Our conservation chair, Jane Clark, forwarded the message below. I have not
gone to the website yet, but find the concept intriguing.

Just think about it.

Iceland, an island nation, limited in fossil fuel resources, in the middle of
the North Atlantic--the first nation to create a hydrogen economy.

Iowa, a state, limited in usable fossil fuel resources, in the middle of
North America--the first state in the U.S. to create a hydrogen economy.

Just a vision, of course, but what a vision! Now here's a project to set our
Governor, on whom we pinned so much hope back in '98, to work on--promoting
the vision of, and implementing the reality of, a hydrogen economy for Iowa.

What's a hydrogen economy? Well, it means using hydrogen in the ways we now
use fossil fuels--coal, oil, and natural gas--for transportation, electric
power generation, heating, cooling and cooking. And it means using hydrogen
in something very new on earth, but tested for over three decades in space:
fuel cells for totally pollution-free electricity generation.

Where do we get all this hydrogen? By using electricity to split water
molecules into what they're made of, hydrogen and oxygen.

And where do we get the electricity to do all this water molecule splitting?
From Iowa's abundant renewable energy resources: mainly wind, biomass, and,
probably to a lesser extent, solar through photovoltaic cells. The
environmental effects of harnessing renewable energy, though not negligible,
are far less dire than the effects of using fossil fuels or nuclear fission
energy.

Hydrogen can be transported in our natural gas pipeline system, with suitable
modifications to that system.

And a hydrogen economy means independence from foreign oil.

The vision of Iowa leading the nation in building a hydrogen economy. Let's
get to work on it!

Tom Mathews
--------------------------------------------

<< Subj:     Fw: Iceland moves forward on hydrogen
 Date:  02-01-04 21:50:25 EST
 From:  [log in to unmask] (Jane Clark)
 To:    [log in to unmask]

 Tom - thought you might be interested in this.
 Jane C.

 ----- Original Message -----
 From: John Blair <[log in to unmask]>
 To: <[log in to unmask]>
 Sent: Friday, January 04, 2002 2:01 PM
 Subject: Iceland moves forward on hydrogen


 > In 1874 the science fiction writer Jules Verne envisaged a world in which
 > water would replace coal as the fuel of the future.
 >
 > Now the Icelanders believe they can turn that dream into reality within a
 > generation - and they are taking the first steps next year in their
 project
 > to create the world's first hydrogen society.
 >
 > <A
 >
 HREF="http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/sci/tech/newsid_1727000/1727312.stm">
 > http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/sci/tech/newsid_1727000/1727312.stm
 >
 > John Blair
 >
 > Our destiny will be determined by the actions we take today!
 > 800 Adams Avenue
 > Evansville, IN  47713
 > Ph.: 812-464-5663; Fax: 812-468-3375
 >
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 > Forum, contact [log in to unmask]

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