>If this is the best a "panel of experts" can come up with, we're f*****:
>
>http://money.cnn.com/2004/12/08/news/economy/energy_report.reut/index.htm
>
>> The commission also recommends the government provide support to build
>> an Alaskan natural gas pipeline, one or two advanced nuclear power
>> reactors, and take steps to protect critical energy infrastructure from
>> "accidental failure and terrorist threats."
"Solar-thermal processing of methane to produce hydrogen is a design that, just as it sounds, can use the sun?s energy to make hydrogen from natural gas. As seen in the chemical equation below,
CH4 -> C + 2H2
when enough energy is added, a molecule of methane splits to produce one molecule of carbon and two molecules of hydrogen, which can then be separated and stored for later use. The pure carbon produced, also referred to as carbon black, is used in tires, inks, paint, wire insulation, and various rubber products. Attempts are underway at utilizing the material for a carbon-based fuel cell. "
"Carbon fuel cells are an attractive concept because carbon is extremely abundant, easily attainable, and very cheap. Its simplicity as a fuel is also highly beneficial, because where oil must be refined, with the above design, carbon would only need to be purified, a considerably simpler process. A major advantage in using this design over conventional batteries for obtaining electrical current is in its weight. A battery consists of self-contained cathodes and anodes, where the reactive components of both positive and negative terminals necessary to retrieve stored potential chemical energy are housed together as one unit, which compose the total weight of the battery. In Houston?s design, the fuel cell only carries the weight of the carbon in the anode, whereas the atmosphere supplies the cathode?s reacting material, oxygen. A vehicle equipped with this fuel cell could, in principle, carry more energy per unit mass than the same vehicle with traditional batteries. In a! true MacGyver-like tactic of using what is abundant to serve an unconventionally useful purpose, Houston is moving with his research in a direction that will most certainly fuel the future. "
