The town of Holly Springs, GA (pop. 3195) will soon begin adding a fuel surcharge to speeding tickets issued by local police. Speeders caught in this north Atlanta suburb will have to pay an additional $12 on top of the cost of their fine, effective July 1st. According to Holly Springs Police Chief, Ken Ball, the surcharge is being implemented to offset out of control gasoline prices which have already eaten up 60% of the police department’s fuel budget for 2008.

Holly Springs big neighbor to the south, the City of Atlanta, could well be next, with its City Council having just passed, 13-0, a proposal to add a $10 - $15 fuel charge to speeding tickets and other moving violations. Police Chief Ball in Holly Springs says he has been inundated with calls from law enforcement colleagues around the country all looking for a way to shore up budgets which have been thrown for a loop by the record high price of gasoline. So look out for the fuel surcharges to make their way to your area in the near future.

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Honda Motor Corporation is on the verge of limited release of its new hydrogen powered automobile, the FCX Clarity. The new alternative energy vehicle will be leased to residents of the Southern California cities of Irvine, Torrance and Santa Monica starting this summer.

The FCX Clarity runs off of an electric motor powered by a fuel cell that converts hydrogen and oxygen into electricity. The car has a range of 270 miles before refueling with hydrogen fuel and can reach a top speed of around 100 mph. Best of all the FCX Clarity produces Zero Emissions, making it about as environmentally friendly as a car can get. With Honda creating the car to use hydrogen, the most abundant substance in the universe, as a clean energy source, the final significant hurdle that remains is finding a viable, environmentally sound way to produce hydrogen fuel, a feat that has evaded scientists and engineers up to now.

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