February 8th, 2010
Does Obama have Fiduciary Responsibilities for Hydrogen Convergence?
As we awake this morning, there are families still without electricity because of record setting snow fall. This may be an act of God but it is also something that could have been foreseen. The question then becomes does President Barack Obama have a fiduciary responsibility to invest more in hydrogen convergence to alleviate the kind of pain and suffering we saw this weekend.
While electricity maybe unavailable for residents and businesses in the affected areas, they probably still have their Internet access (i.e., once power returns). One of the reasons is because of a design concept called “alternative path.” Literally, this means bringing communications lines into different sides of the building which provides redundancy.
The problem with the Obama administration’s cleantech strategy is that it does not provide for an alternative path. All of the new power generation will enter the home and/or business through the same portal. Hydrogen Convergence is the only cleantech alternative that can bring electricity in through the garage or through the natural gas infrastructure.
What price should the White House put on the pain and suffering caused by natural disasters? How should the Congressional Budget Office accrue for the loss of life due to exposure that could have been prevented by early investment in hydrogen convergence? If President Obama truly believes in the threat of climate change then why would he oppose hydrogen infrastructure that could protect working and middle class families?
Zachary Alexander
Concepts: alternative path, electricity, hydrogen, Internet, natural disastersFebruary 5th, 2010
Why has NASA failed to Answer Call for Hydrogen Convergence?
There is a global competition going on to produce the first commercial hydrogen fuel cell aircraft. Examples of it can be seen on the Hydrogen Convergence YouTube channel. Unfortunately, NASA has not publicly entered the fray. NASA is by far the biggest consumer of hydrogen and hydrogen technology in the United States but it has not devoted any resources to help maintain America’s competitiveness.
Today Buzz Aldrin of Apollo 11 fame shed some light on the delay. In a Huffington Post article, Mr. Aldrin described the colossal system failure which has left the National Aeronautics and Space Administration a shell of its former self. Working and middle class Americans will not be shocked to hear the story of one more ponzi scheme that has robbed them of yet another critical asset.
President Barack Obama in his Fiscal Year 2011 budget has increased substantially funding for Earth Sciences Programs. However, President Obama has done nothing to help the United States remain competitive in the race to develop the first commercial hydrogen fuel cell aircraft. This task has been left to service members in the Air Force and Navy to handle with monies they’ve scrounged.
The plight of America’s Aviation Industry cannot be blamed on the Department of Energy. It can’t be dismissed as just another example of Secretary Chu not believing in hydrogen convergence. This actually points to a much bigger concern that was voiced by Frank Borman, another NASA pioneer, in a different time when he spoke of a “failure of imagination.”
Zachary Alexander
Concepts: Air Force, aviation, hydrogen, NASA, Navy, ObamaFebruary 4th, 2010
Lets Talk Hydrogen Convergence for 02/04/10
Episode 14: Introducing the Hydrogen Convergence Airports Initiative, Now Entering a Platinum Free Zone, Algae World Europe and other Hydrogen Convergence Events
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
February 3rd, 2010
Hydrogen Convergence of Obama’s Plans for NASA
We at the ebTDesign Forum enthusiastically support President Barack Obama’s plans for NASA as long at they include funding for hydrogen convergence at airports. If the funding will only support the development of “spaceports” then it will be just another step toward a very slippery slope that disenfranchises small town Americans. We see airport improvement as an additional challenge NASA must address in order to fully realize commercial space flight.
National policy is most effective when it takes into account regional differences. Any plan that only benefits coastal states ignores the economic reality of lack luster job growth which confronts the nation as a whole. Unless, we can hold the center of the country and not abandon it to outside interests, then the working and middle class will never recover.
As we discussed in yesterday’s blog segment, airports enable lifestyle choices that greatly benefit hometown communities. They allow small town sea turtles to return to the communities they grew up in without giving up the face time required for establishing and growing business relationships. These are the same relationships that can be invaluable to the overall health and welfare of rural regions.
NASA Administrator Charles Bolden spoke of President Obama’s desire to enhance the focus on commercial partnerships. We at the ebTDesign Forum would also like to remind Administrator Bolden of NASA’s other middle name which is Aeronautics. Any NASA plan that does not include at least some programs like hydrogen convergence which benefit aviation and airport systems does not live up to the historic spirit of this storied organization.
Zachary Alexander
Concepts: airports, hydrogen, NASA, Obama, sea turtlesFebruary 2nd, 2010
Hydrogen Convergence delivers twice the Value for Airports
As readers of the ebTDesign Forum and loyal twitter followers know, hydrogen convergence will provide airport management and airlines with a hedge against radical changes in energy prices. Hydrogen Convergence will also provide the air traveling public and surrounding community with reduced noise pollution.
Many in the cleantech sector can cite the benefits of hydrogen convergence as a means of reducing the carbon footprint of a given facility. But very few are as quick to recognize the benefits of noise reduction when building their case for early investment. This is understandable because most non-readers can only visualize fuel cell usage in airplanes at airports.
Noise restrictions limit the development of prime commercial real estate. Adjacent properties are made unviable because of sound proofing requirements. These limitations cost local communities millions and even tens of millions in potential tax revenues and multiplies airport expansion costs by increasing land use requirements.
Further, busy executives would cherish the opportunity of living closer to airports. This would reduce their commutes and positively enhance their lifestyle choices. Put simply, any significant noise reduction would immediately increase the property value of surrounding neighborhoods and benefit all involved.
Zachary Alexander
Concepts: airports, fuel cell, hydrogen, noise reductionFebruary 1st, 2010
Exploring Hydrogen Convergence Onramps at Airports
The ebTDesign Forum is proud to announce a new Hydrogen Convergence Airports initiative. As loyal readers and twitter followers, you know that aviation and airport operations were suggested as one of the top three hydrogen convergence onramps. Onramps are points of market entry that provide the best opportunity for cleantech mass market success.
We have not given up on hydrogen cars. But we have become frustrated with the direction that the hydrogen fuel cell vehicle market has taken. Automakers have decided to combine their hybrid, electric vehicle (EV), and hydrogen car marketing strategies. This has resulted in increased market confusion and the glossing over of hydrogen car benefits.
Selling hydrogen cars as hybrids ignores the competitive advantages that hydrogen convergence brings to the marketplace. We at the ebTDesign Forum believe that this market confusion caused by the automakers will delay adoption of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles and put the United States Economy at risk. It is the inevitable, sometimes radical, increases in energy prices that will keep job growth slow and lead to the next economic decline.
Airports and the aviation system provide certain low-hanging fruit that could potentially overcome the hydrogen car delay. As you know, there is transportation in around airports. This includes buses, taxies, and limos. There are the snowplows and baggage movers. The baggage movers are of particular interest because there may be an opportunity to reuse the hydrogen fuel cell terminal tractor that is being developed by Capacity of Texas and Vision Industries or the Navy’s “yard dog” platform.
Zachary Alexander
Concepts: airports, aviation, cars, fuel cell, hydrogenJanuary 29th, 2010
Cleaning up reformed hydrogen using Algal Carbon Sequestration
We at the ebTDesign Forum are big proponents of using natural gas infrastructure to jumpstart the hydrogen convergence process. The biggest knock against using natural gas as a feed stock is the production of CO2 as a byproduct. This argument against hydrogen convergence may be mute with the advent of Algal Carbon Sequestration.
Algal Carbon Sequestration is a method of producing algae by channeling smokestack carbon dioxide emissions through pools of algae. This would in theory capture the CO2 emitted during steam methane reforming and turn it into a zero emissions cleantech process. Hopefully, it will also cause natural gas producers to more actively support hydrogen convergence.
At the ebTDesign Forum, we have been following the conference updates for the 2nd Annual Algae World Europe in hopes hearing about sessions that would cover CO2 sequestration. Yesterday just such an announcement occurred. Dr. Ami Ben-Amotz will discuss his experience with Algal Carbon Sequestration when he was at Seambiotic. Dr. Ben-Amotz is a pioneer in turning marine algae into high value products. Readers and twitter followers are encouraged to stay tuned for future updates.
Zachary Alexander
Concepts: algae, carbon sequestration, cleantech, hydrogenJanuary 28th, 2010
Lets Talk Hydrogen Convergence for 01/28/10
Episode 13: Confronting the future electricity usage after hydrogen convergence; Reader feedback to cap and trade arbitrage segment; Prizes for the 5th annual Hydrogen Student Design Contest and other Hydrogen Convergence Events
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
January 27th, 2010
Hydrogen Convergence of Internet Scale Applications
During the dotcom boom, there was a special kind of distributed application that could handle millions of online simultaneous users. This kind of service was dubbed an “internet scale application” by those of us who built the infrastructure for them. It required a different kind of network thinking and a willingness to try things that had never been tried before.
We at the ebTDesign Forum suggest that hydrogen convergence will need the same level of design and engineering effort. Further, we propose that the companies which pioneered the Internet Scale Applications have provided us with models for rapidly deploying game-changing infrastructure. They have also shown us the sand traps where investment dollars can get lost.
Yesterday’s Internet mavericks like AOL, Netscape, and Yahoo gave way to today’s giants like Google, Facebook and Twitter. Today’s icons of American innovation will undoubtedly pass the torch to tomorrow’s hydrogen infrastructure success stories. It is a part of the post-Globalization transition that will produce the next wave of sustainable job growth.
These new stewards of the “internet scale mindset” will need to solve the challenges associated with hydrogen convergence of the national highway system, the international air transport system and global maritime operations. They will be honored with the task of restoring the possibility for achieving the American Dream and living American Ideals. Just like those who have come before them.
Zachary Alexander
Concepts: American Ideals, hydrogen, post-GlobalizationJanuary 26th, 2010
Hydrogen Convergence via Cap and Trade Arbitrage
As readers and twitter followers know, we at the ebTDesign Forum do not believe that “cap and trade” is the best way to reduce carbon output and avoid climate change. We believe that hydrogen convergence is a more pro-growth alternative that provides much needed protection for the consumer. However, we do acknowledge the potential benefits of cap and trade arbitrage.
“Arbitrage” is the financial engineering practice of taking advantage of market differences to produce short-term profits. In this case, the United States could attract foreign direct investment for hydrogen infrastructure projects in return for carbon credits that could be used in the investor’s home market. Since carbon credits would be assessed internationally, the United States Congress need not take action for this strategy to work.
For those that are new to the climate change debate “cap and trade” is a market approach for controlling carbon output. It is also called by some more simply the “carbon market.” The assumption is that climate change is a global process that can be accelerated by the emission of carbon byproducts. Thus, carbon emitters are penalized and carbon reducers are rewarded.
Cap and Trade arbitrage would pit countries that are slow to react to the growth of the global carbon market against the need to fund carbon reduction applications like hydrogen convergence. Traditionally, this arbitrage was meant to be played out between rich countries and poor countries. However, this doesn’t take into account the post-Globalization landscape and the political risk associated with emerging economies.
Zachary Alexander
Concepts: arbitrage, cap and trade, hydrogen, political riskJanuary 25th, 2010
Electricity usage after Hydrogen Convergence
Many of the people we talk to about hydrogen convergence ask us about what will happen to electricity after hydrogen convergence. The answer is that electricity will become the Internet equivalent of Bluetooth or Wi-Fi. It will be used inside buildings and cars but it will no longer be used for long-haul energy distribution.
As readers of the ebTDesign Forum and twitter followers know, the electricity supply industry is a highly regulated industry. At the Federal level, there is the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and each individual state has its own electricity oversight bureaucracy. This means that any new innovation must first clear political hurdles before it can be sold to consumers.
Hydrogen Convergence on the other hand is an unregulated market which means that buyers and sellers are allowed to exchange value without government intervention. New hydrogen applications and production enhancements will flow to where they are most wanted without the need to hire a lobbyist or wait for a decade while the decision works its way through the courts.
Enterprising entrepreneurs will no doubt find ways of extricating themselves from the regulated electricity supply industry and stake their hydrogen convergence claims on the post-Globalization frontier. Once the direct and indirect subsidies for big coal are reduced, then the profitability of the electricity supply industry will evaporate so will its dominance.
Zachary Alexander
Concepts: hydrogen, post-Globalization, unregulated marketJanuary 22nd, 2010
Colonizing the US DOE via the Merit Review Process
The Department of Energy (DOE) is holding a workshop on merit based peer review best practices on January 26, 2010. This workshop will define how the success standards will be arrived at for hydrogen convergence programs. At the ebTDesign Forum, we propose that the best way to grow the hydrogen convergence colony within the DOE is to support their successes.
Further, we reason that the best way to ensure that the DOE successes meet the needs of the hydrogen convergence community is to actively participate in the merit review process. We will contact the DOE and request that the reference material be placed on the internet for continued study and devote space to publishing explanatory content.
Zachary Alexander
Concepts: colony, DOE, hydrogen, merit reviewJanuary 21st, 2010
Lets Talk Hydrogen Convergence for 01/21/10
Episode 12: Resetting the Wage Scale with Hydrogen Convergence; Bringing home more Small Town Sea Turtles; How should we promote the ARPA-E Innovation Summit and other Hydrogen Convergence Events?
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
January 20th, 2010
Hydrogen Convergence via Small Town Sea Turtles
As long time readers know, we at the ebTDesign Forum are big fans of the sea turtle concept employed by the Chinese. Young Chinese nationals go overseas for education and then return home to raise families. We at the ebTDesign Forum propose using this same strategy to reinvigorate rural communities.
The United States has outstanding research universities and other educational opportunities in our large cities. So there is a natural internal migration that takes place with many young adults. The problem has always been how to entice these young people to return home to raise families.
At the ebTDesign Forum, we suggest the answer is hydrogen convergence. Assuming reduced dependence on foreign oil will free up monies for deployment of high-speed Internet access, small town sea turtles could continue their careers and contribute to America’s success in the post-Globalization marketplace.
Like the frontier of the late 1800’s, rural communities need the skills and energy that young families can bring with them when they return. These young adults will benefit in the long run from the slower pace of life and more time to spend with their families. They will also thrive on the economic spillover from hydrogen convergence and once again be allowed to live American Ideals.
Zachary Alexander
Concepts: American Ideals, hydrogen, post-Globalization, sea turtlesJanuary 19th, 2010
Hydrogen Convergence should really be about Big Rig Trucks
One of the things that we at the ebTDesign Forum find most confusing about the mainstream media’s coverage of hydrogen convergence is their pre-occupation with small successes. The DOE released an RFP for a hydrogen storage system for the Yard Dog. It’s just a matter of time before some major media outlet talks about the innovation behind a hydrogen powered yard tractor.
Unfortunately too little coverage will probably be given to the work being done at the Port of Los Angeles on the hydrogen big rig truck. Where is the RFP for additional innovation on 18 wheelers and hydrogen refueling stations to support them? While the Navy is an honorable client, small trucking companies need much more protection from radical changes in energy prices.
There was a lot of discussion about hydrogen forklifts this summer during the debate about continuing the funding for hydrogen car research. However, there was very little talk about long-haul truckers and how they are being crushed by energy costs. Solving the problems of a large economy like the United States requires big solutions like hydrogen convergence and the people in small town America deserve them.
PS: The Navy will benefit too.
Zachary Alexander
Concepts: big rig, DOE, hydrogen, NavyJanuary 18th, 2010
Why Americans need New Hydrogen Convergence Jobs
Many readers who have just learned of the hydrogen convergence movement ask why America needs hydrogen convergence jobs. They want to know why early investment in the GreenTech Sector is so important. Prudence would suggest that the United States wait to until things pan out before committing. The answer is avoidance of “factor price equalization.”
Factor price equalization is the downward pressure placed on wages in industrialized countries by the post-Globalization marketplace. In a multinational market, the means of production like labor will eventually become approximately the same. This helps developing and emerging economies approach the same standard of living as industrialized countries.
Unregulated hydrogen convergence will lead to unrestricted innovation on the same order as the Internet Revolution. This will create new jobs and new industry off-ramps into the GreenTech Sector. The participants in these new occupations will be able to charge a premium for there services.
The new hydrogen convergence jobs will reset the wage scale that factor price equalization has compressed. Whole regions of the country will be able to get off life support and contribute to the success of the United States in the post-Globalization marketplace. The working and middle class in communities that support GreenTech clusters will once again be able to live American Ideals.
Zachary Alexander
Concepts: American Ideals, GreenTech, hydrogen, post-GlobalizationJanuary 15th, 2010
Planning Hydrogen Convergence Events for GEW 2010
Last summer, we at the ebTDesign Forum published a blog segment on how hydrogen convergence could provide Global Entrepreneurship Week (GEW) with a sense of direction. GEW is a celebration of the entrepreneurial spirit that provides young people with additional career options. Last year’s event drew seven million participants in eighty-eight countries.
The rationale for promoting hydrogen convergence to the GEW community was based on the fact that people learn best from doing. Why read about the history of the Internet Revolution when they could participate in the GreenTech Revolution. Why talk about how a bunch of computer geeks got super wealthy and created a technology based class system. Besides, it’s always more fun to be one of the people who are in the know about a new technology movement like hydrogen convergence.
Colonizing GEW 2010 will take on even more importance because of the need to develop a new consensus on climate change and sustainable job growth in order to avoid creating a hydrogen divide. The hydrogen divide is a chasm that separates communities that are receiving the benefits from hydrogen convergence from the communities that aren’t. If the Internet Revolution is any example, then this year’s GEW participants could make major contribution to hydrogen convergence by 2015.
Zachary Alexander
Concepts: entrepreneurship, GEW, GreenTech, hydrogenJanuary 14th, 2010
Lets Talk Hydrogen Convergence for 01/14/10
Episode 11: How to value new hydrogen infrastructure projects; Paying family farmers to avoid the hydrogen divide; The ARPA-E Innovation Summit and other Hydrogen Convergence Events
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
January 13th, 2010
Paying Family Farmers to Grow Hydrogen Convergence
The key to the success of the GreenTech Revolution is attacking the direct and indirect subsidies that prop up the oil and coal industry. We at the ebTDesign Forum suggest that there is no bigger indirect subsidy than government agriculture spending. We propose redirecting current oil subsidies to offset the unfair advantage that it enjoys over the hydrogen convergence process.
The indirect subsidies fall into three categories. The first is fossil fuel used in tractors and other farm machinery to work the land. The second is diesel used in trucks and trains that carry foodstuff to market. Finally, bunker fuels used in air transport for carrying goods to foreign markets.
Family farmers could be incentivized for growing hydrogen convergence by providing them with benefits much like rural electrification during the Great Depression. They could receive preferential financing for purchasing tractors and other farm machinery powered by hydrogen fuel cells. Programs could be setup to encourage the leasing of onsite hydrogen production that farmers could then use in their new hydrogen fuel cell products.
Monies could be set aside for modifying existing bio-mass co-opts and new co-opts could be formed to produce local hydrogen from agriculture refuse. This would ensure that no hydrogen divide is created which would undermine the hydrogen convergence process. It would also help save the American Dream for family farmers who are under undue pressure from the post-Globalization marketplace.
Zachary Alexander
Concepts: family farmers, fuel cells, GreenTech, hydrogen, post-GlobalizationJanuary 12th, 2010
Applying Reed’s Law to Hydrogen Convergence
As readers of the ebTDesign Forum and twitter followers know, there is a big discussion about how best to deploy new hydrogen infrastructure. At times, this conversation can even become heated. For those that are new to this topic, most of these discussions can be split out into two competing strategies.
The first is a bi-coastal strategy which proposes the building of hydrogen convergence beachheads on both coasts and then working into the middle of the country. This strategy provides access to the wealthiest parts of the country first and leaves the rest of to be built out by the federal government. This is much like the current high-speed internet deployment.
The second is the industry cluster empowerment strategy which utilizes GreenTech clusters to develop unique mechanisms for developing and deploying hydrogen infrastructure. This strategy acknowledges regional differences and leverages them. It also assumes that local community leaders are the best judges of available resources and receptivity to individual financing options.
Reed’s Law is an assertion that the value of social networks can grow exponentially because of their ability to satisfy niche communities. Industry clusters are at their very hearts social networks. They take on the characteristics of the regions in which they are hosted. But they can also be subdivided without undermining the integrity of the whole.
This means that a thriving GreenTech cluster that is home to a wind community can also host a hydrogen convergence colony without much incremental expense. It also means that a subset of natural gas producers and unconventional natural gas producers in a given region can work together to reduce the cost of hydrogen production which benefits both.
Zachary Alexander
Concepts: GreenTech, hydrogen, industry cluster, social networks