The auto industry and the U.S. government are touting hydrogen-specifically cars powered by hydrogen fuel cells-as the savior of the environment. President Bush endorsed hydrogen fuel cell powered cars in his State of the Union address, saying "The first car driven by a child born today could be powered by hydrogen, and pollution-free."
The more things change, the more they remain the same. Nearly 30 years ago a group of elite intellectuals, environmental activists and other grand visionary thinkers announced it would convene in Washington, DC, to censure manufacturing companies for destroying the environment, and indict their products for harming virtually everyone and everything in the known world.
Manufacturing companies have traditionally been much more focused on making and marketing products than on what to do with them at the end of their useful lives. Disposing of old cars, dead appliances and obsolete electronics products was, for the most part, someone else’s problem.
The world today requires that its citizens, if they intend to survive and prosper, continue to learn and develop technical skills throughout their lives. Our nation depends on science and engineering for its way of life—and for its domestic security.