Recent Comments:
European parliament votes to set up hydrogen infrastructure by 2025 {Autoblog Green}
May 27th 2007 10:23PM Scatter, the ONLY way to get to the so-called "hydrogen economy" is public funding. Hydrogen is the fuel for people who can freely spend other people's money (or who have more money than sense). Those of us who have to spend our own, and don't have enough to throw away, will opt for something quite a bit more economical (and greener), unless coerced by government force.
European parliament votes to set up hydrogen infrastructure by 2025 {Autoblog Green}
May 26th 2007 9:06PM "Of course in the next seventeen years some of the hydrogen production techniques...[rest of ungrammatical sentence snipped]"
No matter how efficiently or from what source the hydrogen is produced, it will always be substantially less efficient and less 'green' than straight EV. This is due to some fundamental laws of physics and chemistry, and is not susceptible to the whims of any legislative body, regardless of the level of their delusions of self-importance.
Even if hydrogen could be produced at NO COST, it would still be a significant pollution problem, since H2 is the most potent ozone-depletion agent ever produced by man.
The time is long past to abandon the idiocy of the so-called "hydrogen economy".
How about never refilling your tank for 25 years? {Autoblog Green}
May 21st 2007 4:30PM Nuclear powered subs are old news. I was a Nuc sailor in the 1970s. They are definitely a good solution for a couple of problems: range and ability to stay submerged for a long time. Cost is a relatively minor consideration for the mission.
Vespa (or any other) scooters in New York: good idea or bad idea? {Autoblog Green}
May 20th 2007 9:04PM I've ridden a motorcycle and a bicycle in the rain, in the cold, and in high winds. It's not particularly fun under those conditions. Putting everybody on a scooter is not a realistic solution. Very few people are going to sign on for that level of discomfort.
Iowa State University: U.S. near tipping point in corn-based ethanol {Autoblog Green}
May 20th 2007 8:53PM Steve, the downside is that ethanol is at best a mediocre fuel with a poor energy balance. The various problems with ethanol can be overcome, but there are already at least two alternatives that are both cheaper and 'greener'.
Nuclear-fueled ethanol will cost only $1 a gallon to produce {Autoblog Green}
May 19th 2007 12:32AM I'm old enough to remember when the purveyors of nuclear power promised energy "too cheap to meter". It wasn't true then; it isn't true now.
Even if nuclear power could be used to reduce the cost of ethanol production to $1/gallon, using a straight EV would still be substantially cheaper and less polluting. Ethanol is a mediocre fuel, regardless of how it is produced.
Playing Devil's Advocate, Part 2: The Chevy Volt {Autoblog Green}
May 17th 2007 11:05AM "Will GM be around long enough, and have enough cash on hand to continue producing the Volt, even if it loses money in the process?"
GM has two major problems: 1) They already owe more money than they can possibly pay off without a government bailout, and 2) they are a public corporation whose primary concern is the next quarter or two. Add to that the complication of some interesting labor problems.
Don't hold your breath waiting for the Volt. Especially if they figure it will be a money-loser.
Two Chevy Sequels go over 300 miles on real roads with hydrogen to spare {Autoblog Green}
May 16th 2007 9:50AM "in the lithium ion batteries."
LiON? Excuse me, but if the car has LiON batteries, then I suspect that a big part of the range was accomplished from the initial charge on the LiON battery, and not from the hydrogen.
"He clearly believes in this technology because it will free us from dependency on oil."
Larry Burns is wrong. Commercial quantities of hydrogen are not produced with electrolysis (like in this contrived demo) because methane reformation is MUCH cheaper. However, nothing impedes understanding as much has having your job depend on not understanding.
You could take this car, remove all of the hydrogen nonsense, replace it with the same weight in LiON, and get the same or better range at a tiny fraction of the cost. Add a $200 diesel generator with 10 gallons of biodiesel, and extend that range substantially.
Some things missing from the article (a common occurrence in hydrogen propaganda):
1) Tank capacity (by extrapolation, the tank probably held between 8 and 9 kg, but the pressure is not given).
2) Cost of the hydrogen (fully loaded, not just the cost of production).
3) Size and weight of the H2 containment system.
4) Cost of the car.
Just for comparison, my Toyota Tacoma ($20k) can travel about 400 miles on about $50 worth of gasoline (one tank full).
Energy efficiency study finds Segways are 5-20 times more energy efficient than cars {Autoblog Green}
May 16th 2007 9:25AM If you don't want to use a bicycle to go to your local grocery store, there are adult tricycles with enough carrying capacity to haul a moderate load of groceries. Not only more efficient that a Segway, but cheaper. Probably just as safe, if not safer, too.
The Segway is a solution for which there is no real problem. I've seen a demo of the Segway presented by a dealer/enthusiast, and it does look like it might be fun to use. If you enjoy it as a toy, and can afford one, that's not a problem. But pretending that it is somehow practical is a joke.
UTC and Van Hool bring Belgium its first hydrogen fuel cell bus {Autoblog Green}
May 16th 2007 12:26AM "brought the European country of Belgium its first fuel cell bus"
Ah, yes. Hydrogen: The fuel for people who can freely spend other people's money.
