The Hydrogen Economy (Paperback)

by Jeremy Rifkin (Author) "Throughout history, human beings have occasionally found themselves caught between two very different ways of perceiving reality..." (more)
Key Phrases: entropy bill, hydrogen energy web, global oil production peaks, Middle East, United States, Saudi Arabia (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
"Now the hydrogen movement has a marquee spokesman."

Product Description
The road to global security," writes Jeremy Rifkin, "lies in lessening our dependence on Middle East oil and making sure that all people on Earth have access to the energy they need to sustain life. Weaning the world off oil and turning it toward hydrogen is a promissory note for a safer world." Rifkin's international bestseller The Hydrogen Economy presents the clearest, most comprehensive case for moving ourselves away from the destructive and waning years of the oil era toward a new kind of energy regime. Hydrogen-one of the most abundant substances in the universe-holds the key, Rifkin argues, to a cleaner, safer, and more sustainable world.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Tarcher; 1 edition (August 25, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1585422541
• ISBN-13: 978-1585422548
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #332,914 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

45 of 49 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars The Hydrogen Economy - Hard facts, January 13, 2004

By	Mario Baldassarrini "toscanaccio" (Lugano, Switzerland) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Jeremiah Rifkin's book "The Hydrogen Economy" does not give what its title promises.
Most of the book is devoted to historical, political, social considerations, most of which I find well written and even convincing, but which have nothing to do with hydrogen.
However, to me as an engineer, his recourse to thermodynamics to explain the fall of past civilizations appears ludicrous and unnecessary - there is no need to appeal to thermodynamics to make us understand that our world will collapse if it will run short of reasonably cheap energy.
Whether the production of liquid fuels and natural gas will peak within the time frames advocated by Rifkin, or at some other time, there is no doubt in my mind that it will peak, and that well before that time the world must start to convert to renewable energies (assuming that energy from nuclear fusion is still far away from being harnessed).
However Rifkin sees everything easy and cheap. In his chapter on Reglobalization from the Bottom up he advocates the installation of fuel cells in every household or neighbourhood or community, but he seems to forget that "upstream" of each fuel cell there must be a power generator (wind turbine or photo-voltaic cell), electrolytic cells to produce hydrogen and a hydrogen storage facility. Scale economies will certainly reduce the cost of these commodities, but in my mind it is difficult to think that with their combined cost, and the energy losses that will be incurred at each step (electricity to hydrogen gas, hydrogen gas to stored hydrogen, hydrogen to electricity) electricity generation will be cheaper than present day cost from fuel or gas fired power plants.
Also the numbers are staggering. Rifkin writes "Providing these 100 million (per year) new users with an average per capita consumption of electricity equivalent to what US consumers enjoyed in 195 would require the creation of 10 million megawatts of new electricity capacity globally by 2005". Should this capacity have to be provided entirely by renewable sources, as a rough order of magnitude this would require the installation of either:
- From 300 to 500 million 300 KW capacity wind turbines, or
- from 1 to 1.5 million square kilometres of photovoltaic cells
All the above seems to me quite sobering. Particularly the shift to renewable energy sources does not give many hopes to be a way "to lift billions of people out of poverty". Therefore I cannot be as optimistic as Rifkin does - however I share with him the conviction that the shift to these sources is inevitable, and that the world must brace itself to meet the challenges and sacrifices that it will entail. The sooner, the better.

18 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding, except the part about the hydrogen economy..., August 27, 2003

By	David J. Segal, Ph.D. (Tucson, AZ USA) - See all my reviews

I thought this book was excellent and that everyone should read it. I found Rifkins arguments about the role of energy in the rise and fall of civilizations and the thermodynamics of Rome to be extremely interesting and thought provoking. Also, anyone interested in a very readable yet detailed overview of the whole fossil fuel picture  its history, future potential, and global impact on politics, humanity, and the environment  would find this book enjoyable. These parts alone make the book worth buying. However, his eventual discussion about the hydrogen economy seems like it was written late at night after a few beers. In comparison with the very analytical earlier sections, he provides only a warm and fuzzy vision of a hydrogen future. Three specific criticisms I had were: 1) Although he uses words like hydrogen and fuel cell a lot, Rifkins vision really depends on the use of renewable energy technologies. And since most people dont live near a thermal vent or can easily dam a river, the fundamental question is whether solar and wind power can provide enough power to meet the high energy demands of 10 billion people. This issue was not addressed. 2) Although he makes a compelling and analytical argument against oil alternatives such as natural gas, coal, and tar sand, the potential role of nuclear power seems to have slipped his mind completely. This is a rather large omission, considering several European countries get more than two-thirds of their electricity form nuclear sources. This should have been a chapter, but was instead not discussed at all. 3) It is not clear that the costs and technical expertise required to build and maintain a distributed energy production network would be more efficient than having several elite companies manage mega-fuel cell facilities. Again, a little more analysis would help convince me that a global democratization of energy is actually possible. In summary, the weakness of the current energy regime is explained well, but one is left wondering if the bright and happy picture of the hydrogen economy that is presented is more than just a house of cards.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars More like "The History of the Oil Industry", September 1, 2003

By	David McMillan (San Francisco, CA United States) - See all my reviews

I bought this book based mainly on the title and the brief description of the book on the cover. It's a good book, but I think it would be more accurate to name the book "The History of the Oil Industry, and some stuff at the end about hydrogen". I guess I should have browsed through it more before I bought it, but the book doesn't really begin to focus on hydrogen (as opposed to oil) until the last two chapters.
My other complaint about the book is that it tries to explain very complex world issues/events in very simple cause/effect terms. While I agree that future of the oil industry will be closely intertwined with the various religions and cultures of the Middle East, it's a bit of a stretch for a book that is supposed to be about hydrogen to start *explaining* world religions and Middle Eastern social structures.
It also basically concludes that Rome fell because it couldn't support its energy needs. OK, that could have been one of the causes, but it's a lot trickier than that.
It seems to be a well-researched book, but if you're just looking for information about "The Hydrogen Economy", skip to the last two chapters.