Obama ends hydrogen car funding

[vurbano]

http://www.scientificamerican.com/blog/60-second-science/post.cfm?id=rip-hydrogen-economy-obama-cuts-hyd-2009-05-08

moron

[msmith198025]

"We asked ourselves, 'Is it likely in the next 10 or 15, 20 years that we will convert to a hydrogen car economy?' The answer, we felt, was 'No,'" said energy secretary Steven Chu in a briefing on the budget for reporters yesterday, citing the need for better fuel cells and a near complete lack of infrastructure.


Guess what....we wont get there with cuts in the funding.

[msmith198025]

Of course, the Bush administration also cancelled one of the centerpieces of said hydrogen economy—the FutureGen power plant that would have generated hydrogen (as well as eliminating carbon dioxide emissions)—with what turned out to be some bad math back in February 2008

To be fair Vurb. This is from the link you posted. It is not all on Obama

[fallout2600]

Plug in hybrids are the foreseeable future, not hydrogen.

[HD MM]

Plug in hybrids are the foreseeable future, not hydrogen.

I agree.

This was a smart move. No sense in putting more money into an industry that the public isn't quite ready for yet.

To the Obama critics: Damned if you do, damned if you don't I guess.

[fallout2600]

I agree.

This was a smart move. No sense in putting more money into an industry that the public isn't quite ready for yet.

To the Obama critics: Damned if you do, damned if you don't I guess.

Actually, China is on the verge of mass producing the plug in hybrids, has nothing to do with American manufacturing companies or Obama in the end.

[HD MM]

Actually, China is on the verge of mass producing the plug in hybrids, has nothing to do with American manufacturing companies or Obama in the end.

True. No US Government funding there. It should be up to the car companies to produce cars for the desired market.

[msmith198025]

Plug in hybrids are the foreseeable future, not hydrogen.

I think they are more likely, I do not think they are the best choice.

[HDRoberts]

To the Obama critics: Damned if you do, damned if you don't I guess.

Indeed. As I said in an earlier Verb thread, they whine to no end about Obama's spending, then when he does cut something, they whine about what is being cut. They will only be happy if he cuts social programs. Spending is fine for upper income conservatives only if they see personal benefit.

I also thought so many of you were free market people. You honestly thought the government should prop up research for private industry? If the free market is supposed to work as you claim it does, shouldn't the demand for such vehicles lead to someone making them, even without government funding?

[Skyhi]

I think they are more likely, I do not think they are the best choice.

I think they could be a bridge for the next 50 years until hydrogen (or something else) takes over. We're going to need to do some MAJOR improvements to our electrical grid, however, if everybody is going to be plugging in their cars.

[HDRoberts]

I think they could be a bridge for the next 50 years until hydrogen (or something else) takes over. We're going to need to do some MAJOR improvements to our electrical grid, however, if everybody is going to be plugging in their cars.

We'll need bigger improvements for hydrogen. Right now, most hydrogen comes from natural gas and oil. We need big time nuclear generation to turn water into hydrogen.

[msmith198025]

Indeed. As I said in an earlier Verb thread, they whine to no end about Obama's spending, then when he does cut something, they whine about what is being cut. They will only be happy if he cuts social programs. Spending is fine for upper income conservatives only if they see personal benefit.



As a few posters have pointed out, nothing is actually being "cut", money is just being spent elsewhere, and then some. That is the part that many are concerned about when it comes to spending.

"Cuts" such as this, take money away from what I feel are important projects for the long term. It is obvious not everyone agrees, and that is fine, but I still reserve the right to "whine" about it if I do not agree. Just as anyone on the other side would, and did do in the past.

[msmith198025]

I think they could be a bridge for the next 50 years until hydrogen (or something else) takes over. We're going to need to do some MAJOR improvements to our electrical grid, however, if everybody is going to be plugging in their cars.

That is possible, and a very good point on the grid. It siimply is not designed to handle the extra load that a pure electric automotive fleet would put on it (of course even that is a long way off)

[msmith198025]

We'll need bigger improvements for hydrogen. Right now, most hydrogen comes from natural gas and oil. We need big time nuclear generation to turn water into hydrogen.

I think we should be looking into adding more nuclear plants anyway.

[Skyhi]

I think we should be looking into adding more nuclear plants anyway.

We HAVE to do something. The grid can't even handle a widespread heatwave.