CBS: Hydrogen denier Romm drives hydrogen-fueled car

Washington, DC, April 1 — CBS News has obtained exclusive video footage calling into question the claims by ClimateProgress blogger Joseph Romm that running a car on hydrogen is not practical.

Dr. Romm, a physicist and taxidermist, first became a minor celebrity in the tight-knit energy policy community when he reversed his pro-hydrogen-car position from the 1990s with the publication of The Hype about Hydrogen: Fact and Fiction in the Race to Save the Climate, which claimed to “prove” that hydrogen-powered cars are decades away.

As the video shows (warning, not suitable for children under 13), Dr. Romm has been driving a car that runs on hydrogen for years. In fact, the fuel Romm uses contains more hydrogen per gallon than the same volume of liquid hydrogen!

Jeremy Rifkin, hydrogen enthusiast and president of the Foundation on Economic and Energy Trends (FEET), said, “This confirms what we suspected all along. Hydrogen denier — I think he prefers the term “delayer”– Romm was just cashing in with a contrarian book. I’m sure he raked in literally hundreds of dollars spouting his nonsense.”

At a hastily-assembled news conference, Dr. Romm said, “Yes, it’s true. My car turns hydrogen into energy that powers the wheels. But … but it also runs on carbon. The engine burns gasoline, a hydro-carbon, and….” The croud began to jeer, at which point Romm brushed away a few tears and said, “So I made a mistake. That happens. It proves I’m human, which you know, for some people, is a revelation.”

Island Press has agreed to remove the book from the three remainder stores still carrying it.