A Hydrogen Economy?
By Christopher MooreGas prices have soared bolstering arguments for alternative energy sources. But are these alternatives any better? Any cheaper? Let’s see.
The recent price spike in the U.S. is not due to a global shortage of oil. Hurricane Katrina disrupted several major oil refineries and has hindered distribution to the 48 states, causing a very local shortage. Experts expect the price to settle back to pre-hurricane levels within a few months. Of course, this doesn’t address the larger issue: are we running out?
Most geologists consider fossil fuels to be “non-renewable,” meaning that one day we will run out. There is a small minority though that are not convinced this is the case. Some evidence is given in this article as well as this one by George Crispin.
There are a couple of theories about how fossil fuels are created. The most popular is that oil is biogenic and comes from plant and animal matter such as bone (hence “fossil” fuels). Of course, we add new bone to the Earth daily, meaning we should be adding to the oil supply daily, correct? Not exactly. What geologists mean by “non-renewable” is that we can’t make any new oil within a human time frame. It will take millions of years for my bones to turn into usable oil, and we are using oil faster than Mother Nature can create more.
The second theory of oil creation is that it is abiogenic, meaning all of the oil we have was formed with the Earth over 4.5 billion years ago. Dr. Thomas Gold has proposed a model based on this assumption that shows oil potential far greater than what many believe is currently available.
Right now, I will have to side with the conventional biogenic theory because I am no geologist. I trust the cadre of competent scientists who are pretty sure they are right. I’m no pessimist, though. I believe we have a while until oil production cannot keep up with demand. But if we are to run out, what are the alternatives?
The U.S. Government is gearing up to spend $1.7 billion to make hydrogen fuel cell cars a reality. Read this article to learn how they work.
Here’s the problem, though. Although hydrogen is the most abundant element in the universe, it is not cheap to come by in its elemental our gaseous state. If you pull the oxygen off of H2O, then you have hydrogen. But it takes energy to do this. It takes more energy to create hydrogen gas than we can get out of its use. Oil we just pluck from the ground and light. That’s it.
Also, the reaction that powers a hydrogen fuel cell requires platinum as a catalyst. Platinum is expensive because it is VERY RARE. So in a hydrogen economy, you may see long-haired protesters waiving signs reading “No Blood for Platinum.”
So we are faced with many problems. Other alternatives have similar problems. The solutions are not obvious. We use oil because oil is cheap, plain and simple. When it fails to be cheap we’ll find something else to move our economy. Or we’ll find something cheaper. Either way I have faith in human ingenuity to solve what may be a problem sometime in the future.
Here’s a quote from the former oil minister to Saudi Arabia, Sheik Yamani: “The stone age ended, but not because of any lack of stones. Undoubtedly the oil age will end the same way.”
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Comment by Chris Moore — Thursday -- September 8th, 2005 @ 9:08 am