Reusable energy a ways off

On March 8, Diane Belyea’s letter encouraged us to “take the high road and start decreasing our dependency on oil and start embracing clean, reusable energy sources.” While I am all for taking the high road in any endeavor, we still have a ways to go before we can follow her recommendations.

Iceland leads the world in hydrogen technology. While this sounds well and good, you have to remember that their hydrogen was probably obtained through the electrolysis of water using electricity from geothermal sources.

Solar power was once considered the salvation of mankind. Unfortunately, ordinary solar cells are about 15 percent efficient. In order to improve this, rare metals such as germanium and gallium are added to the mix. A mining expert has recently stated that such metals are becoming increasingly scarce.

Our dependence on oil will only be abated if intelligent people figure out how to effectively harness these clean, reusable energy sources. Of course, a person won’t figure out anything as long as they are smartphone dependent.

Douglas Benn

Spokane