If the President wants to show leadership on creating a clean
energy future, he has to provide more than hydrogen gift wrapping
around dirty energy technologies that are at the center of the
Bush-Cheney Energy Plan.
No Dirty Hydrogen from Coal and Nukes
The Bush Administration’s so-called FreedomFuel initiative is a
dirty hydrogen plan, focusing on generating hydrogen from coal and
nuclear power sources. Coal and nuclear power will never offer
sustainable solutions to our energy needs. These technologies are
polluting, dangerous and extremely susceptible to sabotage.
Hydrogen fuel should be produced with the plentiful, clean
renewable energy resources of the United States, such as wind and
solar power. For example, Los Angeles is already home to a solar
powered hydrogen generating station, allowing hydrogen vehicles to
put the sun in their tank. A hydrogen vision based on renewable
energy will end our expensive addiction to fossil fuels, stop
global warming and halt the production of nuclear waste for
energy.
Clean Energy Now, Not in 2020
A rapid transition to a clean
hydrogen economy would free the US from oil interests while
providing increased environmental security. President Bush’s
commitment to hydrogen needs to reflect the urgent need to reduce
American’s dependence on oil, we need clean energy solutions today,
not decades from now. Commercialization of hydrogen fuel cell
vehicles can begin far before the 2020 date identified in the
President’s program. Toyota and Honda have already delivered
prototype vehicles to California. Experts in the field emphasize
that what is needed now is a strong market to rapidly bring
production to scale and the vehicles into the hands of consumers in
the next few years, rather than decades from now.
