----- Yes, H2 is an energy sink, but what are the alternatives? ------
This is like saying something is stupid but let's do it anyway 'cause it
makes us feel like we are doing something good. It takes oil to cram the
hydrogen in the bottle and it takes oil to process it to begin with and that
goes for just about all of the "new ideas". It even takes more oil to
process and deliver than it replaces. More than zero gain, it is backwards.
It is just that no one wants to admit or face it. Ostrichisms -- Bill --
Well, I am sure there will be accidents with hydrogen, if and when it
ever comes to be used to power autos.
On the other hand, we also have accidents occasionally with gasoline.
It is one of the reasons why sailboats
started to use diesel engines for auxiliary power instead of the old
atomic 4's. Nevertheless, although H2 has
a long way to go to become a viable source of power, due to technical
issues as well as distribution, it is, IMHO,
worth considering, if for no other reason than being able to save the
diminishing supply of gasoline for things for
which there is no substitute, such as old sports cars. If gasoline
prices continue to rise, other sources of
energy become more economically attractive and possibly can contribute
to the reduction of carbon emissions
into the atmosphere. For various reasons, it is becoming more desirable
to reduce our consumption of fossil
fuels, rising prices being just one. Yes, H2 is an energy sink, but
what are the alternatives? The attraction
of fossil fuels has always been that the energy costs of extraction have
always been less than the energy
obtained from the resultant fuel but, except for nuclear and solar,
there aren't any other readily available
energy sources. Even though Ford suggested using nuclear-powered cars
back in the 50's (what were they
thinking?), I don't think that is going to happen (how's that for an
insightful prediction?) There are some
interesting options with solar, either directly or indirectly (e.g.
cellulose), but they are obviously also a long
ways away. It will be an interesting couple of decades ahead of us. I
hope I last long enough to see the
outcome.
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