Under the Hood of the First Real Fuel-Cell Car

[one...two...tree 2,762]

The Honda Clarity is for real, but it's not zero-emissions.

You could drink the exhaust of the Honda FCX Clarity. The four-door sedan—the first hydrogen fuel-cell car available to the general public—emits only water. Powered by the electricity generated when hydrogen and oxygen combine to form H₂O and with upholstery fabric made of fermented corn, the Clarity sure sounds green. But is it the "zero-emission sedan of the future," as Honda claims?

Not yet. Most hydrogen fuel is derived from natural gas in a process that releases plenty of carbon dioxide, so the car and its 134-horsepower electric motor fall short of being footprint-free. Still, fueling a vehicle like the Clarity emits less than half the CO₂ released by its gas-guzzling counterparts for a given distance, says John Turner of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden, Colorado. The Clarity's fuel efficiency equivalent of 68 miles per gallon clobbers even the feel-good 48 mpg of the Toyota Prius, and the car can go 270 miles on a $20 tank.

Just don't plan on taking it cross-country anytime soon. Honda begins leasing the Clarity this summer ($600 a month, with limited availability) in Santa Monica, Irvine, and Torrance, three Southern California communities with rare access to hydrogen fueling stations. The company is working toward a greener, more abundant hydrogen supply line; a research station at its R&D headquarters turns water into fuel using solar power. The downside? It refuels only one Clarity a day.

http://discovermagazine.com/2008/jun/08-un...l-fuel-cell-car

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

What happens to already humid cities like Houston if their roadways and highways become full of vehicles that emit even more water?

[Pinocchio Liberal 268]

600 a month and no fuel now thats green. What, you gonna park it in your drive way and look at it? The emotional high of knowing your doing the right thing is overwhelming

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

This is interesting.

Fuel cell vehicles emit water vapor. A global fleet could have the potential to emit amounts large enough to affect local or regional distribution of water vapor.

...

Depending on the fuel cell technologies actually employed, relative humidity in some locales might conceivably increase by an amount greater than with internal combustion engines. This increase could lead to shifts in local or regional precipitation or temperature patterns, with discernible effects on people and ecosystems.

The broad environmental effects of fuel cell vehicles are an issue worth addressing via a technology assessment before implementing a solution. Not all problems can be anticipated in this manner, but if some can, then the effort will have been well spent. In the case of hydrogen cars, the cure may indeed be better than the disease, but we should make sure before taking our medicine.

ROGER A. PIELKE JR., ROBERTA KLEIN, GENEVIEVE MARICLE, THOMAS CHASE

Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO

http://sciencepolicy.colorado.edu/admin/pu...les/2003.32.pdf

[Pinocchio Liberal 268]

This is interesting.

Fuel cell vehicles emit water vapor. A global fleet could have the potential to emit amounts large enough to affect local or regional distribution of water vapor.

...

Depending on the fuel cell technologies actually employed, relative humidity in some locales might conceivably increase by an amount greater than with internal combustion engines. This increase could lead to shifts in local or regional precipitation or temperature patterns, with discernible effects on people and ecosystems.

The broad environmental effects of fuel cell vehicles are an issue worth addressing via a technology assessment before implementing a solution. Not all problems can be anticipated in this manner, but if some can, then the effort will have been well spent. In the case of hydrogen cars, the cure may indeed be better than the disease, but we should make sure before taking our medicine.

ROGER A. PIELKE JR., ROBERTA KLEIN, GENEVIEVE MARICLE, THOMAS CHASE

Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO

http://sciencepolicy.colorado.edu/admin/pu...les/2003.32.pdf

We are tryin to be green here troll. Dont ruin it!

[GaryC 7]

Water vapor is a much stronger green house gas than CO2. We should all go back to horses.

[eric&gen 0]

I saw the TV ad for the FCX Clarity looks really good not worth $600 a month. You can have allot more car or truck for $600 monthly a high luxury if you have great credit.

[rebeccajo 14]

I wanna Smart4two!

[Reba 2]

I saw the TV ad for the FCX Clarity looks really good not worth $600 a month. You can have allot more car or truck for $600 monthly a high luxury if you have great credit.

yeah, but they're not hydrogen fuel cells are they? That's kinda the point.

[zqt3344 21]

Well they will build a dome over the city and air condition it!

What happens to already humid cities like Houston if their roadways and highways become full of vehicles that emit even more water?

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

Well they will build a dome over the city and air condition it!

[zqt3344 21]

Well you put forth a Dumb_ _ _ question you shall get a DumbA _ _ answer! You mean you expected more?

Well they will build a dome over the city and air condition it!

[Hilarious Clinton 452]

For the time being the best way to generate electricity to make hydrogen is Nuclear Power. It produces no plant food... er I mean CO2.

We must supplement nuclear with solar, hydro, clean coal and wind.

I wanna Smart4two!

woot! in diesel!!!

[Pinocchio Liberal 268]

For the time being the best way to generate electricity to make hydrogen is Nuclear Power. It produces no plant food... er I mean CO2.

We must supplement nuclear with solar, hydro, clean coal and wind.

I wanna Smart4two!

woot! in diesel!!!