Energy
I have
neither heard nor read, recently, anything about the use of hydrogen as an unlimited source of energy for our nation–even in face of the many discussions of
renewable energy, from our president on down. One would think hydrogen would be
included in our public discussion(s) when we discuss alternative sources of
energy, i.e. windmills, nuclear, etc., especially in light of today’s current
high prices of oil and gas. We know the technology is available. Hydrogen
fueled automobiles have been designed and placed on the market for sale to the
public for years (Honda announced their new all hydrogen powered automobile
over three years ago for sale in California). And yet, relative to automobiles,
only electric cars or hybrids using gasoline and electric are discussed.
I can’t help but raise my eyebrows. Something is funny
here. I distinctly remember when Honda first announced their new hydrogen fueled
vehicle. Only a few days later, Exxon Mobile announced they were going to exit
the retail service station business and sell wholesale only. I thought that
strange–very strange. It would seem to me that the lack of infrastructure would
present a huge problem to the introduction and sale of a hydrogen car, the development
of which infrastructure would be imperative. Otherwise, how could one drive
from one city to another? Wouldn’t it be much easier for a huge multibillion
dollar company such as Exxon Mobil to develop such a nationwide infrastructure
than it would be for thousands of relatively small business people to do so?
It is my personal belief that we, The United States of
America, needs and should take the lead in the development and implementation
of hydrogen technology in the world, if we want to remain a superpower and
leader on this planet. The European Union has already announced its intention
to be the first fully integrated renewable-based hydrogen superpower of the 21st
century, and it has already committed itself to making the transition from
fossil-fuel dependency to a renewable energy future. Iceland has announced that
they, too, are going to a hydrogen economy
Political ramifications notwithstanding, both foreign
and domestic, it is time for the age of fossil fuel energy to be over. It is my
feeling that we, The United States of America should be thinking of a hydrogen
economy and complete independence from oil, especially foreign oil. Naturally,
this should be done carefully and well planned because of its economic and
political impact over the world, but we should begin now. It is my understanding
that hydrogen can only be produced in conjunction with the use of other energy.
I am certain that much political pressure exists to the contrary from producers
of fossil fuels, but the transition to hydrogen can be much faster by using
renewable energy to produce hydrogen as opposed to the use of fossil fuels.
Financial considerations as well as those of efficiency would lead us in this
direction.
Beyond this point in the discussion, is beyond my pay
grade; but, to talk about energy and leave hydrogen out of the picture is
either disingenuous or myopic or both. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to
believe it might be disingenuous because we are fully aware of the dominance of
“big oil” over the world. We know it to be myopic because hydrogen is too big
to ignore. I think a good book to read on this subject is The Hydrogen Economy by Jeremy Rifkin.
Maybe I'm on a football field wearing my
baseball suit–completely out of it. Maybe the subject has been discussed
extensively, and I have just missed it. Let me know. I'm not always right. What
is your take on this subject? I would appreciate your thoughts and suggestions.
Ronald
Miller
mtss86@bellsouth.net
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