By Alvin Leaphart, Jesup, Ga. | For over 53 years, I have practiced law in southeast Georgia. We are five generations of professionals. My family helped settle southeast Georgia with a law book, medical bag . . . and a pistol.
Leaphart
I have seen the effects of the industries coming South for cheap land and labor, the good and the bad of industrialization. It brought us out of the Depression, raised people to the upper middle class who had a couple of thousand acres of land that was just holding the world together, and allowed family providers to move from $35 a week to several hundreds. But this upgrade has damaged the environment. Good comes with bad.
Environmentalists are constantly pointing out the dangers of the use of fossil fuels to the atmosphere. Based on my studies, the most environmental friendly fuel is hydrogen. Water is composed of hydrogen and oxygen. Allowing hydrogen to react with oxygen, water is formed, releasing energy. How more environmentally friendly can you get?
Hydrogen is locked in water. One of the challenges of using hydrogen as a fuel comes from being able to efficiently extract hydrogen from water. One method is by using electrolysis, but this requires electricity, which is expensive.
The United States is moving more toward nuclear power plants. There are certain times of the day that power production is lower, because of lack of demand. Then the generators are slowed and, so much electricity is lost.
The cost of fuel operations for a nuclear station is smaller than the fuel cost for operation of coal or gas plants. There is no cost saving if you run a nuclear generator at less than full capacity. If during those slack hours the electricity was diverted to the manufacture of hydrogen, the overall cost of production would be drastically cut, and the power companies’ profits would increase through sale of hydrogen.
An automobile engine can be converted to hydrogen use with little cost by changing the fuel injection system. The overall automobile business would not be affected. The main objection to using hydrogen comes from the oil, coal and other producers and suppliers of fossil fuels.
What is basically needed to use hydrogen in automobiles is the development of a system to distribute hydrogen at points available to consumers, i.e., the installation of pumps throughout the country.
With the exception of coal, the fossil fuel industry has been around for just a little over 100 years and has enormous political influence. If the fuel used for automobiles was changed to hydrogen, this industry with a few fits and jerks, would start selling hydrogen, and be back at the top of the fuel business.. Then we would not have to deal with and put up with Middle Eastern and other foreign oil suppliers.
A wholesale conversion to hydrogen in our country would further solidify the United States’ world influence and would become a boon to the environment.
- Have a comment? Send to: elliott@brack.net
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