In March 2003, the U.S. attacked Iraq, within a few weeks "conquered" it, and stated its intention to occupy the country for some time. Alternating between claims about Iraqi secret Weapons of Mass Destruction are denials that Middle East oil has any effect on the government's plans. In January 2003, the president announced a plan to spend hundreds of millions of dollars on the fuel cell, "proving" that we don't need the Arab oil since this new technology doesn't require oil.

Much of the fuel cell rhetoric comes from people well known in the fields of environmental research and sustainable communities. The titles and claims are often extremely exaggerated. Consider the following titles of recent books:

Powering the Future: The Ballard Fuel Cell and the Race to Change the World – Tom Koppel, 1999

Tomorrow's Energy: Hydrogen, Fuel Cells, and the Prospects for a Cleaner Planet – Peter Hoffman, Tom Harkin, 2001

The Hydrogen Economy: The Creation of the World-Wide Energy Web and the Redistribution of Power on Earth – Jeremy Rifkin, 2002

Fuel from Water: Energy Independence With Hydrogen – Michael Peavey, 2003

And from recent magazines:

How Hydrogen Can Save America – Wired Magazine, April 2003

The Hydrogen Economy - After Oil, Clean Energy From a Fuel-Cell-Driven Global Hydrogen Web – E, the environmental magazine, by Jeremy Rifkin, Jan/Feb 2003

Amory Lovins of the Rocky Mountain Institute has "invented" a new automobile called the "Hypercar" which is supposed to result in an efficiency of 200 miles per gallon. The media ignores the fact that this "car" is only a set of drawings and specifications – a conceptual study. There is no actual "Hypercar" on the road getting 200 miles per gallon.

Almost all of these writers speak of the fuel cell with messianic enthusiasm, ignoring the risks and difficulties associated with such a tremendous change in transportation technology. They also ignore the many decades of research and development that have already gone into fuel cell technology, solar photovoltaicsÝ (PVs) and wind turbines. Items under development for decades do not typically enjoy breakthrough status overnight.

An example of the "gushing" descriptions is this quote from the article The Coming Hydrogen Economy by Rolf Nordstrom. It was printed in the September 17, 2002 Vol. 19, No 9 issue of Minnesota Journal.

"Imagine a form of energy that is clean, inexhaustible, and so abundant that Minnesota could forever meet its energy needs. Imagine a technology that can power your house, car, business or bus and emit only water vapor. What if your car generated profitable electricity for the local grid from the parking lot at work and helped power your home while sitting in the garage? What if this energy could be produced from common fuels in the short term and wind, water, sun, biomass and even algae in the long run? If this sounds fanciful, consider that we already have two central features of such an energy system, fuel cells and hydrogen..."

More significant because of the national source, this quote is from the report "National Hydrogen Energy – A National Vision of America's Transition to a Hydrogen Economy – to 2030 and Beyond." The report was published in February 2002:

"Today we have a hydrocarbon economy. Tomorrow we will have weaned ourselves from carbon and will live in a 'hydrogen economy.' In the hydrogen economy...America will enjoy a secure, clean, and prosperous energy sector that will continue for generations to come. American consumers will have access to hydrogen energy to the same extent that they have access to gasoline, natural gas, and electricity today. It will be produced cleanly, with near-zero net carbon emissions and it will be transported and used safely. It will be the ìfuel of choiceî for American businesses and consumers. Americaís hydrogen energy industries will be the worldís leaders in hydrogen-related equipment, products, and services." (page 24)

The examples of this type of language are too numerous to list. It is very similar to the rhetoric of the Internet era of the last few years of the 20th century. The claims are completely outlandish and none report that hydrogen must be manufactured. Fortunately, billions have not yet been lost by gullible investors.

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