Hitokage said:
...
Yeah, I'm not going to bother.
LOL
Hey guess what; a fuel cell doesn't need hydrogen to run. It just needs a power source. You can make a gasoline fuel-cell, an ethenol fuel cell, or even a solar fuel cell (good luck getting it working with todays technology). Fuel cells just merit investigation as the "batteries" of the future.
And true any "alternative" energy that simply reroutes the energy from non-renewable sources isn't the answer (electric cars), but that doesn't mean we should not be vigorously exploring as many technologies as possible to advance our selves out of the stone age (well atomic age
) of power production.
Solar is actually a really nice way of offsetting our consumption partially, we just have not been thinking about it in truly innovative ways yet. Solar will also not be effective if we continue to use methods of delivery we invented for coal, oil and gas. A distributed grid and energy sharing schemes are much more conducive to generating power via solar energy.
The most inventive placement of solar cells I have seen yet was on large steal posts in a giant parking lot. The cells collected energy all day to power the lots lights at night, while simultaneously providing much need shade to the cars during the wretched sacramento summers. *thumbs up*
EDIT:
tenchir said:
Just think what will happen if we find a way to harness hydrogen efficiently from water.... WATER. You know, the wet stuff we have a lot of. What's the waste can you get from burning hydrogen? WATER!!! If someone find a way to get hydrogen from water easily, he would be billionaire and at the same time we practically solve our energy crisis.
See this is a misconception people have. We keep dreaming up these perpetual motion machines... and it will
never work. If hydrogen gives off a certain amount of energy and a waste of water when burned, it will take more energy (to accountfor innefficiencies) to create the hydrogen from water. If it takes more energy to make it than it yields (it always will) then it will never be truly cheap. That is why we like fossil fuels, we did not invest any money in embodying the energy, we simply harvest mother natures hard work and that is why we profit from it.
We need to look for benefits of distribution, cleanliness, efficiency among other things with alternative fuels. Not an Elixer for world energy needs.