Headlines: 23 June 2008

• Obama Camp Closely Linked with Ethanol: I'm going to have to disagree with Obama on this one. Subsidizing corn-based ethanol does little for the environment/sustainability/energy independence (Ethanol still causes pollution and the fertilizers used to grow corn are largely petroleum-based.) and raises food prices.
• Mugabe Rival Quits Zimbabwe Runoff, Citing Attacks: It's now entirely up to the international community to act.
• Is Israel Preparing to Bomb Iran?: It looks that way, but they shouldn't. Because when you engage in diplomacy instead of militarism, you get results like...
• ...North Korea invites media to nuclear plant blast: The six-party talks have resulted in the dismantling of the Yongbyon nuclear reactor.
• How George Carlin Changed Comedy: The irreverent stand-up comic is dead at 71.
• Getting to Know Jim Webb: Joe Klein says that veep "speculation is usually a waste of time. It is what political reporters do instead of reporting during the dead weeks after the primaries." What? My last two weeks of work isn't real journalism?
• The Warrior-Poets celebrate their 100th post:

FCX Clarity. A Solution to Our Gas Problems?

Lo and behold, Honda is making progress with our energy concerns over oil. In 2007, Honda released it's preview of its next generation vehicle: the FCX Clarity. What make this car so remarkable is that it only runs on hydrogen. It is a Zero Emissions Vehicle (ZEV). The only by-product it emits is water. No greenhouse gases here. Some might remember the stunt J. Leno did when he actually drank the water that came out of the tailpipe.

But let's not get overly excited about this car yet. Currently you can only get it in three Southern California towns (Torrance, Santa Monica, Irvine). They will only be leased because the hydrogen refueling infrastructure is not built up enough to have these cars driving around anywhere else.

If you are wondering how fast this thing can really go, you'll be surprised to know that the FCX Clarity easily reaches 100 mph and talk about gas mileage, the FCX Clarity can go 270 miles on one tank. That's about 68 miles per gallon or double what most cars get today. But what about refueling? Well, the researchers at Honda are working on that. While construction is underway for hydrogen refueling stations, Honda is developing a possible in home refueling station. The plan is for the station to take natural gas and convert it into hydrogen so it refuels the car in a garage or outside. The other benefit is that it will power our home with the excess energy.

The interior of this beauty is none the less brilliant. It is very flashy with a futuristic look. It can easily fit four. Test drivers found the layout of the panel easy to read and it was quieter than anything they have ever ridden. The FCX Clarity comes with all of the features one would expect from Honda such as their navigation system and even a built in i-Pod dock.

Honda is not the only car company that has developed a fuel-cell vehicle. BMW recently released its version of a hydrogen powered car.

The FCX Clarity is exciting a lot of people and Honda hopes that by 2010 it will be available to the majority of the country.