Most conservatives and liberals agree, hydrogen-fueled cars will
be good for the economy and good for the environment. ?Such
unanimity forecloses discussion,? cautions David Morris, vice
president of the Minneapolis? and Washington, D.C.?based Institute
for Local Self Reliance, in an Alternet commentary. As a result,
many Americans are operating under the false assumption that the
hydrogen economy?a phrase coined by General Motors?will be derived
from renewable energy sources, such as wind or water. This simply
isn?t the case, insists Morris. ?[Fifty] percent of the world?s
commercial hydrogen now comes from natural gas. [Twenty] percent is
derived from coal.? Although the fossil fuel industry is key in
most current hydrogen technology, nuclear industry insiders declare
nuclear power ?is the only way to produce hydrogen gas on a large
scale without contributing to greenhouse gas emissions.? As a
result of this ongoing battle, Morris predicts that the next 20-50
years of hydrogen consumption ?will overwhelmingly be derived from
fossil fuels or with nuclear energy.?
–Erin Ferdinand
