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| The Hydrogen News # 16 |
| 08.24.04 (4:11 pm) |
The Hydrogen News #16
Hi everyone, this week has produced a really nice crop of hydrogen stories. Every week that goes by the hydrogen energy movement seems to be gaining momentum, especially with big money corporations now playing active roles and trying to carve out market share in the, as yet, essentially unborn market. But that is ok, the greater the number of players and the more money that is invested the better the chances that this alternative energy movement won't die off like the one in the 1970's did after the Oil Embargo was lifted. I hope not anyway as I was bitterly disappointed then when, as a very young alt energy enthusiast, I believed all of those stories about life in the 21st century that kept cropping up. You know the one's, where there were illustrations of people living in glass domes under the sea and flying cars and what not. But here we are in 2004 and all we seem to have gotten is, for the most part, re-designed technology from the seventies.
This week I want to have a look at the downside of producing hydrogen from hydrocarbons and also throw out the concept of producing hydrocarbons from water or storing the hydrogen from water in readily available carbon nanotubes (three different concepts which may or may not be related).. You see, when you think of hydrocarbons you usually think of petroleum or associated substances such as coal or natural gas. As I have mentioned before all of these compounds can be thought of, with some degree of accuracy, as hydrogen fuel that is "stored" on carbon atoms.
Convenient as this hydrogen fuel storage method has been there are, in my opinion, three major problems associated with it;
1) pollution
2) limited/finite supply
3) monopolistic control of production and distribution (price fixing)
Of these three it is hard to say which is the most important or most easily changed. What if we just look at the second two problems first? It is true that the readily available supply of hydrocarbons in the form of existing petroleum resources which are easily accessible is limited and will eventually be gone. More and more news stories are appearing all the time that are talking about this situation. Most are of the Chicken Little, "what will we do, the sky is falling" sort. But no real solutions are being suggested. Sources of hydrocarbons such as biodiesel, alcohol and even sugar are being developed. As that development effort turns out marketable devices which consumers want to purchase problem number two can be postponed and eventually overcome. But this will require us to alter our energy use as the new fuels will never be available in the sheer volume that petrochemicals have been to date. So like it or not we will have to, as consumers and as a society overall, learn to become more aware of our energy consumption and manage it accordingly. It also seems as though the inevitable result of solving problem #2 will be that at least to some extent, problem #3 will be solved as more and more small, local companies are formed to produce fuel/energy from locally available resources. This should, according to the tried and true model of capitalism that we all hold so dear, lead to competition between individual manufacturers for market share and this competition will inevitably lead to affordable pricing for the consumer (in theory anyway).
But what about petroleum style hydrocarbons? They do make a great way to store hydrogen fuel, even though they are not good for the environment. Is there a way to produce these types of molecules on a small scale instead of depending on underground sources? Yes, one such process is called Hydrogasification. This is a process whereby Synthetic Natural Gas can be produced from such sources as biomass, oil shale and coal. In this process coal is first ground into a powder and then mixed with a solvent. Then this mixture is reacted with hydrogen under heat and pressure and the result is natural gas. This process has been known for some time and is being commercially developed now by several companies such as this one in Japan: (http://www.osakagas.co.jp/rd/...). Ideally the hydrogen for this process could be produced from water using energy sources such as solar or wind power. These power sources could also supply the heat necessary for the conversion reaction.
The main advantage of doing this would be to put the hydrogen fuel into a form which would allow it to be easily stored for extended periods of time and distributed through the existing network. The extra manufacturing step beyond just the electrolysis of water would have to be justified by the storage and distribution benefits. Another advantage would be the fact that so many people are already set up to use natural gas and vehicles can be easily converted to using compressed natural gas as their fuel. For those who don't want to convert their vehicles two other processes exist whereby synthetic natural gas can be turned into diesel or gasoline. These processes; (http://www.fe.doe.gov/aboutus...) were developed by German scientists during the second world war. At the height of their production capability fully 2/3 of the fuel required by the Nazi war machine was being produced by these processes. After the war some pilot plants were set up in the United States. They were built for ten million dollars and during their operation produced 1.2 million gallons of such synthetic fuels. Testing showed these products to be equal to natural petroleum products. For those wishing to use "straight" hydrogen fuel these products can be separated into CO2 and H2 using on site reformers such as the one previously described in this publication.
These processes will be especially valuable where coal is readily available and, when coupled with other sources of hydrogen energy such as biomass, solar and wind power, could be one more link in the chain of energy independence. This would allow local companies, where resources are available, to produce enough fuel and energy for their own area and potentially enough extra so that it could become a commodity to be exported to other population areas who lack enough available resources to produce enough energy/fuel to meet their own needs (such as cities). if really small scale systems could be developed then it would become possible for anyone who wanted to invest whatever time and effort was required to operate such a system to produce enough fuel to meet all of their own needs.
But even though all of these energy sources would go a long way toward reducing our dependence on foreign oil the problem of CO2 being produced and released into the environment still remains. There has to be a method developed by which either the carbon storage vehicle is recovered as carbon or a better way of otherwise eliminating the carbon dioxide which is produced. With Climate Change moving rapidly from the theoretical into the observable it seems imperative that we work to drastically reduce our release of greenhouse gasses and since CO2 is the main greenhouse gas being released it seems like a good place to start. I am not talking about the currently popular "solution" of carbon dioxide sequestration either (http://www.co2sequestration.i...). That is simply not a solution. It is only a band aid to cover up the problem and postpone whatever harmful effect it has until the future. No matter where you "hide" the CO2 (under ground, beneath the sea, etc) it is going to eventually come back to haunt you.
As an analogy imagine that your toilet stops working and instead of fixing it you decide to solve the problem by "sequestering" the waste produced by your large and hungry family by dumping it onto a pile in your tiny back yard in the upscale suburban development that you call home. For a while the plan seems to be working great, sure the kids can't play back there anymore but so what? Then, over time, your pile grows and the neighbors notice a funny odor and begin to complain. But you call it a compost heap and that is legal under local zoning. Then it grows some more and property values in your neighborhood begin to decrease and the fly problem to increase. Then, after you distribute free fly paper to all of your neighbors as a good will gesture, it grows some more and a heavy rain washes most of your pile into your well and the wells of your neighbors. Suddenly everyone around you is very sick, some die. Your defense? "It seemed like a good idea at the time".
At that point, your neighborhood resembles a slum and, rather than face prosecution, you burn down the house, collect your homeowners insurance, move to a third world country, build a mansion and live like a king.. Then you start a new waste pile as, in that country, there are no legal prohibitions against doing so. And all you would have had to do to avoid causing all of that misery to all of those people was simply to fix the damn toilet in the first place!
This is exactly what we have to do when we are developing new energy sources. Identify all of the potential problems beforehand and develop methods to eliminate these problems right along with developing the energy source. We are mature enough as a technological society so that we can no longer turn a blind eye to problems and accept band aid solutions to them in the hope that our children can come up with a real solution. So when someone says that carbon sequestration by pumping it underground or beneath the sea will solve the problem of CO2 pollution think about that pile of crap in the back yard and and ask them what the long term effects of their "solution" will be as that pile of CO2 gets larger and larger and larger.....
Hydrogen News Links:
(1) Pickup Truck Runs On Hydrogen From Water
http://www.centralphysics.com...
A high school project produces a solar electrolysis powered H2 pickup truck.
(2) PATENTS in fuel cells and hydrogen production
http://www.fuelcelltoday.com/...,1620,846,00.html
Intellectual property in the form of patents is an important component of the commercial development of high-technology industries like hydrogen production.
(3) EU OFFERS FINANCIAL HELP TO CHINESE RESEARCH, INCLUDING H2 TECHNOLOGISTS
http://www.hfcletter.com/pub/...
The European Union is offering financial aid to Chinese researchers, including specialists in hydrogen and fuel cell technologies, under its Sixth Framework Programme.
(4) RUTGERS H2 REPORT
http://www.hfcletter.com/pub/...
in New Jersey, Rutgers University's Center for Energy, Economic and Environmental Policy (CEEEP), New Brunswick, has issued its first report in which it recommends
the state undertake five basic steps to determine whether it's in New Jersey's interest to promote hydrogen energy.
(5) SIMULATION Software for Fuel Cell Development Released by CD Azom.com
http://www.azom.com/news.asp?...
An important role in optimizing SOFC (Solid Oxide Fuel Cell) design.
(6) BERKELEY lab helps Russians tilt talents toward windmills
http://www.contracostatimes.c...
Russia wants to use wind power to produce hydrogen from water for use in fuel cell power systems.
(7) NEW technology to extract hydrogen and petrochem from plastic
http://www.fuelcelltoday.com/...,1602,4865,00.html
Gallium silicate is used as a catalyst to break down plastic into hydrogen and BTX, which contains benzene, toluene and xylene.
(8) NEW technology converts sunlight into hydrogen
http://www.awknowledge.com/AC...
Capturing sunlight to make enough hydrogen fuel to power cars and buildings has been brought a step closer by a British research company.
(9) MITSUBISHI Heavy Eyes Smaller Fuel Cell for Home
http://www.fuelcellsworks.com...
A step in the right direction. Commercial fuel cells are booming but individual consumers have been left out in the cold so far.
(10) FUELCELL Energy to provide fuel cell plant to US Army
http://www.eet.com/sys/news/s...
(11) NUS team may have key to drive hydrogen economy
http://straitstimes.asia1.com...,4386,267544,00.html
A National University of Singapore (NUS), a team led by a young researcher is working on what could well become the Microsoft of the so-called hydrogen economy.
(12) HYDROGEN car heralds new eco era
http://www.fuelcellsworks.com...
The dolphin-shaped car is powered by hydrogen and its only emission is water, with makers saying the innovation heralds a new age of clean, virtually silent...
(13) HYDROGEN cars are being driven closer
http://www.d-silence.com/head...%20cars/18877
Hydrogen is the fuel of the future! .... Enter hydrogen..... clean burning, available from power generation stations everywhere and as renewable as it gets. ...
(14) HYDROGEN car hopes to break record
http://northtonight.grampiant...
A hydrogen powered car developed in Shetland and Aberdeen is hoping to break the world fuel efficiency record this weekend.
(15) HYDROGEN: Kid's Play
http://www.fuelcelltoday.com/...,1588,851,00.html
Description: A new toy will hit store shelves this month that promises to educate today's youth that hydrogen can be a safe fuel of the future.
(16) NATIONAL Guard testing fuel cell energy source
http://kvoa.com/Global/story....
The Arizona National Guard's Mesa armory will spend a year testing an experimental fuel cell that could make it independent of the Phoenix area's electrical grid.
(17) Study Says Heat Waves to Worsen Across America, Europe.
http://www.planetark.org/dail...
(18) NEW DOCUMENTARY WEB SITE UP
http://www.FieldsofFuel.com
Fields of Fuel is a documentary that follows author Josh Tickell (of "Veggie Van" fame)on a world wide quest to answer the question: “Why aren’t we using alternative
fuels now?”
(19) Sun and hydrogen 'to fuel future'
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sc...
Hydrogen Solar says it has managed to convert more than 8% of sunlight directly into hydrogen with fuel cell technology it has specially developed.
For an energy source to be commercially viable, it must reach an efficiency of 10%, which is an industry standard..
(20) BUILDING a Hydrogen Economy (audio)
http://npr.streamsage.com/goo...
Interview from NPR.
(21) EHN to research hydrogen extraction
http://www.fuelcellsworks.com...
Energia Hidroelectrica de Navarra (EHN) has announced that it is to invest an initial sum of 180,000 euros in a project to research hydrogen power.
(22) HOW Soon for Hydrogen?
http://www.fuelcelltoday.com/...,1602,4820,00.html
In fact, our analyses have shown that the first million fuel cell vehicles could be fueled by hydrogen derived from natural gas, resulting in an increase in ...
(23) GM goes for the gusto
http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi...
General Motors has announced plans to be the first company to sell 1 million hydrogen fuel cell cars by the middle of the next decade.
(24) AMORY LOVINS FUELS HYDROGEN SOLUTION
http://www.smalltimes.com/doc...
Small Times’ Jeff Karoub spoke by phone with Lovins about developing hydrogen and other alternatives to oil, the role of nanotechnology in those efforts.
(25) NEW online hydrogen publication launched
http://www.autoindustry.co.uk...
No, this story isn't talking about the newsletter you are reading. It is some publishing group with money and graphic designers and ads from companies like General
Motors (all the things that my publication lacks). But I have one thing they don't; me.
(26) Pax World Funds
http://www.paxworld.com/
Socially Responsible Mutual Funds, Ethical Investing, socially responsible investing
(27) OFFICES, homes, dorms: Fuel cells will go there first
http://www.thestar.com/NASApp...
Hydrogenics will use the wind turbine at the CNE this month to create and dispense clean hydrogen for powering a fuel-cell vehicle, likely a John Deere Gator.
(28) GM Fuel Cell Curriculum Honored With Environmental Award
http://www.fuelcelltoday.com/...,1602,4807,00.html
Distributed by Lifetime Learning Systems, it provides science teachers with a free, engaging curriculum that highlights the fundamentals of hydrogen fuel cell
technology.
(29) Hybrid cars now, fuel cell cars later.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/e...
We compare the energy efficiency of hybrid and fuel cell vehicles as well as conventional internal combustion engines. Our analysis indicates that fuel cell vehicles
using hydrogen from fossil fuels offer no significant energy efficiency advantage over hybrid vehicles operating in an urban drive cycle. We conclude that priority should
be placed on hybrid vehicles by industry and government.
(30) Sustainable hydrogen production
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/e...
Identifying and building a sustainable energy system are perhaps two of the most critical issues that today's society must address. Replacing our current energy
carrier mix with a sustainable fuel is one of the key pieces in that system. Hydrogen as an energy carrier, primarily derived from water, can address issues of
sustainability, environmental emissions, and energy security. Issues relating to hydrogen production pathways are addressed here. Future energy systems require
money and energy to build. Given that the United States has a finite supply of both, hard decisions must be made about the path forward, and this path must be
followed with a sustained and focused effort.
(31) The hydrogen solution
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/e...
(32) The hydrogen backlash
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/e...
(33) Fuel cells
http://otherhill.blogspot.com...
"There's been a decade of charlatanism in fuel cell research. It's to the point where new claim should be treated a priori as bullshit, until proven revolutionary. The media
likes shiny bullshit, though, so this stuff always gets reported without the requisite grain of salt."
(34) Area company gets $1.45M for waste-to-hydrogen plan
http://www.topix..net/redir/l...
A local alternative energy company has received $1.45 million in federal funding to design and build a system that converts animal waste to hydrogen at a farm in New
York state.
(35) Fortune Magazine Backs Renewable Energy
http://www.solaraccess.com/ne...
"The cost of the plan is modest, about $7 billion to $9 billion per year, much of which can be offset by eliminating current subsidies and giveaways."
(36) Intelligent Energy Demonstrates Fuel Cell for Rural Electrification in Latin America
http://www.cleanedge.com/stor...
"Intelligent Energy Inc. says it has completed trials of its ethanol-based fuel cell technology system, showing that sufficient electricity can be generated for a rural home
from equipment little larger than a shoebox, using fuel derived from sugar cane."
(37) SME Gives Advanced Energy Technology Developers and Researchers an Opportunity to Connect With Manufacturers
http://www.theautochannel.com...
The Society of Manufacturing Engineers (SME) is providing an opportunity for developers and researchers of advanced energy technologies to interface and connect with
OEMs considering alternative energy systems in their future product designs. The "Advanced Energy & Fuel Cell Technologies: Manufacturing Opportunities &
Challenges Conference & Exposition," is being held October 11-13, 2004 at Laurel Manor, 39000 Schoolcraft Road, Livonia, Mich.
(38) GM to Sell Brazilian Car That Runs on Gasoline, Alcohol and Natural Gas
http://www.theautochannel.com...
The AP reported that General Motors Corp. will soon start selling a car in Brazil that runs on gasoline, alcohol or natural gas, the company's Brazilian division said
Thursday. The company will offer the multi-fuel technology in one of the existing models it makes in South America's largest country.
(39) Ballard boss defends fuel-cell future
http://www.thestar.com/NASApp...
The president of Ballard Power Systems Inc. launched a spirited defence of hydrogen fuel cells against the technology's doubters today as the company reported its
latest, though smaller, quarterly loss..
(40) Hydrogen tanker crashes at Ballard Power Systems spewing gas
http://news.yahoo.com/news?tm...
Fire crews were dousing a hydrogen tanker Saturday that they worried was still leaking flammable gas hours after it crashed causing an evacuation.
(My god, talk about bad timing... ED.)
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| The Hydrogen News # 15 |
| 08.12.04 (8:51 pm) |
The Hydrogen News # 15
Hydrogen: Myth and Misinformation and, by the way; Who Owns The Rain ?
I apologize for the two week hiatus in publishing this newsletter. I was busy with work and had some emergencies come up on the weekends. The first week my new tractor died and I had to push mow nearly an acre. Then last weekend our family dog died rather suddenly of a heart attack. I had to go and buy the wood for the coffin and then build it with the help of my kids. Then we had to dig the grave in the back yard and if you have ever tried dig a hole in which to bury a 50lb dog that is 4' x 2 1/2' by 4' deep you can imagine the effort that went into that.
Every week I take the time to read quite a few news stories that are somehow related to hydrogen energy. I do this both because the subject interests me and in order to compile a collection of what I consider to be the most interesting and informative stories for this publication. What I have found to be really interesting of late is the strange way that some news stories which are published almost simultaneously, in different publications are in direct contradiction of each other and yet are presented by the media as being equally valid. I want to highlight a few of the most obvious ones in this story and then touch on an issue which I think is going to be very important in the evolution of the hydrogen economy but is so far not being debated at all from the hydrogen fuel perspective.
I would like to start by commenting on the first story from the list below. It is essentially a "doom and gloom" piece about the potential of hydrogen energy written by a scientist. Not a chemist or electrochemist or even anyone who seems to be directly involved in the hydrogen industry, but a scientist, a guy with a physics degree. The story appeared in an on line newspaper from South Carolina and, I assume, in the print version as well. As far as I can tell this science guy doesn't claim to be involved in hydrogen science or to have any special knowledge of the subject, beyond whatever general knowledge is implied by his holding a physics degree.
In the article he roundly criticizes the Mayor of the town (who's call to make that town the hub of hydrogen research in South Carolina appeared in another story in that same paper a week or two ago) for promoting hydrogen energy because (in the science guy's opinion) hydrogen energy is an impossible pipe dream and therefore a waste of money and effort. So here is a science guy using the implied credibility of his degree (at least in the minds of most people) to either;
a) deliberately misinform people in order to politically damage the Mayor or
b) to demonstrate publicly his own lack of information on or understanding of the subject.
The most basic fact that is required for anyone to understand the hydrogen economy is also the one least frequently mentioned in stories that are meant to educate the public. That fact being that we already have a hydrogen based energy system and have for the last hundred and sixty years or more. It is very simple, in our current hydrogen energy system we "store" our hydrogen fuel by attaching hydrogen atoms to carbon "storage" atoms. Or, to say it more properly, we drill into the ground for hydrogen fuel which nature has conveniently stored for us on carbon "storage" atoms as hydrocarbons (oil). The burning of hydrocarbon fuels is essentially the transfer of hydrogen atoms from the carbon storage atoms to oxygen "storage" atoms which nature has again conveniently supplied to us in the form of air.
The hydrogen economy that the physics guy talks about is one in which naturally available hydrocarbons are no longer used as storage vehicles for the hydrogen fuel while it is in storage and being distributed. He only looks at the challenges of storing and transporting hydrogen in it's gaseous form. But hydrocarbons are not the only readily available source of "stored" hydrogen atoms. Water is another source and is much more easy to come by but a bit harder to use as a fuel source. It is more easily stored and transported to the point of use than even hydrocarbons are and much safer as well. But hydrogen from water is (unfortunately) not the path that the Bush Administration has chosen to follow in the changeover to a hydrogen economy.
I admit that following the Bush "Hydrogen From Hydrocarbons" plan will probably allow more rapid development and implementation of the technology that is required for the hydrogen economy. But that is simply because the infrastructure to produce and distribute hydrocarbons is already in place and the development of point of use hydrogen production units (such as the on board reformer described in a previous issue of this newsletter) will make the changeover very easy indeed.
The downside of this plan is that the hydrocarbon reformation process creates greenhouse gasses such as CO2 just like burning fossil fuels does now. Unless effective methods are developed to sequester or separate CO2 into it's components is developed the whole positive impact of the hydrogen economy will be effectively negated. So where is the benefit of this plan? Not to the consumer (who will have to buy all of this new equipment, or to the environment.
Another story in this issue comments on the fact that Saudi Arabia may be close to running out of oil which is easy to produce. Several stories in past issues have told of the world reaching it's peak in oil production and refining capacity and the inevitable decline in supply and price increases which will follow. So the Bush plan solves nothing except to keep America dependent on ever more expensive (foreign) oil as our primary fuel source for the brave new world order that is envisioned.
In another set of stories in this issue yet one more glaring contradiction emerges. In story # 8 a reference is made to a book, within which it's Author claims that fuel cell vehicles will not be available for another 30 years (if ever). In story # 7 Honda announces that it will introduce a line of fuel cell vehicles in America in the fall of 2004 ( that would be this year not 2034). Obviously something is wrong with that picture. An "expert" like the previously mentioned physics guy, says something is impossible. But human ingenuity simply replies; "oh, that's nice", and proceeds to achieve whatever it is that the experts say is impossible.
Some people think that big oil companies are trying to delay the implementation of new or alternative energy sources. If that were true though the delay can only last for as long as the world's oil supplies last. Or until big oil figures out a way to turn a profit on new energy sources. As an example look at solar power. Both BP and Shell have solar panel manufacturing divisions and BP has decided that their initials should stand for "Beyond Petroleum". Bush's H2 from oil plan provides the incentive for oil companies to spend the money that is necessary to develop hydrogen fuel technologies.
But what about hydrogen from other sources? If, for example, we develop economical ways to produce hydrogen from water that make it cost competitive with hydrogen that is produced from oil, what then? At that point anyone who has access to water could produce the fuel to meet their own energy needs. That would shake the energy industry to it's core. Sure, they could still manufacture and sell the equipment needed to utilize hydrogen produced from any source but they could no longer have a monopoly on selling the fuel that is used by those systems (which is their biggest money maker).
But is that the only possible outcome for the oil companies as a result of the almost inevitable, eventual switch to hydrogen from water as our primary fuel source? I don't think so. There is another approach which they could take to the H2 from water problem which, if adopted, would serve to both protect the world economy as it exists today and at the same time preserve the status quo related to who controls the energy resources of the planet and the profits of same.
How could this be done? Simple, privatize all of the water on the planet. Just treat water as another mineral resource like oil, coal or gold and as such have it claimed by government in the name of the people and then give the rights to extract and process it to those few (rich) people who have the money to best exploit that resource and then sell it back to us. Such a move would be perfect for oil companies, especially as the easy to get oil becomes more and more scarce.
I know this idea probably sounds pretty silly to many if not most of you but consider the current shift to privatized water that is already underway to varying degrees all over the world. In the US the effort is billed as being a cheaper alternative to publicly owned water utilities. But this stated goal has yet to be demonstrated in cities which have followed the plan (such as Atlanta). In other countries the same logic is applied in different ways, all under the auspices of the World Bank as a condition to borrowing money. In South Africa there are coin operated meters installed on water faucets in poor communities. No money? Tough, drink from an open sewer then. IN part of Bolivia all of the water was privatized, even the rain so it was illegal to catch rainwater falling from your own roof!
I suppose there is a twisted sort of logic to that as any water that exists in one way or another helps to replenish the underground aquifer and if the rights to that aquifer are privately owned then diverting water (such as rain) which would otherwise enter the aquifer is, in effect, stealing from the owner.
What is that you say? "It couldn't happen in America?" Maybe you are right but consider what happens when a big company moves into your neighborhood and drills it's own deep well. Before too long the wells of neighborhood residents start to run dry. The solution? Pipes are run from the city water supply to the neighborhood and the residents are now forced to pay for something that used to be free. Or how about when gas reaches 10$ a gallon? When old people are freezing to death en masse because they can't afford heating oil on their fixed incomes and you can't even afford to buy enough gas to get to your job every day at the factory 10 miles away.
And what about the price of consumer good such as food? The big diesel trucks that bring the food that you eat to your store only get about 6-7mpg on a good day. So a trip from California to Pennsylvania with a load of fresh fruit (around 2800 miles) would then cost: 2800mi/6mpg = 466 gallons of fuel at 10$ per gallon = $4,660.00 just in fuel. Today that same trip with fuel at 1.89 gal would cost $880.74.
Someone will have to pay for that huge increase. It will be you.
So anyway, at that point, with much weeping and gnashing of teeth going on, you will think it far less silly when someone steps forward with a solution: hydrogen from water. And when that person tells you it is imperative that water be treated as a mineral resource you will agree. And when that person tells you that the only way to be sure that hydrogen (from water) fuel reaches the marketplace as fast as it possibly can is to give the rights to all of the water on the planet to the few corporations who have the resources to begin large scale production of this fuel and to build the storage and distribution network that will be necessary to bring it to you, the consumer, you will agree. And when that person tells you that this fuel can be produced cheaply enough to allow the world to go back to the good old days of $4 a gallon gas (it's equivalent in H2), you will be overjoyed. After all, desperate people do desperate things.
Could this happen? Sure. Will it happen? Probably not, especially if we, the citizens of the planet and true owners of all her resources, take the time to educate ourselves in regard to our options for the future and then collectively decide on the course that is best for all of the people and for the planet itself. And if we then work together to achieve that future.
Story related links:
1) CBC In Depth report on water privatization
http://www.cbc.ca/news/featur...
2) Papers on the plans for water privatization and globalization from the World Bank
http://rru.worldbank.org/Pape...
3) The effect of water privatization on women in undeveloped countries
http://www.whrnet.org/docs/is...
4) Water privatization in Africa
http://www.yellowtimes.org/ar...
Hydrogen News Links:
(1) ‘HYDROGEN economy’ is a ruse — all hype, no hope
http://www.thestate.com/mld/s...
... I respect Columbia Mayor Bob Coble, I’m disappointed that he didn’t check recent scientific studies before jumping on the “hydrogen
economy” bandwagon. ...
(2) KERRY is running on an America First platform
http://www.thestar.com/NASApp...
He would also create a Hydrogen Institute to advance the fuel cell economy. This is just one part of Kerry's plan to boost US
competitiveness....
(3) Hydrogen fuel cell maker Hydrogenics signs agreement with John Deere
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailyn...*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/cp ress/20040728/ca_pr_on_tc /hydrogenics_deere_1
TORONTO (CP) - Fuel cell developer Hydrogenics has signed a deal with John Deere to research and develop hydrogen-fuelled commercial vehicles, a market the company feels will be earlier to adopt the environmentally friendly technology than the auto industry.
(4) ENERGY Challenge
http://www.puertorico-herald....
... that will eventually include fuel-cell generation ... The US Department of Energy has established a ... Developing an onboard
automobile hydrogen storage system in cars ...
(5) PROTON Energy Systems Announces GE Termination of Distribution ...
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/0...
... products that it employs in hydrogen generating devices and in regenerative fuel cell systems that function as power generating and
energy storage devices. ...
(6) PROGRAM turns science teachers into researchers
http://www.zwire.com/site/new...
Hydrogen is a clean-burning environmentally friendly energy source that can be used in fuel cells. ... of the chemical basis of energy
conversion and ...
(7) HONDA to Launch New Fuel Cell Car in N. America Late 2004
http://www.fuelcelltoday.com/...,1602,4778,00.html
Fuel cell vehicles, which are powered by a chemical reaction between hydrogen and oxygen, have been unable to start in temperatures
below freezing because the...
(8) THE Fuel-Cell Future
http://www.emagazine.com/view...
"The problem is that skeptics like Joe Romm (author of The Hype About Hydrogen) don't expect fuel-cell cars to arrive until 2030, if they
ever arrive. ..." (See story # 7. Ed.)
(9) FEDS to study safety of hydrogen cars; flammability issue a ...
http://www.autoweek.com/cat_c...
"WASHINGTON -- A "substantial research effort" is needed to ensure that hydrogen-powered vehicles are safe before large numbers of
motorists begin to drive them ..." (Does anyone remember the video from the U.S. Department of Energy in which they set fire to the fuel
tanks of two cars, one gasoline fueled and the other hydrogen fueled? The hydrogen car's fuel burned off without damaging the vehicle
significantly and all occupants would have been fine. The gasoline car turned into an inferno within a minute or two and all passengers
would have died. But they say they need more studies? Is there a delaying tactic going on here? Ed.)
(10) Oil soars as YUKOS told to stop selling
http://www.planetark.org/dail...
(11) Shell pays fines to end reserves probe, profits up
http://www.planetark.org/dail...
(12) TECHNIP awarded contract for hydrogen plant in Louisiana
http://bourse.lci.fr/detail_a...
Technip USA Corp., its US entity based in Claremont (California), has been awarded a 110 million standard cubic foot per day hydrogen
plant by Air ...
(13) GLIMPSE of the future from hydrogen-based fuel trials
http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/...,2106,2983184a30,00.html
Motor Company, working with Kagoshima University and Yakushima Denko Co, has conducted field trials of a fuel cell vehicle that runs
on hydrogen produced using ...
(14) MOVE boosts ‘hydrogen highway’ plan
http://www.whistlerquestion.c...%5CWQuestion.nsf/0/B9EF7D57690088C3882 56EE0006CA0A5?OpenDocumen t
Whistler Question - Whistler,British Columbia,Canada to locate its global hydrogen production equipment business, H3 Energy,
in BC could be a boost for the Vancouver-to-Whistler “hydrogen highway” proposal ...
(15) FORD'S President Likes Hydrogen-Powered Fuel Cells, Opposes ...
http://www.mitechnews.com/tec...
DETROIT – Ford Motor Company President Nick Scheele, in a recent interview, said hydrogen-powered fuel cells are the only feasible
alternative to the internal ...
(16) COMMENT: We’re running out of time to replace oil
http://www.crainsdetroit.com/...
... the mere mention of compressed hydrogen storage or polymer ... metric tons in 2025, the energy administration says ... petroleum-
fueled engines with fuel cells, ethanol ...
(17) Bush Unveils Methane Plan
http://www.gristmagazine.com/...
Yesterday, Bush administration officials unveiled a plan that would encourage the manufacture and export of technology to harvest
methane emissions for use as a fuel.
(18) IT’S the End of the World as We Know It
http://www.pressaction.com/ne...
... oil theorists, it does occasionally touch on some of the darker aspects of fossil fuel depletion, notably how ... It takes more energy to
make hydrogen than you ...
(20) Fishermen Idle as Seafood Stocks 'Fall Off Precipice' Across the Globe
http://www.emagazine.com/
While researchers have been warning of the decline of many seafood fish stocks in oceans around the globe for years, idle commercial
fishermen from every seaport and island community are finally feeling the bite, verifying the dire state of affairs.
(21) INDEPENDENCE from foreign oil unlikely, analysts say
http://www.thehill.com/news/0...
... The administration’s energy plan also calls for a $1.2 billion effort to develop hydrogen-fuel-cell cars to “reduce America’s growing
dependence on ...
(22) Oil Services Giant Schlumberger Profit Up
http://www.planetark.org/dail...
(23) China Is Chasing Down More Energy -- Lots of It
http://www.gristmagazine.com/...
We've said it before and we'll say it again: One of the biggest and most underreported environmental stories today is the rapid, massive
industrial development taking place in China.
(24) KETTERING Working With Army, GM, Ballard On Fuel Cell Cart
http://www.mitechnews.com/tec...
... The vehicle runs on six, 12-volt batteries integrated with a 1.2 kilowatt fuel cell to operate the batter pack. The fuel used is
compressed hydrogen....
(25) CLEAN Energy Electrifies Democratic National Convention
http://www.solaraccess.com/ne...
... particular fuel cell unit runs off natural gas, but fuel cells can run off a range of fuels that are created through renewable energy
means. Hydrogen can be ...
(26) GNASHING on Renewables: Time To Face the Options
http://www.solaraccess.com/ne...
... Hydrogen hype and snipe -- as we all know, hydrogen is not ... applications such as advanced batteries and controls, energy
efficiency, fuel cells, heat ...
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