There are a lot of factors that people and the so called "experts" have not factored in if or when we move into the hydrogen economy. This article and the one which California was going to start taxing "by the mile" are just hints of what is coming in the future. There are going to be a lot of unforseen challenges going forward. The same process happened when we migrated from a primarily agrarian society in the 18th and 19th century to an industrial society. Lots of upheaval and uncertainty, and it actually gave way for the rise of Karl Marx and communism.

Who knows what the future will bring? Just be prepared for a lot of unsettled times and a lot of unanswered questions.

This reminds me of a bumper sticker often placed on the winter vehicle of Harley Davidson riders. It says: Loud Pipes Save Lives. It is true that people driving automobiles claim to not see motorcycles and bikes, so I understand the concern with one being too quiet. They should allow owners to select from variety of sounds, like loon calls, cat purr, wind blowing through pine trees, orcas, something other than a motor sound.

AzDesert; I've just been struggling to understand how a fuel cell bike will bring on a resurgence of Communism...but at $8300 per copy it may not be an issue.

Althea; a loon call, nice touch...my wife is from Mn.
David

Wood winds...how awesome to hear music like that, but not the loud tween music...please!

We have loons on our pond in Maine. I love the sound of their call,too.

AZDesertRat..I wasnt quite sure where you were headed with that statement about Marxism, too.
I do agree we are headed for a unknown future, such as life has been since the beginning of time.
The times do seem to be more acclerated, perhaps a bit more difficult to keep in stepwith, educating ourselves and others is the only thing that comes to mind, try to keep our little piece of this world as healthy as we can afford, and be kind to each other.

I don't think the fuel cell bike is going to lead to Communism, Socialism or any other "ism" for that matter. The questions brought up by the bike are questions that are going to have to be answered in the future. The problem is simple--the bike is too quiet. That isn't a problem I see with Harley's or other bikes on the road today. There are actually a few noise ordinances in parts of the Valley here which consider them a nuisance. So now you have a nice quiet bike which may be dangerous because you can't alert other drivers of their presence. What happens when we get fuel cell cars? Are they going to have the same issue?

All I am saying is that a transformation to a hydrogen economy will leave us with questions that we never thought of before. What will happen to the oil companies like Exxon Mobil, Chevron and others? What will OPEC do--export water? OK, we can care less about the fates of oil companies and OPEC nations, but these are the types of questions that will come up. And what will Monte do?

Yeah, I used to worry about what would happen to the world when electric bulbs replaced gas lights and before that gas lights replacing coal-oil lamps (Gawd! We're all going to be blown to Kingdom Come!) My brother nearly lost it over the worry about all those smithies loosing work to those horseless carriages. You know though, those changes did accompany the rise of Socialism and communisms and the decline of royalty. Another conspiracy perhaps?

Marshall, the upheaval from the farm based economy to the industrial society in the 19th century caused a lot of problems in our society and others in Europe. Around the same time the car started going in the 1920's, it was immediately followed by the Great Depression. Must have been all of the smith's going out of business.

All I am saying is be prepared for the unexpected questions that will crop up. A bike being too quiet is just the tip of the iceberg. It doesn't mean the end of the world is near. There are more than enough things going on the world to that without any help.

Everything is changing. People are taking their comedians seriously and the politicians as a joke.
---Will Rogers

Aren't regular old-fashioned leg powered bikes quiet too? Speaking of which, exercise is a good thing.

Also, the highly touted H consuming fuel cell can (and likely will) use fossil fuels as a source to get their H fix.

Will Rogers....kind of ironic...He lost his life on the North Slope of Alaska near the oil places.

Today I went into the lobby to get change for laundry ( on the raod traveling) and I noticed that soda was a buck and water was 1.50! Goodness, and what the heck happened so quickly that what was once taken forgranted is more expensive than a soft drink?!

So with that thought, yes, I think piping water with all that oil equipment would be necessary in the future and most likely more profitable as our exisitance depends on it.

Wouldnt it be nice if water pipelines went to Oz and Az and any country in need of fresh water( which seems to be many).

As far as Monte, I hope he can afford to retire and live well before that time if ever occurs, or help pipe water around the world :)

ironic

Interesting Vgkg about manual bikes. This quiet motorcycle seems unamerican and I'm sure our great leaders will recognize this and take action to protect our morals and american way of life. I see the time coming when we will have quiet ordinances and quiet restrictions on vehicles. Pull over, Mam, I'm citing you for disturbing the noise!

Yup, we'd better nip this one in the bud before it corrupts the children of this great nation. Mandate playing cards on the spokes of childrens bikes so they learn patriotism early.

And what will Monte do?

The future Monte will still be finding and pumping oil long after people quit using it as an everyday fuel. He and his wealthy descendants will be selling naturally occurring organic crude oil at $500 per bbl to those who need lubricants for all those very expensive alternative fuel engines burning very espensive fuels. Hydrogen, alcohol, and bio-diesel are lousy lubricants and the synthetic silicone based alternatives would make every greeny shiver with great trepidation at their potential harm.

As a sideline, the future Monte will use his accumulated oil and gas fortune to get into the lucrative business of transporting and selling plain old tap water to all the idiots willing to pay several times more for bottled water with a fancy label and French name than they do for an equivalent volume of gasoline, just like the bottling companies of today.

Monte, I expected that kind of answer from you (I don't even know why I asked). It is pretty rediculous that it costs $3 for 16oz of water (designer types) while gasoline is hitting $2.30 over here. Makes you wonder what is worth more.

I forgot about the lubricants side. I guess hydrogen doesn't address that aspect of it. My car uses synthetic oil for lubrication--I don't know what is in it, but that is what they tell me to put in there. The dealership changes and replaces it every 15,000 miles.

The synthetic motor oils sold for use in automobiles are composed of exactly the same materials as conventional motor oils. The only difference is the refinery distills the crude oil and separates it into all its components and then recombines them to manufacture the synthetic motor oil using only those components that are most effective as lubricants.

Conventional motor oils undergo much less refining, and as a result, contain other components that reduce the effectiveness and the useful life as a lubricant. In particular, many of the more reactive aromatics and related components remain. They breakdown and oxidize under the heat and pressure of the engine to produce reaction products that are damaging to the engine and the lubricating ability of the oil.

The synthetic lubricants I mentioned are silicone based oils. They are virtually indestructable and totally nonbiodegradable. Although not particularly toxic that I am aware, just like natural organic crude oil, silicone lubricants simply to not go away and are difficult, grading to impossible, to remove with anything, unlike natural organic crude oil and the related refined oils. Silicone oils are limited to extreme lubrication applications were their extreme high and low temperature tolerance, nonreactive nature, flame resistance, and electrical nonconductivity are distinct advantages.