Or we could just start drilling for oil...

I suscribe to several e-newsletters having to do with alternative energy and transit. In the last couple of years I have seen the amount of news coming from the alternative energy industry increase ten-fold. What used to be a monthly email with a couple of little blurbs about a government grant here, or an increase in efficiency there has turned into a lengthy list of major advances. This is bittersweet for me. I'm pleased that we're making huge advances in alternative energy. I'm not so pleased that none of these major breakthroughs are occurring in Kansas City. Here is just a partial list of this month's news bits from the November issue of Fuel Cell Technology Update: FTA Awards $49 Million in Grants for Hydrogen Fuel Cell Bus Development. The Federal Transit Authority announced $49 million in federal grants for projects to explore new ways to successfully commercialize hydrogen fuel cell buses. Three nonprofit organizations from around the country were competitively selected: the Center for Transportation and the Environment in Atlanta, the Northeast Advanced Vehicle Consortium in Boston and Westart/CALSTART of Pasadena, California. http://www.fta.dot.gov/news/news_events_5830.html Hmmm. That's $49 Million not coming to Kansas City. DOE Announces $100 Million for R&D Projects. DOE is providing $100 million for 25 hydrogen research and development projects. The cost of the projects will total approximately $127 million, with the additional $27 million covered by the applicants. The new projects will focus on fuel cell membranes; water transport within the stack; advanced cathode catalysts and supports; cell hardware; innovative fuel cell concepts; the effects of impurities on fuel cell performance and durability; and fuel cell demonstration projects to build international and intergovernmental partnerships. States with organizations that have received awards include Alabama, California, Connecticut, Illinois, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Washington. http://www.energy.gov/news/4401.htm Thirteen states! Missouri nowhere to be found. Yes folks, we're being outdone by Alabama... Rolls-Royce Launches US Subsidiary. Rolls-Royce has launched a subsidiary, Rolls-Royce Fuel Cell Systems (US) Inc., in the United States and announced a partnership with Ohio-based American Electric Power (AEP). Effective immediately, Rolls-Royce Fuel Cell Systems (US) Inc. will operate its business on the campus of the Stark State College of Technology in Canton, Ohio, in the Fuel Cell Prototyping Center constructed earlier this year. http://www.rolls-royce.com/media/showPR.jsp?PR_ID=40393 Okay Tiger and Jayhawk fans. MU and KU are being outdone by a place called Stark State? I certainly can't promise to make Kansas City the alternative energy mecca of the world, but I can certainly bring industry attention here. How? Glad you asked! Check this out: CONFERENCES GenerationFC 2006. GenerationFC 2006: Shaping the Southern Fuel Cell Economy will be held December 4-6, 2006, in Atlanta, Georgia. For conference details, please visit http://www.sfcc.tv/genfc.html. 2nd Fuel Cells Durability & Performance. The 2nd Fuel Cells Durability & Performance conference will be held December 6-8, 2006, at the Wyndham Resort & Conference Center in Miami Beach, Florida. For conference details, please visit http://www.knowledgefoundation.com/. FC Expo 2007. The 3rd International Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Expo will take place February 7-9, 2007, at Tokyo Big Sight in Tokyo, Japan. For details, please visit http://www.fcexpo.jp/english/. H207 Exhibition and Conference. The H207 exhibition and conference will be held in Aberdeen, Scotland, on May 23-24, 2007. For information, please go to http://www.h207.com/. Not every convention we attract to Kansas City needs to be a huge affair. Sometimes a small convention can be an opportunity to market our town to potential industries. Trust me. I know my way around a technical conference. I speak fluent Nerd. I can connect with these people. Give me a captive audience and a chance to sell Kansas City and I will close the deal. Just one more thing I think your councilman should do for you. Make sense?