S2 E31 Back to Basics: Hydrogen Power

Episode discussion topics

• We're on the hunt for solutions and having access to safe, abundant, and sustainable fuels for creating electricity is absolutely critical to the survival of our modern society. Humanity isn't necessarily going extinct - albeit we'd lose many and the remainder may live off the land. Coming out of that digression, we can see the value in alternative fuels including getting back to basics with hydrogen power.
  
• We simply didn't cover wind power or hydroelectric in this episode because they don't seem to have a clear path towards long-term resiliency or as viable replacements for fossil fuels. Wind-generated power is too inconsistent and now also hydroelectric generation (water moving downhill turning giant turbines): All the dams built by FDR are starting to shut down due to drought conditions across the western U.S.
• An ideal fuel has a steady and stable supply that can scale to meet demand and sustain shocks to the system from climate and espionage events. Enter stage center: Hydrogen.
• Hydrogen fuel cells! Cars that fill up at a pump, can go 1,000 miles on a tank, and only spit water out their tailpipe! Oh yeah! We'll carry on under the call to action up ahead. We have another honorable mention...
• Don't call it a come-back, Airships've been here for years!  According to ForeignPolicy.com, "For decades, the Goodyear fleet of blimps have been the only working airships most people had a chance of seeing in real life. But a handful of companies are looking to bring back the spectacular dirigibles. [...]  The cruise company OceanSky is forging ahead with plans to send a passenger airship to the Arctic, using a ship originally designed under the U.S. military’s surveillance program, with a planned voyage in 2023." These ships use helium, not hydrogen, so just honorable mentions in the sustainable travel options category.
  
• Call to Action: Learn more about  Fuel Cell technology. We have made many advances in safety technologies in relation to hydrogen's volitile properties in a high oxygen (approx. 20%) environment in our atmosphere. Every technology has its risks.
• Buy a hydrogen fuel cell vehicle if you can afford it. MVP's statements about only being able to lease a  Hyperion Motors XP-1 or Toyota Mirai were FLASE! You can buy these vehicles now (Hyperion Motors) and they're worth your attention. What vehicles did we miss? Let us know!
  
• Go solar if you can and perhaps add wind too (link to a nerdy new device at EcoHome). Combining these technologies at a small scale coupled with a central battery system and you start to create a mitochondrial power plant for your household cell. Might as well get paid for selling extra power to the grid when you don't need it.
• Keep an eye out to support congressional bills that put our dollars on the chips of future technologies - not the old killer ones: According to Bloomberg, "Biden’s infrastructure plan calls for billions of dollars in spending on demonstration projects that include hydrogen." Sorry, this is behind a paywall.

Your hosts: Michael V. Piscitelli and Raymond Wong Jr.

More info

• "...EPA Concludes Environmental Racism Is Real. A new report from the Environmental Protection Agency finds that people of color are much more likely to live near polluters and breathe polluted air—even as the agency seeks to roll back regulations on pollution." By Vann R. Newkirk II (The Atlantic; Feb. 2018).
• Fun Fact: Our evidence indicates that there is more hydrogen in the universe than any other element—it’s been estimated that approximately 90 percent of all atoms are hydrogen. Boom! Plus we already produce approximately 70 million metric tons of hydrogen globally every year for various industrial uses.
• Hydrogen as a source for energy generation comes in color codes:
  
  • Grey - fossil fuels are used in their production
  • Blue - less polluting process
  • Green - no pollution, water is the byproduct (which we could collect)
• A McKinsey study estimated that by 2030, the U.S. hydrogen economy could generate $140 billion and support 700,000 jobs. A worthy investment for our future if you ask me! - If Europe and China don't beat us to it. Germany is beginning to heavily subsidize key areas to stimulate developments in Green Hydrogen specifically and ween off its reliance on Russian gas.
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• Intro music sampled from “Okay Class” by Ozzy Jock under creative commons license through freemusicarchive.org.
  
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