Should Cut Reindeer Emissions By Staggering Percentage

Saying that Santa "is going green," on Wednesday US Secretary of Transportation Mary Peters certified the first-ever hydrogen powered sleigh as safe to operate in US airspace this holiday season.

"Santa’s new sleigh is a hybrid vehicle that can fly using either the traditional eight tiny reindeer or modern hydrogen fuel cells. The hydrogen sleigh is quieter, so Santa can make his deliveries without waking children and disturbing the visions of sugarplums dancing in their heads," Peters said.

Secretary Peters and members of the Department’s Research and Innovative Technology Administration Holiday Team inspected Santa’s sleigh -- including the hydrogen fuel cell that powers it -- as well as new crash avoidance technology, and the GPS unit that will get Santa to all the houses on his list.

Sources at the DOT tell ANN the hydrogen fuel cells provide sufficient power needed to pull the sleigh at speeds in excess of 650 miles-per-second -- give or take a nanosecond or two -- necessary for Santa to complete his mission in one night. That is particularly impressive, as Santa must travel against the jet stream for a large part of his annual journey.

Of course, Santa's sleigh was already the fastest non-turbine general-aviation vehicle in existence, by a sizable margin... although we're sure there's a Columbia 400 owner out there who'd challenge that.

After the inspection, the Secretary signed a "Hydrogen Prototype Vehicle Waiver" that authorizes Santa, aka Kris Kringle, to operate the vehicle in US airspace and on rooftops. 

The waiver signed by the Secretary expressed the Department’s wishes to promote the safe, efficient and environmentally-friendly passage of holiday goodies by a well-trained crew of reindeer and Santa’s prototype hydrogen-powered sleigh. 

"Santa’s new sleigh guarantees on-time delivery of toys to millions of good girls and boys this holiday season," Secretary Peters said.

Of course, using hydrogen power should also drastically reduce a little-reported, but very real, problem with Santa's previous method of propulsion. The DOT says holiday carolers and other pedestrians need no longer worry about being nailed by, um, reindeer "emissions" traveling at speeds in excess of 650 miles-per-second.

FMI: www.dot.gov, www.noradsanta.org