I believe a reader rushed to judgment regarding the environmental impact of splitting water to produce hydrogen for fuel (“Letters: Dry Hole?” above). The split water isn’t ultimately consumed, only recycled. Burning hydrogen reunites it with oxygen, returning water to the environment. Much more intriguing questions might concern the human-accelerated migration of water from liquid sources (oceans, lakes, aquifers) into the atmosphere of our vehicle-congested cities. Will metro-area atmospheric concentrations affect weather systems? Lifestyles? Presumably the trade-offs—if any—of water vapor concentrations will be preferable to the scale of damage to people and the environment wrought by today’s tailpipe emissions.

Ira Dember
Houston, Texas

From the Nature Index

Paid Content