Tomorrow's Energy : Hydrogen, Fuel Cells, and the Prospects for a Cleaner Planet

by Peter Hoffmann

• ISBN13: 9780262582216
• ISBN10: 026258221X
• Edition: Reprint
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2002-09-09
• Publisher: Mit Pr

Summary

"President Bush's remarks in his State-of-the-Union message proposing a big jump in funding for hydrogen and fuel cell research and development are terrific news. It's imperative that Congress follows through now and makes available those funds. Aside from the tangible benefits of spending more on an environmentally benign area of energy that for too long has been treated - often condescendingly - like a poor orphan, the political message is of supreme significance. For decades, supporters of hydrogen and other alternative energy fields have argued until they were blue in the face, that the key ingredient missing in moving forward is national political will. President Bush's support provides a large measure of that political will." -Peter Hoffmann, 31 January 2003 Hydrogen is the quintessential eco-fuel. This invisible, tasteless gas is the most abundant element in the universe. It is the basic building block and fuel of stars and an essential raw material in innumerable biological and chemical processes. As a completely nonpolluting fuel, it may hold the answer to growing environmental concerns about atmospheric accumulation of carbon dioxide and the resultant Greenhouse Effect. In this book Peter Hoffmann describes current research toward a hydrogen-based economy. He presents the history of hydrogen energy and discusses the environmental dangers of continued dependence on fossil fuels. Hydrogen is not an energy source but a carrier that, like electricity, must be manufactured. Today hydrogen is manufactured by "decarbonizing" fossil fuels. In the future it will be derived from water and solar energy and perhaps from "cleaner" versions of nuclear energy. Because it can be made by a variety of methods, Hoffmann argues, it can be easily adapted by different countries and economies. Hoffmann acknowledges the social, political, and economic difficulties in replacing current energy systems with an entirely new one. Although the process of converting to a hydrogen-based economy would be complex, he demonstrates that the environmental and health benefits would far outweigh the costs.

Author Biography

Peter Hoffmann is a former Washington correspondent for McGraw-Hill World News

Table of Contents

Foreword	p. vii
Acknowledgments	p. ix
Why Hydrogen? Buckminster Fuller, Sheikh Yamani, and Bill Clinton	p. 1
Hydrogen's Discovery: Phlogiston and Inflammable Air	p. 19
A History of Hydrogen Energy: The Reverend Cecil, Jules Verne, and the Redoubtable Mr. Erren	p. 27
Producing Hydrogen from Water, Natural Gas, and Green Plants	p. 53
Primary Energy: Using Solar and Other Power to Make Hydrogen	p. 79
Hydrogen for Cars and Buses: Steaming Tailpipes	p. 99
Fuel Cells: Mr. Grove's Lovely Technology	p. 141
Hydrogen in Aerospace: Clean Contrails and the Orient Express	p. 161
Hydrogen as Utility Gas: The Invisible Flame	p. 187
Non-Energy Uses of Hydrogen: Metallic H[subscript 2], Biodegradable Plastics, and H[subscript 2] Tofu	p. 211
Safety: The Hindenburg Syndrome, or "Don't Paint Your Dirigible with Rocket Fuel"	p. 233
The Next 100 Years	p. 247
Notes	p. 265
Index	p. 283
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