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  • From: ERDA Institute <erda@nor.com.au>
  • To: permaculture <permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [permaculture] regional diets
  • Date: Tue, 17 Jun 2003 08:40:39 +1000

on 17/6/03 7:58 AM, robert waldrop at rmwj@soonernet.com wrote:

> Russ Grayson wrote:
>> HYDROGEN ECONOMY?
>> As to the link between where people live and the reduction in the fossil
>> fuel
>> supply, won't the conversion from a fossil-fuel economy to a hydrogen
>> economy
>> mean that life can continue much as it is?
>
> No, because hydrogen is not found like petroleum, we have to make it,
> and these days the primary feedstock for hydrogen manufacture is fossil
> fuel. Because hydrogen must be manufactured, it will always take more
> energy to make the hydrogen than the hydrogen will yield as useful work.
>
> So life will not go on "as usual" with a hydrogen economy. Energy will
> be hugely more expensive, and we will have to do more with a lot less of
> it.
>
> The "hydrogen optimists" like Amory Lovins are wrong and are
> unfortunately creating a public perception , "No worries mates, when we
> run out of gasoline we'll just burn hydogen."

Like to make 2 brief pints here...
1. Hydrogen fuel in the form of 'Brown's Gas' simply involves a 10v battery
charge to separate hydrogen from water - a very efficient fuel source - in
the 1980's Yule Brown drove a car from Sydney to Cairns on a couple of
liters of water with the only emission being oxygen.

2. Even with such a readily available energy efficient fuel source I don't
believe life can continue "as usual" - society's appetite for consuming
resources across the board is definitely not sustainable - there'd still
need to be big changes to a low consumer society irrespective of source of
fuel for energy.

Robyn





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