Damn Hindenburg (Score 1)

The Hindenburg might be a good metaphor for the Bush administration ('rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic' isn't a strong enough metaphor anymore), but in a country where over half the population doesn't even believe in evolution, that 70 year old footage in the hands of the fossil fuel lobby might be enough to stop the H2 economy.

I don't think the volatility of pure H2 is a deal breaker. We run our cars on liquid explosives, and we power the rest of our gadgets with an energy source that moonlights as a form of capital punishment. Concentrated energy is dangerous. The cool thing about H2 is that, unlike electricty, it can be stored and transported without losing any punch. When the Very High Temperature Reactors come online, couldn't we could make huge farms of them in unpopulated areas and move the H2 to the population centers?

One thing the article didn't mention was the role that Platimum group metals will play. Each fuel cell needs a few ounces of these metals, and they are very rare on the Earth. Some estimates claim that the environmental impact of mining and refining the amount needed for a full-blown H2 economy might be worse than sticking with fossil fuels. Of course, they are abundant in space, maybe even on the Moon.

FYI, the Hindenburg's canvas skin was painting with a doping compound that was mostly powdered aluminum and iron oxide, which is basically rocket fuel! Ever notice how amazingly quickly the skin burns off in the footage?