UC Merced Undergraduate Research Journal

Fossil fuel burning vehicles contribute to atmospheric pollution and the continuoustemperature increase that affects the entire planet. This occurs because of the accumulation ofwhat are known as Green House Gases (GHGs), which are responsible for trapping the energy ofthe Sun here on Earth. Because the pool of GHGs is becoming denser due to the burning of fossilfuels, among other contributors, the amount of energy that is trapped consequently increases,resulting in an increase in planetary temperature (The Green House Effect). If the burning offossil fuels is responsible for the increase of GHGs in the atmosphere, the logical thing to do is tofind a substitute that does not produce GHGs. An obvious replacement is hydrogen (H2), a cleanburning gas with no GHGs as byproducts. The only thing hindering the transition to H2 is its’method of production. In today’s day and age, technology has finally reached a point wherewater (H2O) can be used for the production of H2, which makes it our fuel for the future.