According to a study discussed in The Globe and Mail, emissions of greenhouse gas pollution from the oil sands are expected to triple between 2005 and 2020: rising to 62 million tonnes per year.
This increase would be so large that it would more than outweigh the impact of expected switching from coal-fired to gas-fired electricity.
For Canada to be a responsible global citizen and do its part to respond to the threat of climate change, that emissions trajectory needs to change.
Natural gas is currently much more ptilneful than petroleum. It’s already piped throughout the civilized world. The hydrogen from coal gasification comes from the water used in the process. The car itself emits practically no pollutants.If you are using a green’ or renewable energy source (photovoltaic, fission, wind etc.) to electrolyze water, you are simply converting that electric energy into the chemical energy of the broken HO bonds of the water. That’s mainly a way of making the energy transportable to a vehicle. Time will tell whether that’s more efficient or practical than simply making an electric car, especially one roofed with photovoltaic cells.You recover the chemical energy from the hydrogen by combustion (often via a fuel cell). The energy is released as the hydrogen recombines with oxygen to form water. Thus, no net change to earth’s water supply.