In the present year of 2009 we find ourselves quickly running out of time when it comes to our energy sources. There are alternatives out there that could alleviate some of the pain that people feel when it comes to rising energy costs. Solar, wind and geothermal energy exists, but these things can be cumbersome and often difficult or unfeasible for the average everyday person. The next logical step appears to be hydrogen technology. Hydrogen for a fact is the most abundant element in the universe and since matter cannot be created or destroyed, the amount of hydrogen will never deplete no matter how big the US or world population grows, unlike fossil fuels. Hydrogen can also power our vehicles just like gasoline. Not only will hydrogen be cheaper in terms of abundance, it will help clean up our environment as well. Hydrogen combines with oxygen in a hydrogen vehicle' to emit only water. Hydrogen is not without its setbacks, hydrogen technology is not heavily used today because it requires some energy to produce it. Despite it's abundance the best way to collect hydrogen is through a process called electrolysis. In electrolysis, electrical energy is sent into water (H2O) to separate the hydrogen atoms from the Oxygen atoms. The hydrogen is then collected and ready for use. The catch here is that it requires some energy, from fossil fuels in this case, to produce the hydrogen energy. This is where alternative energies from solar, wind and even geothermal can be helpful, as factories can be set up to use these alternative energy sources to produce hydrogen, we can call them "hydrogen farms". These "hydrogen farms" will help create more jobs and help advance the hydrogen economy.
Hydrogen is not the only element being used for alternative energy today. In San Francisco California a unique idea to use the city's garbage to create energy is currently being employed. Pipelines are ran underneath landfills to collect the nitrogen gas that is produced from the decaying process of the organic matter in the landfill. This gas is sent through the pipeline and stored to power thousands of homes in the San Francisco area.
Hydrogen may or may not be the future of energy but we do know however that fossil fuels are not. Nobody truly knows what will fuel the United States and the world of 2100 or what will drive the energy economy. Perhaps we will use new ideas and more advanced technology to use hydrogen or some other source to power our homes, run our cars and move our freight. Or maybe we will continue to use fossil fuels to do so. In the world of the 2100 that refused to change, we find a damaged environment, wars across the globe griped in the conflict of an energy world war. Maybe the wars will be fought between neighbors across the street of each other, fighting for their small amounts of oil so they can make it to work to feed their families. In the 2100 of the world that refused to change we find an economically unstable world in chaos and living fear of what tomorrow holds. This is our future if we do not work together and use our ingenuity to solve the current energy crisis. It is our duty and the challenge of the twenty first century so that our children and theirs can live in a cleaner, brighter world in which there are enough resources for all to live in peace and prosperity.
Joshua Redwine
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