Rose Parade Pace Car

Letter to the O.C. Register

The Rose Parade made a big deal about their Pace Car that runs on hydrogen which only emits water vapor. It should be pointed out that water vapor is a much more potent greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide. So the car’s energy source also contributes to global warming. Water vapor also raises the atmosphere’s humidity, which in turn raises the dew point. This causes nighttime temperatures to be higher, again aggravating global warming. Further, the origin of the hydrogen is probably electrolysis of water which requires lots of energy, which probably originates from the burning of fossil fuel. Lastly, if hydrogen is such a good fuel, why don’t we start using it at a much easier source – power generation plants. It would be a lot easier to convert coal, oil, and natural gas electric power generators to use hydrogen than all our cars.

R