We realize that the Industrial Revolution has been predicated upon exponentially increasing expenditures of the Earth's resources including fossil reserves, potable water, and other natural capital of the only environment known to exist in the universe that can support Civilization's present and future human populations. One result is that the Industrial Revolution has provided tremendous technological advances that have facilitated the exponential increase of human population from one billion to six billion persons since the beginning of the commercial exploitation of fossil reserves as fuels.

The Industrial Revolution has also improved our standard of living. Coupled with the high velocity of technological advances, the Industrial Revolution continues to increase our standard of living at an even higher rate. As our standard of living improves by present practices, stresses on Earth's natural capital increase. Taking the current pace of worldwide technological and industrial advancement into consideration, Earth's fossil reserves are being exhausted faster and faster.

We maintain that it is beneath human dignity for any government to risk the lives of its citizens serving in the armed forces to protect transportation bottlenecks of these inefficient fossil reserves situated in foreign, and often hostile, lands. It is also irresponsible of any government to risk the lives of innocent bystanders who are guilty of nothing but their geographic location during unnecessary disputes, crises, and international incidents revolving around said bottlenecks.

We also realize that "Solar Hydrogen" (meaning hydrogen produced by harnessing solar energy and/or its derivatives including falling water, wind, wave, and biomass resources), offers a practical way to continue the progress of the Industrial Revolution, improve the standard of living for all living things on Earth, and promote global prosperity without pollution and conflict.

We realize that virtually any of the world's 600 million existing engines can be rapidly converted to operation on hydrogen with the benefit of actually cleaning air that passes through the engine. We want an increased return on the enormous investment that has been made to mine, refine, and manufacture the world's existing engines by using hydrogen to extend their lives and increase their performance. Fueling existing engines with Solar Hydrogen will create the infrastructure needed to facilitate advancements of fuel cells, advanced technology engines, and other innovative applications.

We further realize that it is essential to utilize petrocarbon reserves to produce durable goods instead of incurring the economic losses caused by burning them. One gallon of average crude oil can be used to produce over $35.00 worth of efficiently recyclable products such as polymer-based components for improving the performance and durability of such things as equipment for farming, mining, and manufacturing; computers, vehicles, roads, clothing, and homes.

THEREFORE, THE UNDERSIGNED ARE COMMITTED TO THE DEVELOPMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION OF HYDROGEN SYSTEMS, GOODS AND SERVICES TO FACILITATE A SUSTAINABLE GLOBAL ECONOMY WITHOUT POLLUTION.

Column Two:
Nicko Kangelaris III
Dan Istrate
Robert F. Stonerock, Jr., M.D.
Gary Sandrock
Ernest Gladstone
Nancy York
Alan Gould
Eric Sims
John Manos
Jerry Boschusen
Erik C. Esselstyn
James M. Perin
David E. Bruderly
John J. Laatsch
Phil Walker
John W. LeCompte
Brandon E. Lloyd
M. T. Chaudry

Column Four:
Mildred A. Newport
Walter A. Newport
Christie Hammack-Ginther
Andrew M. Irvin
Norm Illsley
Kris Jensen
Randolph R. Martinez, Mayor of Fort Collins
Marcel Zibognon

1. Legislators and policymakers must provide the focus and leadership needed by Earth’s human population to achieve a sustainable economy by enacting laws and regulations to encourage and support the establishment of the Solar Hydrogen Energy System.

2. Researchers and developers must provide scientifically proven options for continuously improving production, storage, delivery, and safety concerning widespread utilization of Solar Hydrogen.

3. Scientists and Engineers must use the best scientific methods and practices to facilitate rapid transition to the Hydrogen Economy.

4. Entrepreneurs must competitively provide the renewable goods and services needed to facilitate a sustainable global economy.

5. Educators must provide students with the information needed to enter the Solar Hydrogen job market with the essential skills, dedication, and attitude required to elevate all communities of the world to sustainable prosperity without pollution.

6. Parents must provide their children with the awareness that human potential depends upon personal responsibility to protect the environment and to provide a high standard of living based on sustainable resources.

7. Economists must include natural capital and opportunity costs as essential aspects of economic models, wisdom, and decision making. Illustratively, it is an unacceptable opportunity cost to burn one gallon of oil compared to producing $35.00 worth of recyclable durable goods. Even if the sale price of a gallon of oil escalates to $10.00 per gallon and the price of polymer compounds for producing improved computers, automobiles, and housing remains at $35.00 per gallon, the unacceptable opportunity cost of burning a gallon of oil will be $25.00 per gallon.

8. Investors, businesses, farmers, and the like must develop the expectation and demand for business opportunities that add wealth to the inventory of goods and services that are available to the Citizens of Earth. Much of the progress in this regard can be expected from investment in energy-intensive production of goods in which the energy and indeed the material constituents are derived from solar, wind, wave, falling water, and biomass resources.
 
 

Note: The Fort Collins Declaration was an element that sprang up spontaneously from the energy and excitement generated at the September 2000 Forum on Converting to a Hydrogen Economy.