Stating that they will “not be practical” within the next decade or two, Energy Secretary Steven Chu announced that the government will no longer provide funds for automobile hydrogen fuel cell research, once hailed as the automobile technology of the future. Sayeth the New York Times,

The retreat from cars powered by fuel cells counters Mr. Bush’s prediction in 2003 that “the first car driven by a child born today could be powered by hydrogen, and pollution-free.” The Energy Department will continue to pay for research into stationary fuel cells, which Dr. Chu said could be used like batteries on the power grid and do not require compact storage of hydrogen.

So it looks like we’ll have to look elsewhere for our non-gasoline cars in the future. Luckily, Ford is all over that. In speaking about some changes at the Energy Department, Secretary Chu stated, “We’re very devoted to delivering solutions — not just science papers, but solutions — but it will require some basic science.” I’m not going to lie. I’m pretty sure I have no idea what that statement means. I guess it has something to do with burying pollution underground?

He said he would probably reverse another Bush administration decision and restore funds for FutureGen, a program to build a power plant prototype. The plant would turn coal into gas, separate out the carbon dioxide — a major contributor to the greenhouse gases that cause global warming — and pump it underground. Then it would burn the hydrogen, which is nearly pollution-free.

It’s so crazy it just might work! Or, not. Like I said, I don’t get science. I literally own both Biology for Dummies and Get a Grip on Physics, and haven’t been able to make it through either of them. They get tricky pretty fast.