The Drive For Fuel Cells
Every trip to the gas station seems to be more painful on the wallet. With outrageous gas prices and the talk of oil running out, what is next in getting where we need to go? The mobility that motor vehicle travel has brought to millions over the past hundred years has also carried some unfortunate side effects. Millions of Americans now breathe in unhealthy air and fossil fuel emissions are having a measurable effect on the Earth’s climate, and oil imports are approaching their highest levels in U.S history. Alternatives to oil have been around for years, but recently people are taking a more serious look. A new technology, fuel cell(FC) vehicles, promises clean and efficient travel for the 21st century, and these cars could soon be on the roads of Asia, Europe, and the United states. Fuel cell vehicles can help mitigate these problems through their high efficiency, zero emissions, and their use of non petroleum fuels.So what exactly is a fuel cell? According to an article by Spencer Reiss from Salon.com, hydrogen and oxygen go in one side; water and electric power come out the other. (Why couldn’t I think of that?) It is quiet and squeaky clean, as long as you don’t mind a puff of steam. With
Although fuel cells offer considerable promise for reducing the impacts of vehicle travel while simultaneously meet consumers satisfactions, the transition from gas to fuel cannot occur over night. It may be a while before FC power your brand new sport utility vehicle. Cleaner cars are not the answer to our society’s transportation problems, but they are an important part of the solution. Many options are available for dealing with the challenges of air pollution, climate change and energy dependence, but few alternatives appear to simultaneously meet both the social and consumer demands of future transportation as well as fuel cells do. The fuel cell holds many beneficial promises for the environment, economy and the consumer. According to UCS, the fuel cell of the future promises to be 98-100 percent cleaner than today’s car, offering major air quality benefits to smog-choked regions of the country. In the dirtiest US cites, the economic value of zeroing out pollution with these vehicles could total anywhere between $4000 to $8000 per car over its lifetime(salon). Fuel cells have an important role in mitigating the growing impacts of global climate change. When running on renewable fuels, FC vehicles reduce emissions of heat trapping gasses by 85-100 percent(UCS). Even when their fuels are produced from natural gas, FC reduce these emissions by about 70 percent The widespread adoption of
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Approximate Word count = 949
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
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