Don't buy the hydrogen spin

I was listening to Thom Hartmann's local show in Portland Monday morning and he was excited that the auto industry had seen the light and was pushing a more aggressive action to cut US dependence on petroleum.

General Motors Corp.'s Washington spokesman, Chris Preuss, told the newspaper GM welcomes calls by other auto makers for more action on energy independence.

"We believe the US needs to begin aggressive energy policy moves away from petroleum toward hydrogen," Preuss was quoted as saying. "We should diversify our energy stocks away from foreign sources."

Don't let them fool you. As I explained a couple of weeks ago:

Hydrogen: We should have known that if George W. Bush is talking about it it's not a good idea. The reality is hydrogen is not an energy source, it is an energy transfer medium. It does not occur naturally and has to be produced by by splitting water. It requires more energy to split the water than you get back when you burn it to create energy.

Make no mistake, when they talk about a hydrogen economy they are really talking about a nuclear economy. If you are alright with nukes then a hydrogen car is for you. If your not OK with nukes then hydrogen is not what will be powering your car.