Hydrogen Primer

In response the question "How is a hydrogen powered rocket considered green" I must first state that the post was a little tongue in cheek. My tongue, my cheek.

However, your question got me in the groove to discuss Hydrogen and all it's wondrousness.

First off, the use of hydrogen as you have read about most widely, in use in fuel cells that can power autos, buses, laptops etc, hydrogen is considered an "energy storage medium" and not a fuel. You see, you have to usually create the pure hydrogen usually through a process called electrolysis, capture and store it and then allow it to recombine with, say, oxygen which would release some of the energy that was used to split the hydrogen out in the first place as electricity. Easy as pie, right? Right.

So, insofar as use in transportation, hydrogen powered vehicles are really cars powered by electric motors who in turn get the electricity from hydrogen fuel cells. NASA has been using this technology for decades to create electricity for their craft. Crazy stuff eh?

Some may argue that the energy used to separate the hydrogen for the fuel cell takes more power then you will eventually get out at the end. They are totally correct. Also, currently, most hydrogen production in the United States is petroleum based, where they hydrogen is actually separated from the oil molecule. This sort of makes hydrogen power seem rather ridiculous, doesn't it? How will this break the world's dependency on oil as a major fuel source?

I am glad you asked. You can also get hydrogen rather easily from water. In fact, electrolysis is actually used to purify water! How about that? Here is a technology that can create power independent of oil (our current major shortage) and also purify water (our upcoming major shortage)!

What about all the power needed to make the hydrogen in the first place? Well, some people have used that handy backyard nuclear reactor called the Sun to generate the electricity via a solar panel to separate the hydrogen from a bunch of salt water as in this experiment. Some countries that have the ability utilize geothermal energy such as Iceland. Personally I think as solar technology progresses we are going to see the use of hydrogen cells as a way to locally capture the electricity during peak production times, making the construction and maintenance of our current electrical infrastructure obsolete. Just imagine, while at work away from your intelligently planned and designed home that already uses passive heating and cooling techniques the excess electricity you are creating is converted into a safe and reliable hydrogen fuel cell storing electricity for when you come home and to recharge your awesome ENV: Hydrogen Powered Motorcycle for your next trek into work.

*Ed. note re: ENV - Remember, my birthday is coming up!

"Green" powered rockets

Oh, I have a lot of fun stuff to post over the weekend when I get the time, right now though I just HAD TO SHARE this. A Hydrogen Powered Toy Rocket! Yes, you mix your citric acid packs with some water to create a bottle of hydrogen (or something along those lines) and then you blast your toy rocket 200 feet into the air and shout "Take that environment! I DO care!"

Oh man.

Oh man.

Oh man.

My birthday is coming up and if I wasn't going to be moving soon I would totally want one to sit on a shelf until I got bored enough one day to use it at the park as a teaching tool.

Sources of Cleveland wonderment!

WCPN (Cleveland's local NPR on 90.3 FM) today had a rather interesting story about an architect who thought Cleveland was, for some strange reason, worthy of creating audio tours for. I totally agree with her and think that this idea works because it is both clever and simple, therefore fulfilling two categories that I just made up as justification for what a good idea is. She currently has only one tour up and running but is working on another that deals specifically with Cleveland's three grand arcades. Are there more then three? Does Tower City count? We can only wait and discover TOGETHER!

CityProwl

In case you haven't noticed that this whole site has taken a definitive turn towards more Cleveland centric events and discussion, let me take the time to point this out. I have taken an obvious turn towards discussing Cleveland. Mostly because there are great things to do and see here that don't get a whole heck of a lot of press although there are some great examples of stuff to do, most noticeably Cool Cleveland dot Com which is pretty much a gimme anyway.

The second reason is that the kids that I was trying to do competitions with are moving, have moved away or are working crazy hours at small firms that make you work crazy hours, so now I mostly only have the voices in my head to bounce design ideas off of and those voices are MEAN. So, until this whole situation gets worked out, where the collaborators can figure out some sort of technological means to work together over great distances, this space is mostly going to get full of local happenings for the Cleveland area interspersed with my typical hippie-newz and world happenings.

Speaking of such, Global Green .Org has chosen a winner in the New Orleans design competition that I did register for but didn't get a chance to enter due to crazy work schedule and lack of wanting to read emails that mostly concerned themselves with Brad Pitt's hair. I get it, its great when famous people want to care about stuff, it is just that when Brad Pitt bills higher on the jury list then a Pritzker Award winner (Thom Mayne, you know, of Morphosis) and "the rest of the jury made up of nationally renowned architects and environmental expects" you sort of wonder what the hell the intent of the competition was and who exactly they wanted to compete. Don't get me wrong, I would love to meet Mr. Mayne and probably the rest of the jury but what am I going to say to Brad Pitt? "Congratulations on, um, having an interest in something that matters."? I don't mean to be a jerk, and I will probably lose my two readers who love whateverthehell that movie he was in that was called something like "River goes and bores you to death" but I am pretty damn sure that most good designer's ears would perk up at the mention of Mayne on a jury a hell of a lot more then Pitt. I will go and stew about this now on my own time.

Steve Irwin we hardly knew ye.

Steve Irwin, that wacky guy who forever became my hero when he opened the mouth of a real live crocidile and exclaimed, "Look at those teeth, ain't she a beaut?!", the man who has been bit by countless poisoness creatures, who would bring all sorts of animals on late night television shows to poop all over the sets was killed today in a freak stingray attack.

I cannot make this stuff up.

I don't know what to think except to wonder how in the name of all things holy did he get done in by stingrays? Heck, the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo has an exhibit Touchwhere you can pet rays and sharks in a shallow pool and they allow kids to reach in and TOUCH and PET and FEEL real live stingrays and sharks and did I mention STINGRAYS?! I don't suppose that the zoo's stingrays are the extremely poisonous ones but still. Steve Irwin. Dang.

The Washington Post calls such deaths veryrare