Can you live in an American house, drive an American car yet not contribute one single gram of carbon-based pollution into the atmosphere. Most people would automatically answer no, but not Mike Strizki of Central New Jersey. His home is completely self-sufficient and does not require outside power or gasoline for his car, the Earth does it all for him, for a "small" set-up fee.
From Scientific American:
EAST AMWELL, N.J.—Mike Strizki has not paid an electric, oil or gas bill—nor has he spent a nickel to fill up his Mercury Sable—in nearly two years. Instead, the 51-year-old civil engineer makes all the fuel he needs using a system he built in the capacious garage of his home, which employs photovoltaic (PV) panels to turn sunlight into electricity that is harnessed in turn to extract hydrogen from tap water.
Although the device cost $500,000 to construct, and it is unlikely it will ever pay off financially (even with today's skyrocketing oil and gas prices), the civil engineer says it is priceless in terms of what it does buy: freedom from ever paying another heating or electric bill, not to mention keeping a lid on pollution, because water is its only by-product.
"The ability to make your own fuel is priceless," says the man known as "Mr. Gadget" to his friends. He boasts a collection of hydrogen-powered and electric vehicles, including a hydrogen-run lawn mower and car (the Sable, which he redesigned and named the "Genesis") as well as an electric racing boat, and even an electric motorcycle. "All the technology is off-the-shelf. All I'm doing is putting them together."
He paid $100,000 coupled with $400,000 in various grant money. Now he pays nothing for gas, electric and anything that is needed to power all of his appliances, gadgets and whatever device that requires fuel. Zero pollution is fantastic, but who can afford such a heavy price tag? The public utility commissions of America aren't going to grant everyone nearly half a million dollars. However, if our national government could divert a fraction of the money going to death and destruction in Iraq and move it to building industry that can increase the supply of this technology, the price of self-sufficiency would look a lot more affordable.
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