The answer to our energy crCIA?

[Quantum]

I found this video on Youtube.  It promises an alternative fuel that we can get right from our sink.  But when?!  They should have at least ceated one model of a water powered car, but anything using this breakthrough in technoloogy is nowhere to be found.

Why?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m2wG90QlZSU&feature=related

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[Reactor Worker]

Electrolysis? We have had that technology for a long time. It still requires electrical energy to make which is mostly produced from the burning of fossil fuels.

[thechaotic1]

we could use methane for the first boost

[zoneark]

Hydrogen is the way to go to.

[FlyGuy45]

Hydrogen is the way to go to.

[Reactor Worker]

For clarification: Hydrogen isn't a source of energy, merely a way of storing it

Hydrogen fuel cells (the technology they are trying to power cars with) consists of the water and oxygen being separated into separate areas of the "battery". They are allowed to come together in the presence of a catalyst. Because the molecules have a charge, the charge is passed on through the catalyst and generates an electric current which can be used to drive an electric motor.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:PEM_fuelcell.svg

The problem with the technology is that the catalysts we have today are either inefficient or expensive to produce and their effectiveness diminishes over time.

You still need to separate the Hydrogen from the Oxygen before you can use it as a battery. This requires electricity. Electricity has to be made at a power plant somewhere (usually produced from burning coal/oil/natural gas) and traveling along inefficient powerlines.

The technology shows promise, but it requires time, effort and most of all money invested into it before it becomes a safe and environmentally sound solution.

[zoneark]

I see your point RW.  I guess hydrogen isn't the best thing to use.

[Quantum]

What if they could use something like the Hoover Dam?

[Bisjac]

hamster wheels

[Quantum]

Chuck Norris?

[Reactor Worker]

What if they could use something like the hoover dam.

Hydroelectric power is a good, relatively clean source of renewable energy that is available 24 hours a day all year round (unlike solar or wind) but it has it's drawbacks.

• Expensive to build and construction takes a long time
• Can only be built in certain locations
• Must be near the city(s) it wishes to power (often clashes with #2)
• The reservoir they create basically makes vast areas of land unusable and destroys wildlife habitats
• Can pose a danger to anything built in it's path
• Prevents vital nutrients from flowing downstream so any farms suffer down river

I prefer nuclear power myself. It is safe, reliable, efficient and can be built near almost any water source (river, lake, etc). Unfortuately, the water that leaves the plant is usually quite hot which causes the water to become almost uninhabitable for most water creatures. (Heated water holds less oxygen so they literally drown).

[tails]

hamster wheels

My house uses them, Sometimes the hampsters slack though so i has to get whip :D

[General Omega]

I prefer nuclear power myself. It is safe, reliable, efficient and can be built near almost any water source (river, lake, etc). Unfortuately, the water that leaves the plant is usually quite hot which causes the water to become almost uninhabitable for most water creatures. (Heated water holds less oxygen so they literally drown).

But we stopped building them thanks to stuff like 3 mile island. Freaking bubbles killed the idea.

[Reactor Worker]

But we stopped building them thanks to stuff like 3 mile island. Freaking bubbles killed the idea.

Damn hippies!

They are safe, believe me. Trained plant technicians wouldn't work in, nor live by them if they weren't safe.

[General Omega]

Exactly, 90% of the hippies are handicaps. The other 10 % are just against the idea of nuclear power via bandwagon. The major problem is that when people think of nuclear they think of atomic bombs.