By Robert L. Candiotti

I am not an expert on the Las Vegas Monorail.

Still, as a regular - and an appreciative - rider of the Las Vegas Monorail (I take it several times each week south and north between home and work), and because this has resulted in extensive personal experience with the many pluses offered by the monorail, I can see the lack of extension to McCarran International Airport was like the monorail being pushed out of its elevated nest in 2004 to fly with only one wing.

I wonder if it is still possible for a "second wing" of a McCarran Airport track extension to be attached so Las Vegas Monorail can fly up to its potential.

For elucidation on this subject, kindly forward to www.greenairport.net/id16.html 

 

By Robert L. Candiotti

A few days ago, on July 19, at a 40th anniversary reunion of the crew of the first Moon landing, two of the journey's astronauts said space explorers' eyes should be on Mars, rather than the Moon.

Speaking at Washington, D.C.'s National Air and Space Museum, Apollo 11 crew-members Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins said Mars is more compelling, and the Red Planet should be today's revised goal for solar system exploration.

For some reason, this brought the competing Anaheim-Las Vegas maglev and the Victorville-Las Vegas DesertXpress to my mind.

I realized - as the Apollo 11 crew have a passion for Mars, because they want to see another big step - I have a passion for the CA-NV maglev.

Like flying again to the Moon, building a fast train (150 mph) between Las Vegas and Victorville is probably possible. But a magnetically levitated (300 mph) train between Las Vegas and Anaheim (almost to the Pacific ocean) is much more exciting and reflective of an imaginative future.

Collins said Mars is more interesting than the Moon. I see his point.

Maglev is distinctly more interesting than DesertXpress.

By Robert L. Candiotti

In a July 16, 2009, article by Frances McCabe in the Las Vegas Review-Journal titled "Reid's switch draws fire," a spokesman for Nevada Senator Harry Reid made little sense.

The story centers around statements by Bruce Aguilera, chairman of the pro-maglev California-Nevada Super Speed Train Commission, that Senator Reid's new support of the DesertXpress fast-train project between Las Vegas and Victorville, California, has occurred because a powerful Republican supporter of Reid - Sig Rogich - is affiliated with the DesertXpress rail line.

Right now, the CA-NV maglev and DesertXpress groups are both competing for approval of their modern train concepts.

The competition is understandably intense. Either design would be a huge ground transportation undertaking. There is doubt both high-speed train routes can be approved. Probably just one or the other can prevail.

However, a Harry Reid spokesman, Jon Summers, mentioned reasons that extol DesertXpress that are hard to swallow.

Talking about Reid's abrupt change from Las Vegas-Anaheim maglev advocate to Las Vegas-Victorville DesertXpress backer, Summers said, "Why wouldn't he choose a project that is less expensive, done sooner and privately funded?"

Ivanpah Airport News will take a look at Summers' three points:

     Less Expensive
1. There is far more to consider than cost. Which concept has the best chance of being successful? Which plan is more likely to endure far into - and possibly to the end of - the 21st Century? Which concept will better capture customers' imagination, satisfaction and transportation ticket purchases? Which system would work best for Southern Nevada's new Ivanpah Valley Airport if it is approved and constructed?

     Done sooner
2. Just because one plan would be finished sooner than another, is it the best one? The most long-enduring one? The most exciting one? The most intelligent one? The most colorful and futuristic one for marketing Las Vegas and Ivanpah? The one with the best customer enthusiasm and profit potential?

     Privately funded
3. Regarding the attractiveness of a privately funded high-speed train system, the complaints about, and difficulties with, privately funded roads in the U.S. easily come to mind. In the 2009 Nevada Legislature session considering AB524 - to authorize the Department of Transportation to establish a "demonstration" toll road project in Clark County, Nevada - the session ended with no action. Nevada legislators exhibited cautiousness and concern. For example, State Senator Mike Schneider pointed out that he has heard many complaints from legislators in other U.S. states that have already approved private companies to create toll roads. Currently, privately funded transportation projects are not perceived as being automatically good. They seem to be looked at with increasing skepticism.

Certainly, a debate is appropriate over which type of NV-CA futuristic train system to build. Still, the superiority of each system should be based on more sound issues than what Summers enunciated in the July 16, 2009, Review-Journal article.   

By Robert L. Candiotti

On May 27, 2009, in an article by Tom Doggett and Ayesha Rascoe, Reuters reported that global energy requirements will rise 44 percent by 2030.

This is consistent with the prediction of Abu Dhabi's Minister of Energy, H.E. Mohammad Dhaen Al Hamili - as reported on the "Nevada 2030 Energy Time Horizon" page of GreenAirport.net (www.greenairport.net/id14.html)  - that world energy demand "will grow by approximately 50 percent by 2030."

The Reuters article says the Energy Information Administration (EIA) predicts increased demand will come from developing countries such as China, India, Russia and Brazil.

The EIA, according to Reuters, says oil prices will begin to rise in 2010 or 2011 as the global economy rebounds and demand puts pressure on oil supplies.

States writers Doggett and Rascoe, "U.S. oil prices are forecast to rise from an average of $61 per barrel this year to $110 in 2015 and $130 in 2030."

Regarding sustainable energy development, the Reuters story notes, "Renewable energy, like wind and solar power, will be the fastest growing energy source, making up 11 percent of global supplies. Biofuels, including ethanol and biodiesel, are expected to reach 5.9 million bpd by 2030."

The article also notes that the world's natural gas production will increase by nearly 50 percent to153 trillion cubic feet, and, according to the EIA, unconventional gas development, mainly from gas shale, will enable the U.S. to be "virtually self-sufficient in natural gas supply in 2030."

By Robert L. Candiotti

Today is the second anniversary of IvanpahValley.com, the mother-site of this Ivanpah Airport News blog.

IvanpahValley.com was launched on July 7, 2007.

Why was it launched on 7/7/07? No special reason other than I was ready to get it off the ground right around that time. The date of  7/7/07 seemed interesting, and, to a greater or lesser degree, poignant.

The date is also easy to remember.

As can be read on the Background Info page of IvanpahValley.com, I was already traveling five days each week between Las Vegas, Nevada, and Primm - 40 miles to the south - to get to work and then back home when I first read about an entirely new 23,000 acre international airport adjacent to Primm that could ultimately handle up to 35 million annual passengers!

What is being proposed for this vast, flat, unattractive piece of desert immediately captured my attention and my imagination. Plus, between you and me, I'll admit it. It's a bunch of fun.

I have been writing about Ivanpah Valley for two years in this blog, and also in the IvanpahValley.com website. On 8/8/08, a new website named GreenAirport.net was posted on the Internet.

I intend to continue.