Friday, June 13, 2003

Here's the abstract Potential Environmental Impact of a Hydrogen Economy on the Stratosphere Tracey K. Tromp,1 Run-Lie Shia,1 Mark Allen,2 John M. Eiler,1 Y. L. Yung1* The widespread use of hydrogen fuel cells could have hitherto unknown environmental impacts due to unintended emissions of molecular hydrogen, including an increase in the abundance of water vapor in the stratosphere (plausibly by as much as 1 part per million by volume). This would cause stratospheric cooling, enhancement of the heterogeneous chemistry that destroys ozone, an increase in noctilucent clouds, and changes in tropospheric chemistry and atmosphere-biosphere interactions. 1 California Institute of Technology, 1200 East California Boulevard, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA. 2 Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, 4800 Oak Grove Drive, Pasadena, CA 91109, USA. * To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: yly@gps.caltech.edu Volume 300, Number 5626, Issue of 13 Jun 2003, pp. 1740-1742. Copyright © 2003 by The American Association for the Advancement of Science. All rights reserved. 2:44:45 PM    comment []  trackback []

From the 'no free lunch' department [SF Chronicle]: New Caltech study suggests possible significant impact from hydrogen "leakage": Tromp et al., Potential Environmental Impact of a Hydrogen Economy on the Stratosphere, Science 2003 300: 1740-1742 Even eco-groovy renewable technologies can have their environmental impacts. [Still looking for link to the actual report.] 2:06:58 PM    comment []  trackback []