana on Tuesday April 20^th 2010.

Senator Barack Obama, President of the United States of America, has not completely gone Green, despite an imposed six (6) month moratorium on Offshore Oil Exploration  as stated in the article “Obama signals tough stance on Oil Industry”, published Tuesday Jun 8, 11:25 am ET, By Russell Blinch and Rick Cowan, Yahoo! News and signaling an end to a dependence on Fossil Fuels as stated in the article “Obama: End depedence on fossil fuels”, published Wednesday June 2010, By JULIE PACE, Associated Press Writer, Yahoo! News.

People, read between the lines; the Democrats are not anti-Oil Industry, just anti-Middle East and Foreign Oil. BOTH the Democrats and Republicans agree that America’s dependence on Foreign Oil is the main reason why their Economy cannot grow and be as competitive with the People’s Republic of China and is in fact, the REAL reason why their exports are uncompetitive, much as is the case in Jamaica.

It is not all about unfair pegs on the Yuan as well as the People’s Republic of China blockade of their Food Exports to that Far East Country. These are political talk shops to create a scapegoat of the People’s Republic of China.

Politicians and policymakers on Capitol Hill know high Energy prices are the main reason why they cannot compete effectively against a country such as the People’s Republic of China, which is building coal fired Power plants every two (2) weeks, putting in place Hydro-Electric Power Plants to tame the Yellow River, constantly searching for Rare Earth Metals and even Methane Hydrates at great ocean depths as stated in the article “China builds base to tap deep-sea Energy: State Media”, published Friday August 27 2010, 1:23 am ET, BEIJING (AFP), Yahoo! News.

China is now making gestures that seem to be fuelling their ambitions to be kings in the All-Electric Vehicles Category, as they control 97% of the World’s exports on Rare Earth Metals as stated in the article “China clean tech's rare-earth advantage”, published August 12, 2010 5:37 AM PDT by Reuters, CNET News - Green Tech, critical to making All-Electric Vehicles, necessary for Gas guzzling America to wean themselves from Foreign Imported Oil.

So the United States of America has to get innovative as opposed to being worried or complaining along with the EU as stated in the article “U.S. and E.U. grapple with crunch in Rare Earth supplies”, published October 26, 2010 2:33 PM PDT by Reuters.

The People’s Republic of China cannot be trusted to fairly price Rare Earth Metals over which they clearly have a monopoly in terms of supply as stated in the article “Premier: China won't block rare earth exports”, published Friday October 8 2010 4:41 am ET, By ELAINE KURTENBACH, AP Business Writer, Yahoo! News, now with an impending Rare Earth Metals Crunch in 2012 AD.

Instead, they need to join forces with the Europeans and tap into the recently discovered equivalent of King Solomon’s Mines in Afghanistan for Rare Earth Metals as stated in the article “U.S. identifies vast mineral riches in Afghanistan”, published June 13, 2010 By JAMES RISEN, The New York Times.

This would be a follow-on (excuse the Cricket reference!) of the recent partnering of Japan and Vietnam to mine Rare Earth Metals as stated in article “Vietnam and Japan to mine Rare Earths together”, published Sunday October 31 2010 by Reuters, key to making Lithium Ion batteries, after the People’s Republic of China recently blocked exports of Rare Earth Metals to Japan as stated in the article “Traders: China halts Rare earth exports to Japan”, published Friday 24 September, 2010 by Associated Press.

Recycling Rare Earth Metals from old electronics gadgets is a must as stated in the article “Rare-Earth metal recycling needed to power Green Tech”, published May 17, 2010 7:31 AM PDT by Martin LaMonica, CNET News - Green Tech

A fact that, ironically, the Japanese have figured out, because wastewater coming out of the Japanese Industrial area is rich in Gold in concentrations higher than being extracted from their goldmines as stated in the article “Japan's sewers paved with gold”, published 2:59AM GMT 02 Feb 2009 by Danielle Demetriou in Tokyo, The Telegraph.

Within North America, Republicans, long friends with the Domestic Oil Industry, can ensure that Department of Energy and Department of Agriculture funding goes MAINLY to American Big Oil Companies to encourage the development of technology that creates synthetic alternatives to Foreign Imported Oil, such as the company Solazyme use of algae to process organic material to make Jet fuel “U.S. Navy buys 20,000 gallons of algae fuel”, published September 15, 2010 10:36 AM PDT by Candace Lombardi, CNET News - Green Tech along with numerous examples.

Republicans can also ensure that although new vehicles meet the EPA Standard of 62mpg (miles per gallon) as stated in the article “Autos would have to get 62mpg under new plan”, published October 2, 2010 6:00 AM PDT, by Reuters, CNET News - Green Tech.

They must also ensure a guarantee from the Automobile Industry and the Obama Administration that Motor Vehicles manufactured will employ not only Americans but also technology that consumes Oil produced by the Domestic Oil Industry, both Synthetic Oil produced from digestion of Bio-Mass as well as Offshore and Onland Oil and Natural Gas.

This raises the possibility of using Natural Gas for America Domestic Electricity Supply and in Flex Fuel engines of Motor Vehicles thanks in part to its endorsement by none other than Ernest Moniz, Director of the prestigious Engineering Institute, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) recently in Time Magazine, an American publication.

Ernest Moniz posits the fact that LNG deposits accounts for only 24% of the Electricity Generation within the United States of America, yet they possess 98% of the LNG that they use to generate this 24% electricity demand as stated in the article “Fuel of the Future ?”, published Sunday July 4 2010 by Dwight Bellanfante, Gleaner Writer The Sunday Gleaner. Here too, the Republicans and Democrats can find common ground.

This means that Motor Vehicles produced by the Auto Industry, which owes the Government of the United States of America nearly US$50 billion as stated in the article “GM will repay US$50b - US Gov't”, published A Friday, November 05, 2010, AFP, The Jamaican Observer can be stipulated to have automobiles made that are Range Extender Technology.

A technology where in which the vehicle coasts on battery Power at speeds below 80km/h before it switches to a silent Flex Fuel Generator that continues to Power the four (4) motors on each wheel at speeds in excess of 80km/h or when the batteries run low as stated in the article “Chevy Volt's engine more than just a Generator”, published October 11, 2010 2:32 PM PDT, by Wayne Cunningham, CNET News - The Car Tech blog.

This is akin to a Hybrid Vehicle, except that in a Hybrid Vehicle, the Engine drives the vehicle directly, instead of converting the mechanical motion of a fossil fuel based engine to electricity to drive electrical motors, a process that is more efficient, as the Power goes directly to the wheels, as opposed to being transferred by an axel, effectively losing Power due to the vehicles weight, friction force both with the road as well as internal mechanical and inertia when still or in motion [Isaac Newton’s First Law of Motion].

Converting the Chemical Energy of Gasoline to Electrical Energy to Power the four (4) motors on each wheel is more efficient, with the All-Electric Vehicle becoming inefficient at high speeds, as the All-Electric Vehicle, under its own momentum, requires no more extra force to keep it moving at constant velocity [Isaac Newton’s First Law of Motion], the extra Energy causing heating in the electrical motors. Solar panels on the sun roof of the All-Electric Vehicle, as in the case of the 2010 Nissan Leaf, take the load off the vehicles batteries and extend their charge considerably.

As such, the Generator is best designed to be a Flex Fuel Generator and the batteries can either be regular Lithium-Ion batteries as in the case of the 2011 Chevy Volt with its mathematically correct 300mpg as stated in the article “EPA negs Volt's 230 mpg fuel economy formula”, published July 15, 2010 11:15 AM PDT by Liane Yvkoff, CNET News - The Car Tech blog.

Or Hydrogen Fuel Cell based Batteries as in the case of the All-Electric Vehicle concept by automaker Volvo as stated in the article “Volvo developing a hybrid hydrogen-electric vehicle”, published November 5, 2010 10:01 AM PDT by Liane Yvkoff, CNET News - The Car Tech blog, with the Hydrogen being sequestered either from brine (read Sea Water!) or Gasoline via Dehydrogenation using a suitable catalyst.

Hybrid Vehicles would fill the rest of the void, also compliant to the new 62mpg regulation, with a bit of good advertising to shake off the so-called Sergei Brin Effect, wherein which Americans perceive Hybrids as luxury vehicles being only affordable by billionaires.

One thing is for certain, Tomorrow Never Dies (1997) for Big Oil in a World with All-Electric Vehicles that still have to consume Oil produced by the Domestic Oil Industry, both Synthetic Oil produced from digestion of Bio-Mass as well as Offshore and Onland Oil and Natural Gas.

Going the Natural Gas route for the American Power Utility Grid would make America easily able to switch to Hydrogen Gas extracted using Sea Water, with Potable Water, Table Salt and trace minerals such as Manganese as saleable byproducts.

Effectively becoming an Electron Economy powered by a Hydrogen Economy a modification of the published paper by Dr. Ulf Bossel entitled “Why a Hydrogen Economy doesn't make sense”, published December 11 2006, PhysOrg.com with Sea Water also being supplied by Big Oil Companies, ensuring that they are always in the Renewable Energy Framework, be it Fossil Fuels or Renewables.

Thus, this may be the basis of technical arguments that can be used to sway the Republicans in the Senate, as the move away from Fossil Fuels is not a complete cut from Fossil Fuels. Rather, it is a move away from Importation of Foreign based Oil from Saudi Arabia and the Middle East and a move towards a dependence on Domestic Fuel Supply from Big Oil Companies

The missing supplies from the Middle East being replaced by Alternative Energy in the form of large scale Solar, Wind, Synthetic Oils from Bio-Mass in a Renewable Energy Framework Partnership between Republican supported Big Oil and the Government of the United States of America.

Democrats, desperate to not only fix the American Economy and American employed and on the path towards sustained growth, should acceded to the above Renewable Energy Framework proposal as it ensures a win-win situation for all stakeholders.

As for the 2012 Elections, which the Democrats may lose, IF Senator Sarah Palin decided to run for President on the Republican Ballot, thus Republican support for this bipartisan issue will little influence voters choice come Election Day. Truly, Politics is a spectacle as we push towards a World where Tomorrow Never Dies (1997) for the Hydrogen Economy-Electron Economy.