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Uhhhhh....

Discussion in 'Environmental Discussion' started by Mirza, Apr 4, 2006.

  1. Mirza

    Mirza New Member

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    I once watched a science show about global warming... they were testing the ability of CO2 and other components of air to see how well and at what concentrations they could trap heat. Apparently, water vapor is considered a greenhouse gas... just as much or more than carbon dioxide.

    Now let's say 50 years down the road 50% of cars are fuel cell hybrid vehicles. That's a lot of water vapor production. Combined with the inefficiency of hydrogen (in comparison to overall efficiency to battery power), that's a lot of water vapor production. Would we be creating a bigger problem by adopting this hydrogen economy as a panacea?
     
    #1 Mirza, Apr 4, 2006
  2. San_Carlos_Jeff

    San_Carlos_Jeff Active Member

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Mirza @ Apr 4 2006, 01:15 PM) [snapback]234780[/snapback]</div>
    My rudimentary understanding of water is that it turns into vapor, when there is a lot of it you get clouds, and then it returns to earth in the form of rain or snow. The cycle keeps repeating. More vapor could foster more clouds and maybe even more rain but I don't think it would add to global warming.
     
    #2 San_Carlos_Jeff, Apr 4, 2006
  3. TonyPSchaefer

    TonyPSchaefer Your Friendly Moderator
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    I'm not sure that we would be "manufacturing" water vapor. I think that most common approaches to creating hydrogen includes starting with water and seperating the Oxygen from the Hydrogen. In the end, you get water again. So it equals out.

    I'm probably way off, but I also might be kind of close in some regards.
     
    #3 TonyPSchaefer, Apr 4, 2006
  4. V8Cobrakid

    V8Cobrakid Green Handyman

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    i see a lot more things turning green. this question has been on myself for a long time now. I'm glad someone finally posted it. I wonder what kind of bacterias and such will be produced from all this extra water being put into the air. will it have a cooling effect? if so.. how much?

    of course... i always wonder if our hybrids have an effect. I question this one fairly too. sure.. we all drive hybrids.. are the smog levels dropping?
     
    #4 V8Cobrakid, Apr 5, 2006
  5. benighted

    benighted New Member

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Mirza @ Apr 4 2006, 11:15 AM) [snapback]234780[/snapback]</div>
    Absolutely not. If that were true than watering your lawn would cause global warming. Not to mention all of that global warming that massive farmland irrigation is causing. :lol:

    70% of the earth's surface is water that is constantly evaporating and condensing.
    But then again, the ice age was caused by water when massive amounts of fresh water were introduced into the Atlantic Ocean from what is now the Northeast part of America.
     
    #5 benighted, Apr 5, 2006
  6. Mirza

    Mirza New Member

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    True ~ but all that water came from another source of water - but then that just goes back to what Tony said - when fuel cells create water, they are utilizing hydrogen taken from water. So your point still stands. But how much of our hydrogen may come from stripping it away from natural gas? A counterargument would be that fossil fuels produce water vapor as well when burned. I might seem bipolar (or whatever the appropriate term would be), but it's all in trying to figure it out!

    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(benighted @ Apr 5 2006, 03:17 AM) [snapback]235155[/snapback]</div>
     
    #6 Mirza, Apr 5, 2006
  7. tripp

    tripp Which it's a 'ybrid, ain't it?

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    You also have to consider the time in atmosphere. One of the things that makes methane a nasty green house gas is that once it gets into the atmosphere it tends to stay there a long time. The only way that water would be a real threat is if we started using a lot of energy to produce steam. Even then, the ability of the air to hold the extra water would be strained and it would just condense out of the atmosphere. The chemical properties of CO2 and CH4 are much more of a problem in the context of climate change.
     
    #7 tripp, Apr 5, 2006
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