[extropy-chat] Fuel cell vehicles arriving in 2005

[Dan Clemmensen]

Hydrogen -fueled vehicles reduce point-of-use pollution. This is a very 
good thing
in polluted urban areas.

Whether or not they reduce oil usage depends on where the hydrogen comes 
from.

I think that most hydrogen-fueled vehicles will use hydrogen generated 
from electricity, yes?
if so, then those vehicles are in effect being powered by whatever new 
electrical generation
capacity must be added to the power grid. I think that this new capacity 
will mostly be
coal and oil fired plants. For oil-fired plants, we gain almost nothing, 
and we may actually lose.
For coal-fired plants, coal-rich countries gain some energy 
independence, but only at the environmental
cost of providing the coal. From a global warming perspective coal (pure 
carbon) emits the most
CO2 per unit of energy, yes?

Even if the vehicle is perfectly efficient, the total environmental 
efficiency must include all steps in the
energy production chain. This is of course as true for gasoline and 
diesel as for hydrogen.

Now I must go google for real numbers.

In a very few cases the new electrical generators will be hydro, but 
there are few remaining places
in the world for massive hydro without associated massive environmental 
effects. If the new generators
are nuclear, there is a clear win.