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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:
Column Four:
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 sprung up spontaneously from the energy and excitement
generated at the September 2000 Forum on Converting to a Hydrogen Economy.
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