Another Pop Science Error
Jun. 16th, 2008 08:13 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
quasigeostrophyOn the way up to campus this morning, I caught the end of a report about a new electric car from (I think) Honda, that runs on hydrogen. It was a syndicated report and I didn't catch who made it or I'd e-mail them.
Putting aside the fact that hydrogen is an expensive gas to obtain because most of it is high up in our atmosphere or extracted via electrolysis of water (which takes electricity from somewhere)... The reporter closed the story by stating:
...and instead of emitting greenhouse gases, this engine's exhaust is water vapor. (Emphasis mine.)
Uh... hello? Water vapor is the most abundant greenhouse gas in our atmosphere, responsible for anywhere from 30 to 70% of earth's greenhouse effect. It's also the one greenhouse gas whose atmospheric amount we have the most difficulty measuring, thanks to high variability due to the dynamic water cycle.
Putting aside the fact that hydrogen is an expensive gas to obtain because most of it is high up in our atmosphere or extracted via electrolysis of water (which takes electricity from somewhere)... The reporter closed the story by stating:
...and instead of emitting greenhouse gases, this engine's exhaust is water vapor. (Emphasis mine.)
Uh... hello? Water vapor is the most abundant greenhouse gas in our atmosphere, responsible for anywhere from 30 to 70% of earth's greenhouse effect. It's also the one greenhouse gas whose atmospheric amount we have the most difficulty measuring, thanks to high variability due to the dynamic water cycle.
