Gas-guzzlers
for hydrogen:
California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger
and the conspicuously consumptive Hummer.
All of a sudden, hydrogen is the hottest atom on the periodic table. When compressed into fuel cells, the element works like a battery that can power every-thing from cars to spaceships, while producing no waste—just drinkable water. Alternative-energy guru Amory Lovins is a fan, as is National Mining Association president Jack Gerard. Other enthusiasts are politicians looking to establish green credentials without irritating the automotive and energy lobbies.
First on the bandwagon was President George W. Bush, who announced last year that his administration is investing $1.7 billion over five years to develop hydrogen fuel-cell technology for automobiles. Then California's newly elected governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, vowed to sign an executive order requiring hydrogen fueling stations every 20 miles on the state's highways. Schwarzenegger, who popularized the gas-guzzling military Humvee as a trophy car for civilians, has said he will convert one of his five Hummers to run on hydrogen, a $35,000 upgrade.
Schwarzenegger's hydrogen fueling stations would cost up to half a million dollars each, which seems a bit pricey when you consider that his converted Hummer will be about the only vehicle using them. There are no hydrogen-powered cars in the showrooms now, and Bush's fuel-cell program doesn't give auto manufacturers any deadlines for producing one. The few prototypes on the road cost several million dollars, and a recent report from the National Academy of Sciences said that fuel-cell cars are still decades away.
There's also the small matter of producing the hydrogen, which doesn't occur in its pure form on Earth. One option is to split hydrogen from water using electricity, but unless the electricity comes from a renewable source like wind or solar, this method could end up increasing greenhouse-gas emissions. The Bush administration, ever eager to prop up the coal, oil, and nuclear industries, advocates extracting hydrogen from fossil fuels and splitting it from water using nuclear power. Daniel Becker, director of the Sierra Club's Global Warming and Energy Program, characterizes this approach as "a nicotine patch that causes cancer."
The Department of Energy estimates that Bush's hydrogen fuel-cell initiatives could reduce demand for petroleum by 11 million barrels per day by 2040. But making gas-powered cars even slightly more efficient would achieve huge savings a whole lot sooner. If U.S. cars averaged a very achievable 40 miles a gallon, we could cut oil consumption by 4 million barrels per day right now—nearly as much as the United States imports from OPEC.
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