http://www.insidebayarea.com/argus/oped/ci_3775175

Hydrogen no magic bullet for energy woes

In his Earth Day speech last week, President Bush renewed his call for research into hydrogen fuel cells.
Instead of a cocktail of toxic fumes, cars using them would leave behind water. Millions of hydrogen-powered cars would buzz around on the nation's roads, weaning us from fossil fuels and thwarting global warming.

If that sounds like science fiction, that is because it is.......

Hydrogen is a diffuse gas and difficult to store. Since a small amount of hydrogen can take up a large space, a hydrogen car would need high-pressure tanks to be able to hold a substantial amount of the fuel, which would increase cost. Those tanks have to be strong enough to withstand the impact of a car crash, so that an auto accident does not turn into a Hindenburg-sized fireball.

There is also no infrastructure to support hydrogen. A working hydrogen economy would need thousands of conveniently located filling stations, as well as a storage and delivery network to support them ( and they would all have to be built, with hydrocarbon energy ).

While research is always a good idea, the president is setting up unrealistic ( false ) expectations.........

What the heck, Bush has three years to go, and fully hopes his Smoke and Mirrors, Dog and Pony show, will bamboozle the public, long enough for him to retire, and then, let somebody else worry about the mess he's made of Iraq, our economy, and our reputation with the world. Public money will take care of him, the rest of his life, in grand style, and why not, look at all he's done for us.