Charlie Dent, Pathfinder

Hawkeye. Davy Crockett. LV Congressman Charlie Dent. That's right, baby, they're all Pathfinders.

Dent, a long-time proponent of alternative energy was this week awarded the 2011 Pathfinder Award from the Fuel Cell and Hydrogen Energy Association (FCHEA) for his advocacy concerning hydrogen energy.

“I am extremely proud to receive the 2011 Pathfinder Award from the Fuel Cell & Hydrogen Energy Association,” Dent said in a news release. “I am eager to work with the Association and the members of the Hydrogen & Fuel Cell Caucus to ensure the continued development of this critical, domestic clean energy.”

Dent is a founding member of the Hydrogen & Fuel Cell Caucus in Congress. He is an advocate for crucial programs that advance hydrogen and fuel cell technology development and deployment. Dent is also a leader in promoting tax credits for hydrogen fueling stations and fuel cells, which have been instrumental in the commercial deployment of fuel cell systems at leading corporations and educational institutions across the U.S.

“It is a great honor to have Rep. Dent fighting side by side with us in the battle to restore adequate funding for fuel cells and hydrogen energy” said Ruth Cox, President and Executive Director of FCHEA.

When the ceremony was over, Dent and Cox went for a ride in a blimp.

Lehigh County: Hydrogen the Fuel of the Future

"Hydrogen is arguably the most dangerous gas in a lab. If you don't take every precaution there will be an explosion, and it doesn't take a lot of H2 to cause a big bang. Of course when it does combust, it is much cleaner than gasoline, so when an entire station goes up, it's true, it will at least be a clean burn."

Those are my son's words. He's some kind of chemist or something. What the hell does a chemist know about hydrogen?

Local Congressman Charlie Dent is a co-founder of the House Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Caucus. He even wants to convert Route 78 into a hydrogen highway. Dent's congressional website tell us "Interstate 78 is uniquely situated and suited to be a gateway to the hydrogen economy - the Hydrogen Highway East." A hydrogen network will (1) decrease our dependence on foreign oil and fossil fuels; (2) protect our citizens and preserve our environment from the harmful effects of vehicle emissions; and (3) mitigate traffic and congestion.

Now Lehigh County appears to be jumping on the H2 express.

County Commissioner Percy Dougherty said he sees the Lehigh Valley as taking a leading role globally in the use and production of hydrogen, in part because of Air Products and Chemicals' work on the element. "It in my opinion is going to be the fuel of the future," said Dougherty.

BMW's Hydrogen Cars For Hydrogen Highway: Now All We Need are Hydrogen Pumps

No one disputes our global gas gauge is flickering on E. When we go dry is not exactly known, but oil is a nonrenewable energy source. There's only so much, and it's mostly foreign. Even the prez wants us to reduce gasoline consumption, and is proposing, for the first time in twenty years, that we improve mileage standards for our cars, SUVs and trucks.

Local Congressman Charlie Dent is a co-founder of the House Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Caucus. He wants to convert Route 78 into a hydrogen highway. Dent's congressional website tell us "Interstate 78 is uniquely situated and suited to be a gateway to the hydrogen economy - the Hydrogen Highway East." A hydrogen network will (1) decrease our dependence on foreign oil and fossil fuels; (2) protect our citizens and preserve our environment from the harmful effects of vehicle emissions; and (3) mitigate traffic and congestion.

BMW is betting on hydrogen, and has produced 100 factory-made hybrids. Leave it a foreign car company to come up with another alternative fuel. Here's some details from Pogue's Posts.

I asked if hydrogen could explode (think Hindenburg). The engineers responded that in Germany, they’ve tried shooting bullets at the tank, slamming a construction girder into it, and so on; liquid hydrogen may burn, but it doesn’t blow up. In that regard, it’s actually safer in a spill situation than gasoline.

Now, I’m well aware of how hostile some critics are to the concept of hydrogen cars. Their primary objection, of course, is the amount of energy that’s consumed (and pollution generated) in producing hydrogen in the first place.

BMW agrees that hydrogen cars are pointless unless the hydrogen itself is produced using clean, renewable energy sources: solar, wind, geothermal and so on. “At the beginning, some of it’s going to be nonrenewable,” said Dr. Ochmann, “but the percentage will increase.” (In the meantime, even if fossil fuels are used in the short term, at least the byproducts of burning them can theoretically be controlled at a single source.)

Another objection raised by an audience member: What about getting fillups? Our government is making a big push toward ethanol as a new fuel (despite dubious environmental prospects), but there are still only several hundred ethanol filling stations in the entire country. Isn’t the situation even worse for hydrogen pumps?

BMW reiterated that moving to hydrogen will be a long-term proposition. At the moment, in fact, there are only three hydrogen pumps in the U.S. (California and Washington, D.C.) “It will be a difficult process,” Dr. Ochmann said: “station by station, gas company by gas company.”

The point is that, as he put it, “This is a marathon, not a sprint.” Many pieces have to be put in place: governmental, public, technological and legal. “We all have to move together at the same time,” he concluded.

But BMW’s point, and I agree, is that at least the technology part of the auto-fuel problem has been solved.

Yes, yes, of course, taking hydrogen to the mainstream still requires staggering amounts of investment, legislation, policy, and political will. But from a purely technological standpoint, using today’s renewable power sources and liquid hydrogen, the balance sheet for the entire cycle, from hydrogen production to driving the cars, could reduce carbon-dioxide emissions by at least 90 percent, by BMW’s calculations.

Of course, BMW’s way isn’t the only way. There are many approaches to using hydrogen in cars, each with pros and cons, each exhibiting both recent breakthroughs and significant obstacles. (The Wikipedia.org entry on “hydrogen cars” offers an excellent, balanced and up-to-date presentation on the issue.)

Most car companies, in fact, are pursuing hydrogen fuel cells instead; they transform hydrogen into electricity, which then powers the car–or, in their current incarnation, underpowers it.

Plenty of people positively spit on BMW’s approach (here’s an example). But people like this are completely ignoring the fact that all of these experiments are in their earliest stages, and will improve.

Meanwhile, the biggest obstacles are presented by people’s attitudes, not technology: “Oh, that’ll never work.”

Guess what? It’s going to have to work. Sooner or later, hydrogen, or something like it, is all we’ll have to work with.

The Lehigh Valley Has a Mass Transit Crisis

Yesterday, in Easton's City Council Chambers, LANTA conducted the first of three public hearings before it raises fares and cuts our bus service. It's simply amazing. Just a few weeks ago, at least 170 of the Lehigh Valley's movers and shakers nibbled on brie and sipped chardonnay as the Brookings' Robert Puentes talked about rail. He made clear that no form of transportation, including buses, should be ignored.

Our local Congressman, Charlie Dent, is a co-founder of the House Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Caucus, and actually wants to convert Route 78 into a hydrogen highway. Even the prez wants us to reduce gasoline consumption, and is proposing, for the first time in twenty years, that we improve mileage standards for our cars, SUVs and trucks.

In addition to this increasing interest in alternative transportation, LANTA's bus ridership is up 60% since '97. Alternative transportation is finally in, bippy.

And this is where the land of midnight payraises enters this story. Incredibly, the state legislature has no solution for a transportation funding crisis. LANTA may have to raise fares and cut service while Harrisburg drones on about property tax reform for another year.

Public hearings on LANTA's proposal will be held again today at Noon at the Lehigh County Government Center in Allentown, and tomorrow at Noon in Bethlehem's City Hall. If you can't attend a noon meeting like most of us, you can let LANTA know how you feel on its website.

Steve Schmitt, the local director of our coalition for alternative transportation, claims he can't write. But he summed things up nicely in an email being circulated everywhere. "This is a crisis. If our region can find the money to rebuild a $12 million dollar bridge on Route 33 that falls into a sinkhole; if we can find the tens of millions of dollars it is going to take to redo the surface of Route 78 that needs unusual repair right now, if we can find $1.5 million to run a constant emergency service on Route 22 for people that run out of gas, if we can find the $750,000 to replace the lights on cemetery curve, then we can find the $1.6 million to prevent a deficit at LANTA."

And how about a bike rack at the judges' $46 (and climbing) million Taj Mahal in Easton!