X-Message-Number: 20633
From: 
Date: Mon, 16 Dec 2002 12:59:50 EST
Subject: Re: CryoNet #20604 Fuels

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From Robert Ettinger:

> Yvan Bozzonetti (and many others) have spoken of hydrogen fuel cells as an 
> alternative to oil. 
> 
> ???????????? I'm puzzled.
> 
> Producing the hydrogen requires energy, which can only come from the usual 
> sources--fossil fuels, nuclear, solar, wind, geothermal, tidal, waves, 
> thermopiles, hydroelectric,.....anything else?  Of these, only fossil fuels 
> 
> and nuclear are currently competitive economically and capable of heavy 
> duty. 
> Yvan doesn't like nuclear, so where is the energy coming from to replace 
> oil 
> and produce his hydrogen?
> 
> Robert Ettinger
> 

There must be some misunderstanding, Thomas Donaldson has spoken about fuel 
cells as if they where primary energy source, I think I have missed something 
here. Indeed, fuel cells are interesting energy converter: You could 
distribute hydrogen by pipe and convert it to electricity where and when you 
want it. 

The primary energy I advocate is CH4, first from gas wells and then from 
undersea clathrate, the "burning ice". The world reserves are in the ten 
billion billion tons, as much to power the civilization at present level for 
one billion years.

The rreal problem is then the green house effect, even if we can tolerate it 
for some centuries. The long term solution is, I think, solar energy from 
space. Nuclear plants are not net energy producer: building them consume too 
much fossil fuels, they are at most energy converter, from oil to 
electricity. The low cost oil reserves will dry up in the comming years, that 
is not to say we can't continue with it, we will pay more for it and we will 
give more money power to bin Laden-like org. The real, short term problem 
with oil is not its complete depletion or even the green house effect, it is 
the muslim effect :-)

Yvan Bozzonetti.

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