While Rifkin does a good job of pointing out the problem with our current, oil-driven economy, his solution of a hydrogen based economy often ignores the reality of the situation. Throughout the book, he egregiously glosses over the need to use energy to produce hydrogen gas, implying that hydrogen fuel cells can be net producers of energy, which is simply false.
When he mentions that hydrogen is the most abundant element on the planet, he egregiously glosses over the fact that hydrogen, as found naturally, is not a potential source of energy (at least without fusion power). He excitedly describes the possibilities of hydrogen fuel cells producing electricity on a decentralized grid, but spends very little time talking about how they might get the hydrogen to fuel them.
He does briefly mention the possible ways of producing hydrogen gas from renewable energy, but he fails to show how they can be efficiently implemented to replace fossil fuels. He uses anecdotes to support solar power, his apparent favorite, without providing realistic figures on it's widespread use, especially in more northerly regions. He also positively mentions hydroelectric and wind power, apparently without considering their possibly damaging effects on ecosystems or the practicality of producing enough energy from them. With nuclear power, on the other hand, he focuses exclusively on the negatives, perhaps because it's associated with "old-fashioned, centralized" power corporations, which he considers to be part of the problem.
Most egregiously, though, he almost completely ignores conservation and efficiency improvements. He paints a utopian picture of the future, with free, clean energy for all, if we can just make the transition to his fabled "Hydrogen Economy".
The sections discussing the problems with fossil fuels, which comprise about 2/3rds of the book, are significantly better than the sections pertaining to the so-called "Hydrogen Economy". While he may be something of an alarmist, he mostly does back his claims with data and research, and he provides an inclusive picture, considering geopolitical, environmental, and technical perspectives, including the possibilities inherent in tar sands and gasification of coal. However, I expected that a book titled "The Hydrogen Economy" to provide decent information on hydrogen. |
The Hydrogen Economy Books In Print, Audio Books.