Tomorrow's Energy: Hydrogen, Fuel Cells, and the Prospects for a Cleaner Planet

Amazon.com

The word hydrogen conjures images of devastating bombs and burning zeppelins (the Hindenburg) for most of us, but it inspires visionaries like Peter Hoffmann to picture clear skies and safer roads. Hoffmann's book Tomorrow's Energy traces the history of the volatile gas and explores options for its use as fuel. Though the author can't avoid using some technical language, his writing should still appeal well beyond the community of automotive and power-plant engineers. His coverage, though fairly balanced, tends toward the positive efforts made by government, corporations, environmentalists, and scientists to promote hydrogen as a clean, relatively safe, and potentially cheap alternative to carbon-heavy fuels.

Party-line Greens may gasp at some of the suggested schemes, which include using limited nuclear power to generate hydrogen from water. But Hoffmann convincingly assures the reader that ultimately, the planet will be better off this way. Many will be surprised at how far hydrogen has advanced since serious research restarted during the 1970s fuel crisis: the range of cars, planes, and power networks using the gas for power storage is impressive and underreported.

Though he makes his case for hydrogen as a means of powering our lives, Hoffmann also shows off its uses in medicine, agriculture, metallurgy, and other fields. Using economic data, he shows that we can expect to live in a hydrogen economy sometime midcentury; if so, we can all breathe a collective, CO2-laden sigh of relief. --Rob Lightner

Book Description

"President Bush’s remarks in his State-of-the-Union message proposing a big jump in funding for hydrogen and fuel cell research and development are terrific news. It’s imperative that Congress follows through now and makes available those funds.

Aside from the tangible benefits of spending more on an environmentally benign area of energy that for too long has been treated - often condescendingly - like a poor orphan, the political message is of supreme significance. For decades, supporters of hydrogen and other alternative energy fields have argued until they were blue in the face, that the key ingredient missing in moving forward is national political will.

President Bush’s support provides a large measure of that political will."
--Peter Hoffmann, 31 January 2003

About the book:
Hydrogen is the quintessential eco-fuel. This invisible, tasteless gas is the most abundant element in the universe. It is the basic building block and fuel of stars and an essential raw material in innumerable biological and chemical processes. As a completely nonpolluting fuel, it may hold the answer to growing environmental concerns about atmospheric accumulation of carbon dioxide and the resultant Greenhouse Effect. In this book Peter Hoffmann describes current research toward a hydrogen-based economy. He presents the history of hydrogen energy and discusses the environmental dangers of continued dependence on fossil fuels.

Hydrogen is not an energy source but a carrier that, like electricity, must be manufactured. Today hydrogen is manufactured by "decarbonizing" fossil fuels. In the future it will be derived from water and solar energy and perhaps from "cleaner" versions of nuclear energy. Because it can be made by a variety of methods, Hoffmann argues, it can be easily adapted by different countries and economies. Hoffmann acknowledges the social, political, and economic difficulties in replacing current energy systems with an entirely new one. Although the process of converting to a hydrogen-based economy would be complex, he demonstrates that the environmental and health benefits would far outweigh the costs.

Customer Reviews:

Hydrogen storage is a central issue surrounding adaptation into hydrogen as tomorrow's energy.......2006-01-28

Hydrogen storage is a central issue surrounding adaptation into hydrogen as tomorrow's energy. Internal Combustion Engines burning hydrogen seem like the popular future. Toyota's Rav 4 prototype uses a metal hydride to carry hydrogen in solid form. Hydrogen extracting micro plant under the hood seems unfeasible and hydride storage seems more probable, as the means for storing hydrogen. Steel pressurized tanks seem unfeasible requiring 5,000 psi, weighting 3,400 lbs, and maintaining 800 atmospheres. Hydrides are safer because they cannot spill or vent hydrogen or burn in a crash.

Energy Conversion Devices touts its magnesium based atomically based engineered hydrides as capable of storing hydrogen efficiently and effectively. In 2004, a Toyota Prius housed a ECD solid hydrogen storage system. The prototype Prius achieved 200 miles ranges, used a turbo charged internal combustible engine too boost horse power, innovated with carbon fiber wound tank reducing weight competitively, maintained 1,500 psi during saturation and an operating pressure of 300-500 psi, timeout at eight minutes for refueling with a goal of reaching five minutes, and a storage capacity of 3 kilograms of hydrogen.

Hydrides slow down fast moving neutrons. Hydrides release and absorb hydrogen at different pressures: Hydrogen under higher pressure than equilibrium is absorbed into the metal and is in solid form and gives off heat; Hydrogen under lower pressure than equilibrium releases and heat must be added. To release hydrogen the gas pressure is simply lowered.

The new ECD carbon fiber tank offers huge advantages over a "steel tank" which can weight 25 times as much for the same carrying capacity of hydrogen. The lighter weighting tank overcomes one barrier towards accepting hydrogen as the alternative fuel to oil. In 1997, transportation consumed 54% of the oil consumption, of 18.6 million barrels of oil a day. The second barrier to overcome will be too solving the refueling time lag, reducing refueling times to five minutes or less. More doubt seems to be direct at fuel cell technology. China seems down on fuel cell technology viewing the technology as too expensive for developing countries. More optimism seems to be swinging towards Internal combustible engines running hydrogen.

Important and Exciting Information.......2004-02-09

Tomorrow's Energy is a thorough discussion of a topic that is rapidly gaining importance - hydrogen. The book proposes hydrogen as the energy of the near future. It includes the history of hydrogen as a fuel, and what measures are currently being taken to produce hydrogen-powered automobiles, air and space craft, homes, and offices. Hoffmann describes in detail how hydrogen fuel is produced and used, and why hydrogen is a better choice than fossil fuels. The book discusses what must be done in order for non-polluting hydrogen to overtake fossil fuels, and the prospect of a "hydrogen community."

This book, though obviously in favor of hydrogen energy, provides a detailed and, for the most part, many sided report on hydrogen's possibilities. It has a lot of numbers but is generally easily understood by the layman, though it assumes that the reader has a basic knowledge of chemistry. Hydrogen is an interesting and exciting thing, and this book provide a good understanding of its past, present and future. Stylistically, the book is a bit dry, but has sharp and occasionally witty quotes to lighten the tone. I would recommend "Tomorrow's Energy" to anyone who wants to learn more about this promising subject, as long as the reader uses the information to form their own opinion.

Half the story.......2003-05-06

This book has a lot of useful information but the problem is not the material but the book could use an editor. The story continually jumps back and forth. When the book uses comparisons it goes from Joules to BTUs then Gallons to Liters so you never seem to compare apples to apples or the book should have had a conversion table. It's as if the author is afraid to tell the truth of how it might be a little expensive now to convert, but eventually it will be cost effective. The book also has no diagrams, or graphs that would explain fuel cells or cost effectiveness. ...

The author seems to shy away from nuclear power as a solution for creating hydrogen. I think it would be a great interim solution where you could put the nuclear reactor on sites off shore or in the Great Lakes so you would have a supply of water and pump all the hydrogen and electricity produced to the city. The hydrogen could be sent to fuel cell power plants and fuel stations for vehicles. Eventually from the money made from this move on to geothermal methods.

I don't want to seem down on this book because it gave me a lot of good information the best part was the different ways that they can create hydrogen. Hydropower, Wind, Solar, Photovoltaic, Biomass, Advanced Solar concepts, orbiting solar mirrors, converting thermal energy from oceans and Geothermal. The one that I left out that I thought was the coolest was the Giant Solar Chimneys. I found out that they are actually making one in Australia; I can only hope that it works. I liked the part with the solar mirrors and why they didn't work, that was kind of funny.

The book never explains why they are not doing some of these things. I guess because of the cost but it is not clear. The best and safest way would be to produce hydrogen is geothermal but the book never explains why we don't do it.

The chapter on the uses for hydrogen started out interesting but ends with a walk into the cosmos with the SETI stuff. It was parenthetical information that the author wanted us to be aware of that did not belong in this book.

This book seem like a confused mass of projects that never seemed to get off the ground and a couple that could be a solution for the future. I wish the book was organized so that the history came first and then focus in on various areas, production, types of fuel cells, different forms of hydrogen, infrastructure, present uses, future use and the road ahead and what are the possible type of plans for the future.

I wish the book could have recommended more books to read on the subject that could answer some of these questions.

I guess I was looking for more clear cut solutions.

Somehow disappointing.......2003-04-27

This book contains lots of valuable information and is certainly worth reading. But at the same time, I had expected more of it. It describes too many factual details about the history of hydrogen's use in various applications and gives too few technical information about hydrogen as a fuel. The book does not give a very thorough analysis of how a hydrogen economy could be established, how those massive quantities of hydrogen will be produced in a way that is both environment friendly and realistic, why or why not to use nuclear power to do so, etc.
Rather, it leaves a lot of open questions and does not give answers to the issues that really matter (e.g. if hydrogen is produced through reforming of traditional carbon fuels, what to do with the carbon then at the production plant).
Nevertheless, the book is certainly worth reading... I think it's one of the only serious books on hydrogen at this time.

Hydrogen power now!!.......2002-12-26

This is a good book as an introduction to hydrogen and its' potential uses in many aspects of our lives. However, I disagree with the author's conclusion that it would take decades to replace the existing infrastructure. That may be the case in a socialistic economy but in the U.S., if there is a need and a desire, we can do it in just a few years.

The fact is that we have a huge need to get out from under the yoke of OPEC. We are forced to be heavily involved in mid east politics just to insure a constant flow of oil to support our everyday lives. Meanwhile, we have put ourselves in the crosshairs of the Islamic extremists who want us out of the mid east and to moderate our policies in Israel. If we want to prevent any further terrorist actions against us, then the best thing to do is develop hydrogen power and nuclear power and divest ourselves from mid east politics as fast as possible.

Write your Congressman and U.S. Senators and demand that we move quickly on this technology.

Average customer rating:
Energy in an insecure World. (Book Review).(Hubbert's Peak: The Impending World Oil Shortage ; Tomorrow's Energy: Hydrogen, Fuel Cells, and the Prospects ... (book review): An article from: World Watch
Seth Dunn
Manufacturer: Worldwatch Institute
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital
ASIN: B0008EWN4O
Release Date: 2005-07-29

Book Description

This digital document is an article from World Watch, published by Worldwatch Institute on March 1, 2002. The length of the article is 1186 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Energy in an insecure World. (Book Review).(Hubbert's Peak: The Impending World Oil Shortage ; Tomorrow's Energy: Hydrogen, Fuel Cells, and the Prospects for a Cleaner Planet) (book review)
Author: Seth Dunn
Publication: World Watch (Magazine/Journal)
Date: March 1, 2002
Publisher: Worldwatch Institute
Volume: 15 Issue: 2 Page: 33(2)

Article Type: Book Review

Distributed by Thomson Gale

Product Description

25 Reproducible Activities for Customer Service Excellence Peter Garber Make it easy for employees to provide great customer service with this collection of motivating and skill-building activities. There¹s no need for a special training facility, no huge costs involved, or no prior training experience required. All you need is a group of employees who are committed to giving customers what they rightfully deserveexcellent service. Every topic critical to customer service is addressed in five convenient parts: - Communication - Phone Power - Customer Service Skills - Customer Service Strategies - Achieving Results The fun and easy-to-use activities incorporate exercises, questionnaires, quizzes, facts, role plays, philosophies, characterizations, profiles, assessments, strategies, surveys, matrices, and other tools. Most can be completed in 15¬30 minutes. Areas covered include: - The customer¹s first impression - Customer paradigms - Listening to the customer - Finding out who the customer really is - How rumors get started and spread - The importance of telephone greeting messages - Dealing with telephone tag telephone communications - Understanding what the customer really wants - Characteristics of successful customer service - Customer service diseases - Developing your personal improvement plan - Personalities of potential buyers - Types of customers customer complaints - Tips for selling your product or service - Positive and negative words - Winning and losing the customer - Logic vs. emotion in selling

Book Description

This book describes how competition between plant species and succession in plant ecosystems operate in grasslands and grazed pastures, both natural and sown. The outcomes of competition and succession are important to agriculture and ecology. Competition and success are both influenced by environmental and biological factors and so they may be regulated to optimise botanical composition, productivity and persistence. The book also examines the ways in which competition and succession are analysed, evaluated and measured.

Book Description

The opacity of spiral disk galaxies is an issue that has only recently resurfaced after many years of hibernation. It was not thought to be an important issue in relation to our understanding of galaxies. The theme of The Opacity of Spiral Disks is the determination of just how much of a galaxy's stellar output is reprocessed through the interstellar medium. Many techniques are described and observations over a wide range of wavelengths are discussed. If some of the issues highlighted in the text are true, then we actually know very little about the total optical luminosity of galaxies and the way the luminosity is distributed over the galactic disk.
Audience: Informed students and all professional astronomers interested in galaxies.

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Miles From NoWhere by Barbara Savage

A Lot of Ground to Cover

An excellent, inspiring read

Inspiring

I read it again for the 3rd time

Miles from Nowhere: A Round the World Bicycle Adventure
Barbara Savage
Manufacturer: Mountaineers Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Travel | Writing | Reference | Subjects | Books
General | Cycling | Individual Sports | Sports | Subjects | Books
History of Sports | Miscellaneous | Sports | Subjects | Books
General | Sports | Subjects | Books
General | Travel | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0898861098

Book Description

This is the delightful and often humorous story of an around-the-world bicycle trip taken by two young people, Barbara and Larry Savage.

It took them two years and 25 countries. Along the way, these neophyte cyclists encountered warm-hearted strangers, bicycle-hating drivers, rock-throwing Egyptians, over-protective Thai policemen, and great personal joys.

They returned to a new life in Santa Barbara, one Barbara never lived to savor. She was killed in a street accident, Barbara and her bicycle vs. a truck. We are lucky to have this memoir, throughout which her vitality, warmth and compassion glow.

Slightly edited for radio presentation.

Customer Reviews:

Miles From NoWhere by Barbara Savage.......2007-10-09

This book is really interesting. I learned things that I never had any idea about on the different parts of the world. The stories are told in a humorous way and I laughed alot and have told other people about the book and I am sure there will be alot of them buying it. To me it is amazing what they did by taking that trip in the 70's when the bikes were alot heavier and they didn't have the equipment available to them that we have now... they were seriously very brave and really in great shape to do what they did. I really enjoyed the book and hated for it to end.Miles from Nowhere: A Round the World Bicycle Adventure

A Lot of Ground to Cover.......2007-09-05

I give "Miles From Nowhere" four stars rather than five only because during the course of such a long and trying bicycle adventure, Barbara Savage and her husband, Larry, must have experienced depths of emotion that Savage simply did not explore in the book. She covered some high points and some low points, but I never came to feel that I knew them or fully understood their motivations. Also absent, for a book more than twenty years old (and now considered a classic of adventure travel), was any updated or epilogue information about their lives after their ride. We know that Barbara Savage was tragically (astoundingly, ironically) killed on her bicycle within the few years of their return, but adventures of this magnitude do not end just with a return airplane ticket. The adventure, you see, is not about bicycling around the world, but rather, about Barbara and Larry Savage themselves.

That said, the two covered so much ground during their two-year ride that going into great detail would probably have swollen the book beyond any reasonable marketability. So my criticisms must be taken only as what more could have been learned, not what Savage actually included in the travelogue. I cannot agree with the reviewer who felt that the Savages were self centered and did not include an appropriate amount of cultural interpretation in the text. It seems to me that their cultural descriptions were quite vivid--some of the extremes of what they experienced actually made me cringe. As a solo adventure traveler myself, I am now rethinking some of my travel destinations, and although I consider myself to be pretty tough on the road, I do not believe that I could endure much of what Barbara and Larry Savage endured. These were two rugged people who handled themselves very well, and their story was a pleasure to read.

An excellent, inspiring read.......2007-09-04

I loved this book. It's an easy read, and exceptionally inspirational as Barbara Savage recounts she and her husband's journey on bikes around the world in the late '70s. Barbara's writing style is great and at times even laugh-out-loud hilarious as you read about some of the outrageous and surprising circumstances she and Larry find themselves in. This book has also made the impossible seem possible...who knows maybe someday I'll bike around the world!...

Inspiring.......2007-05-29

This book was a treat to read. They were so courageous to do what they did and it was so fun to live vicariously through their experiences. I highly recommend reading it. I checked it out from the library, but I am going to buy a copy now to keep in my stash at home to read again in the future and to lend to friends.

Knowing about the tragic ending to Barbara's life gave parts of the book an ominous feeling, like when they mentioned the possiblity of biking through Latin America one day. And I can't help but wonder what Larry is up to now, like if he did any more lengthy bicycle tours. Just curious.

I read it again for the 3rd time.......2007-01-10

I have just completed my 3rd reading, spread over 7 years, of Miles from Nowhere. I laughed as loudly as I did the first time and still found it hard to put it down. The book is my special reminder of how to live your life and chase your dreams. I feel ashamed that I have not yet started on my world bike tour but this summer (2007) looks like it will be the year. I often feel indebted to Barbara and Larry for their book and for their willingness to share such a wonderful experience. The book is a must read for anyone with a sense of adventure and a sense of humor.

Miles from Nowhere: A Round-The-World Bicycle Adventure

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Miles from Nowhere: A Round-The-World Bicycle Adventure
Barbara Savage
Manufacturer: Recorded Books, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio Cassette
ASIN: 1556903405

Product Description

88260 (10 cassettes/14 hours). P 1988 Recorded Books, Inc. Unabridged. By Barbara Savage. Narrated by Alexandra O'Karma. ISBN 1556903405. "Bicycle around the world? Because it was shch a spur of the moment idea it had a good chance of survival. When May of 1978 rolled around and we decided the fourteenth would be a good day to leave, there remained one haunting doubt. It had nothing to do with pedaling 20,000 miles, or being filthy, or being robbed or murdered or stricken by some exotic diseases. Rather, we wondered what effect our contstant togetherness would have on our marriage." Two years and 25 countries later, Larry and Barbara Savage, after many and varied encounters with bike-hating drivers, roof-apes, an attack-camel, rock-throwing Egyptians, over-protective Thai policemen, motherly New Zealanders, meteorological disasters, bodily indignities, and great personal joys, found the answer. "A trip of a lifetime," Los Angeles Tiems. (from back case cover)

Book Description

This revolutionary new dictionary is designed to give you a comprehensive introduction to Chinese in a completely new way. It covers all the vocabulary learners will need in their first years of study and gives unique guidance to the grammar and usage of the language. This dictionary is created specifically for beginners: colour headwords and translations; no confusing abbreviations; warning symbols show potential problem areas. There are thousands of example phrases drawn from real-life situations. Full romanization of the Chinese text with Chinese script following in simplified characters. Includes a guide to how to write Chinese characters. Full guidance on the pronunciation of Mandarin Chinese is given. Word patterns and constructions from language areas such as dates, and telling time are grouped together to show similarities and differences.

Customer Reviews:

We don't go out without it.......2006-11-10

We have a few dictionaries and phrase books with us here in China, but this is the one that comes with us wherever we go. There are many, many examples throughout, and we've found them more helpful in distinguishing between the different meanings of the English words. Also, the examples are just more realistic.

The Starter Oxford Chinese Dictionary.......2006-08-02

For the money, this is the best English/Chinese dictionary. I use it daily when I am in China where I work and live most of the time. It is a must for me

Very Helpful *Starter* Dictionary.......2006-06-29

I have purchase 5 books/dictionaries for learning Chinese.

This one is my favorite. It has fewer words listed than other dictionaries, but its contents include many words AND how to use them in common phrases. It also includes helpful grammar tips that other dictionaries don't include.

Well-designed dictionary; a limited vocabulary is the trade-off for clarity .......2006-02-27

As others have said, this is a very clear and easy to use dictionary. The use of blue type for the headwords makes the layout very clear, and a reasonable size font is helpful, as is the giving of measure words for Chinese nouns in the English-Chinese section. The dictionary also deals helpfully with function words and has a number of breakout "topic-based" entries in the English-Chinese section. For example, the verb to "play" a musical instrument depends in Chinese on how the instrument is played (blown, touched, bowed, for example), and there is an entry on "musical instruments" which summarises this (though not comprehensively, it doesn't extend to instruments which are beaten!), which might otherwise be hard to divine from just looking up "play" in other dictionaries. Other "breakout" sections deal with more functional issues (such as "Quantities" or "Not") and these are cross-referenced by page number from head-word entries.
The Chinese-English section directs you to alternative pronunciations for hanzi with more than one sound (this is not so unusual) but also occasionally warns of traps or difficulties of a "dictionary-ese" nature which an English speaker might easily fall into.
When I was studying in Beijing (at an elementary but not beginner level) this dictionary attracted envy from my classmates. It really is streets ahead of its competitors in concept and design. I never saw it in a book shop in China, probably because it really it is specifically for learners of Chinese, rather than trying to serve equally (as many other dictionaries do) Chinese learners of English. It is a good size for quick class-room reference and also for browsing related words.
The trade-off for this is that the vocabulary is rather limited: you will need to have a more comprehensive dictionary (and possibly a magnifying glass to use it) for reference purposes, but you can probably safely leave that at home until you reach intermediate level.
Because the vocab is limited, there will always be arguments about which words should be included or not. To me, for example, the omission of "Visa" in the English-Chinese section is pretty extraordinary, though it's probably true that in places where you need to talk "visa" the English word will also be known. The point is, this is a useful portable and legible (I don't need glasses for even very small type in English, but those tiny Hanzi are a challenge once they get at all complex so that the "zang" in Xizang=Tibet remains a blur for me in a smaller typeface) dictionary which you can look up quickly.
This dictionary is not an absolute substitute for a fuller dictionary, but compared to the amount of time you will need to spend learning Chinese, the expense of having more than one dictionary is absolutely marginal, and the convenience of this dictionary is well worth it.

The Mysteries of Mandarin Revealed! THANK YOU!!!.......2006-02-22

This book is not only practical, but beautiful! To the westerner, the Chinese language can look impossibly intimidating, but the Starter Oxford is laid out in such a spacious, clear manner, that this complex system becomes not just approachable, but inviting. A breath of fresh air in the field of foreign language study. I hope this sets a new standard for reference texts on every subject in every langage.
DUO XIE, Oxford!!!

Average customer rating:

Oxford Starter Chinese Dictionary

Manufacturer: OXFORD UNIVERSITY PR
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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