Posted on 11/20/2004 10:02:46 AM PST by SierraWasp
'Hydrogen highway' bad route, group says
Alternative fuel championed by governor flawed, but proponents say give it more time
By Harrison SheppardSACRAMENTO BUREAU
Saturday, November 20, 2004 -
SACRAMENTO -- A report by a libertarian think tank seeks to debunk Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's plans for a "hydrogen highway" by claiming hydrogen-fueled vehicles will make little difference in reducing harmful emissions.
The report released this week by the Reason Foundation argues that even while hydrogen itself may be clean-burning, the processes used to manufacture and distribute hydrogen are dirty enough to nearly negate the benefits -- and the cost of conversion isn't worth the difference.
The study instead advocates more conservation, lowering freeway speed limits and making gasoline-powered cars smaller.
"Until we figure out ways to create hydrogen that are less energy-intensive or the performance of hydrogen improves, it's not a good air-quality measure," said Adrian Moore, the study's project director.
State environmental officials concede the study's argument has some merit -- if one only considers the current state of technology. But hydrogen is still an emerging science with rapid advances, and it is expected to be cheaper and more efficient in the future, said Michele St. Martin, spokeswoman for the California Department of Environmental Protection.
Ultimately, she said, the goal is to produce hydrogen through clean, renewable sources such as solar, wind and biomass, rather than natural gas.
"Every day these vehicles coming out are lighter and more fuel-efficient," St. Martin said. "At the end of the day, experts are saying hydrogen-powered vehicles will be at least twice as fuel-efficient as gasoline vehicles."
Earlier this year, Schwarzenegger proposed a "California Hydrogen Highway Network" that would result in a network of up to 200 hydrogen fueling stations on the state's freeways by 2010. The project is expected to cost $75 million to $200 million, with much of the costs picked up by the private sector.
The state has already opened three hydrogen fueling stations -- in Los Angeles, Davis and San Francisco -- and expects to have 18 more open soon, she said. City governments in those regions are using hydrogen cars in pilot programs.
Hydrogen car supporters say they are the clean-burning wave of the future, producing only water, not dirty carbon dioxide, in their exhaust.
The Reason study said it is not the emissions of individual hydrogen vehicles that is troubling, but the way in which hydrogen is produced and distributed. Hydrogen plants would most likely run on natural gas, which results in high emissions of carbon dioxide, the study argues.
The study also notes that converting some vehicles to hydrogen may actually make them greater polluters because hydrogen vehicles are heavier and therefore take more energy to generate the same horsepower.
According to the study, a Hummer H2 that is converted to hydrogen use will be about 1,000 pounds heavier. In order to get the same performance as a gasoline powered Hummer, a greater amount of carbon dioxide will be produced.
Schwarzenegger, who was criticized during the recall campaign for driving a Hummer, promised to convert one of his vehicles to hydrogen.
Last month, he appeared at a press conference at Los Angeles International Airport driving a hydrogen Hummer to open a fueling station there, although it turned out the vehicle was a prototype loaner from General Motors that is not available to the public.
V. John White, an adviser to the Sierra Club on clean-air issues, said he is skeptical of findings by the Reason Foundation because of the group's ideological bias. Hydrogen, he said, is only one part of a multipronged strategy to reduce emissions in California, and the hydrogen field continues to improve.
"The Reason Foundation doesn't accept we're living in a carbon-constrained world, and petroleum is rapidly reaching its peak and will soon begin a long decline," White said. "The alternatives to our addiction to petroleum are important to develop."
Ah Hah!!! Ha Ha Ha!!!
I don't appreciate the name-calling.
I didn't say biodiesel would meet all our energy needs. I said, as far as alternative fuels goes, it beats hydrogen, IMO.
It can, however, reduce the usage of crude oil somewhat, even in blends, which are increasingly common. It also is sulphur-free, which helps cut down on pollution.
What name did I call you?
To me, the biggest government waste and abuse of power has been the whole GovernMental EnvironMental movement!!!
For "Reason" mag to even hint at supporting any form of this hocus pocus bull roar violates their main premise of free markets and limited government!!!
So... We find hiprocrisy even in the primary journal of Libertarian thought. Disgusting!!!
So... Wanna come back and beat a dead horse, some more???
The third paragraph in, the "study" ADVOCATES the same "lower your expectations" garbage that I've heard from Jerry "Moonbeam" Brown, his Chief of Staff Infections, Gray Davis, Jimmy Carter and every militant Eco-Nut GovernMental EnvironMentalista Commonist since the first so-called Earth Day!!!
They are trying to make Arnold's mystic belief system in Hydrogen and those other fantasies by the other idiots I referred to, "the lesser of two evils," AND THEY'RE BOTH EVIL!!!
Both schemes require something that consistent Libertarians abhor... Greater Government Intrusion in our lives... Don't you find that relativism and hypocrisy???
Oh! And of course I read the article... I posted it and started this thread!!!
Sorry, I'm just pullin yer chain... (smile)
I believe the "hydrogen highway" is an effort to preserve the gasoline distribution system by switching from one fuel to another.
If autos become electric then the need for gas stations and trucks to distribute gasoline and gasoline tank farms is also eliminated. Not that batteries have the potential to hurt any gasoline or alternative fuel as of right now.
If cars ran on milk, exxon would own a lot of cows.
I suppose it's because of the perception that we'll become even more "dependent" on middle easterners for our supply until we're forced to surrender all our economic and sovereign interests to the OPECker Princes, or some such.
I believe that's a concern, or perceived vulnerbility that is completely overblown only because the liberals/media/one-worlders keep up their dumb din of "no blood for oil!" I do NOT believe we'll run out of oil and do not believe all the scary scare tactics that people like Art Bell and Arnold Schwarzenegger are so easily bamboozled by. That's what I believe.
I refuse to believe what a whole bunch of negitivistic anti-American and anti-capitalistic leftist WANT everybody to believe... That we're always on the eve of destruction!!!
Until we do that, we're just kidding around with the hydrogen idea.
I agree with you. I think much of this move to another fuel is to preserve a tax structure that adds taxes invisibly to the price of the fuel.
Anything that removes the need for the current gasoline distribution system will result in a loss of tax revenue. This is why some states are preparing for a per mile taxation system.
(so much for taxation WITH representation)
Rural America... The so-called "Red Counties," have not had "taxation WITH (equitable) representation" for nearly 50 years in this country!!! Not since a previous dopey CA Governor was made Chief (in)Justice of the US Supreme Court!!!
The "One Man - One Vote" ruling, aka "Cows Don't Vote" has destroyed the balance between demographics and geographics in every state legislature except NE, which went unicameral.
The checks and balances between state assemblies which were already "One Man - One Vote," and represented demographics were destroyed when state senates were forced to change from representing counties to representing arbitrary population districts in the same manner.
In CA, my county must share one state senator with 13 other counties in Schwarzenegger's new Sierra-Nevada CONservancy, while Los Angeles county taxpayers have access to 13 state senators which is inequitable representation, especially when one of these "CONservancy" land grabbing institutions is forced upon that one state senator!!!
This has given the so-called "Blue Counties" the ability to run rough-shod over the rural regions of CA and everyother state in the union and made a mockery of Property Rights/Land Use issues for Rural America.
The MetroSexual voters have gotten their cake and eaten it too, while the water and grain that made their cake were produced in the "Red Counties" WITH REDUCED representation!
Well Dog Gone!Then Jimmy Carter comes along and not only outlaws Nuceer Powa, but also wouldn't help re-authorize funding for completion of a super clean multi-purpose hydropower facility that was 2/3rds done in my "Red County" and we lacked the equitable representation even in our state senate to even create a ripple!!!
Dog Gone, you are absolutely correct on our nuclear needs and once again, the Jane Fonda/China Syndrome/Movie Star/Celebrity Syndrome lives out through our Republican Celebrity Governor with his cockamayme concepts!!!
But it could have been Booze CruzDaMoney in his place. We'd be way ahead (in gay marriage, a DMV field office in Tijuana, and an order to turn in all weapons) How do ya win?
By wresting control of the CA Repellican Party back from the Moderate Country Clubbers!!! (See my tagline)
I did some reasearch on this article and wrote a paragraph summary with links here:
http://www.neoperspectives.com/articlesandspeeches.htm
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