eMvoy Blog: What's New in US Manufacturing Competitiveness

On June 29, 1956, President Eisenhower signed the Federal Aid-Highway Act of 1956, creating the interstate system. The development of the highway system has paved the way (ha!) for easy cross-country travel, fast shipping, and an excuse for people to create baffling roadside attractions. In terms of helping the country grow economically, the interstate is probably the single most important part of our infrastructure.

The Federal Highway Administration has been marking the anniversary all year with events and special articles on its website, including this compilation of road songs (your tax dollars at work). We’re marking the anniversary by…um, mentioning it, and by noting some important transport and energy related stories in the news.

1. Ethanol, ethanol, ethanol! The UK’s Independent has a handy rundown of the different types of ethanol, how they’re made, and a candid cost-benefit analysis of ramping up production. The Wall Street Journal (registration required) looks into the pros and cons of cellulosic ethanol, which is ethanol made from grass stalks, wood chips, and trash, rather than from corn-based ethanol (which is what most companies are interested in making).

2. Logistics Today has the dirt on a new hydraulic hybrid vehicle designed for delivery routes. It has a super-efficient diesel engine coupled with hydraulic pumps and storage tanks that store energy. Its fuel efficiency is 60-70% better than that of a standard delivery truck and it emits 40% less carbon dioxide. UPS is testing it in Detroit now.

3. The House of Representatives will vote on the Deep Ocean Energy Resources Act (DOER) as early as today. This bill would allow off-shore drilling to tap into the US’s massive natural gas reserves. The US has the largest natural gas reserves in the world… but pays more than anyone else, per head, for its natural gas. Congresspersons in Florida are concerned about potential impact extraction rigs might have on the tourism industry.

4. In September, Ford set a goal to start pumping out 250,000 hybrid engine vehicles (read: gasoline-electric) per annum by the year 2010. Today they’ve announced that’s not going to happen; the automaker, along with DaimlerChrysler and GM, has decided to focus on flex-fuel vehicles instead.

# posted by eMvoy @ 3:12 PM