Study: hydrogen proponents rely on "five distinct fantasy themes"

What is the hydrogen economy all about? For once, we're not talking about what sort of infrastructure will be required or at what price point H2 vehicles make sense. Nope, this time the discussion a little less specific and goes into the figurative aspects of what the hydrogen economy is all about. According to a scientific and popular literature review conducted by Drs. Benjamin Sovacool and Brent Brossmann at the National University of Singapore, promoters of a hydrogen economy commonly use five "distinct fantasy themes and types associated with the hydrogen economy, each with their own different dramatis personae, along with recurring symbolic cues and a collective rhetorical vision." What are these themes?

1. Inevitability that depicts hydrogen as the inescapable and unavoidable result of socio-technical development
2. Energy independence where advocates see hydrogen technologies as offering countries a robust, domestically insulated energy infrastructure immune from the vagaries of the global energy marketplace
3. Patriotism that paints hydrogen as a way to achieve national leadership, competitiveness, strength, and vitality
4. Unlimited progress that views hydrogen as a mechanism to achieve endless economic growth fueled by pollution-free and limitless supplies of energy
5. Democratization that sees hydrogen as ushering in a wave of decentralized energy production and use

We're not sure about the "symbolic convergence theory" that Sovacool writes about here or how a review of electric vehicle literature would fare, but we're pretty sure a lot of our readers will find the article interesting.

[Source: Scitizen]